So you want to be a best seller?

One morning in April I woke up and decided that I’m going to win – not run, win – the next bad water ultra-marathon race. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a 135 mile foot race through Death Valley during July in which temperatures reach 120 degrees during the hottest part of the day… in the shade. Some people prepare all their lives and never finish. It’s considered the toughest foot race in the world.

And I am going to win it.

I just have to lose 30 pounds in the next month, run a little bit, and I should be in tip-top shape to win this thing in less than three months. Physical trainer? Nutritionist? Coach? I don’t need those guys. It’s just running. And I have something else people don’t: Determination!

If many of you feel the need to tie me to a chair and talk sense into me, you are very much right. So you give me some advice and talk to me. The following is what you might say as I struggle against my bonds:

1. You need to lose weight, but it’s not going to be over the next three months. It takes a long time to keep the weight off.
2. You need to run and weight lift every day. Both are key to being a well-rounded athlete
3. You need to start running a few 5k’s first, and then build up to completing marathons, then winning marathons.
4. It’s going to take a few years to get on the professional level.
5. You need a coach, personal trainer, nutritionist, a logistics team, and sponsors in order to fund what you want to do eventually.
6. You’ll need to go to ever expo, event, talk, and networking event around to learn as much as you can.
7. You’ll need discipline, determination, and above all the will to go further than anyone else.
8. If you want to win it, running will have to become your life.

These sounds like discouragement, which thus all the more prompts me to be determined in my quest to win the race. You shake your head, call me crazy, then walk away and pray I don’t end up in the hospital after the first three miles.

This is very obvious to see that my quest to win the hardest race in the world takes more than three months in order to accomplish. It takes a life time of preparation and hardship to even participate in the race, much more win the whole thing.

So let’s change the topic to becoming a bestselling author and see how it sounds.

One morning in April I woke up and decided I am going to be number one on the New York Times Best Seller list – not just on it, number one. For those of you who don’t know what this is, its the hardest best selling list for authors to make in the world. Many authors write all their lives and never even reach the bottom number of the list.

But I am going to be number one.

I just have to sit down and write it in the next month, copy edit it a bit, and I should start selling thousands of copies in about three months. Editor? Publicist? Author platform? I don’t need that. It’s just writing. And I have something else that people don’t: A guaranteed bestselling idea!

If many of you feel the need to tie me to a chair and talk sense into me, you are very much right. So you give me some advice and talk sense into me. The following is what you might say as I struggle against my bonds:

1. You need to become a better writer, but it won’t happen in the next three months. It takes a long time to understand the craft.
2. You need to write and read every day. Both are key to being a well-rounded writer.
3. You need to write a few short stories first, then build up to completing a few novel length manuscripts, then wining some writing contests.
4. It’s going to take a few years to get on the professional level.
5. You need an editor, a writers group, a publicist, a writer’s platform, and a following in order to fund what you want to do eventually.
6. You’ll need to go to ever expo, event, talk, and networking event around to learn as much as you can.
7. You’ll need discipline, determination, and above all the will to go further than anyone else.
8. If you want to become a best seller, writing will have to become your life.

If you want to be a best seller, the good news is that you can do it. Just know that you can’t do it in the short term, you can’t do it alone, and its takes years of practice. If you want to do it, it will take every ounce of effort and time in your life in order to do so.

Writing will become your life.

So if you do decided to take this route, make sure you hydrate and stretch out those fingers before hitting the key board. Its going to be a long haul for a long… long time.

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