You never know when you’re going to meet someone who can help your career. That is true of any job and is especially true of writing. That particular point was driven home last weekend when I was volunteering for the Calgary Young Writers’ Conference.

This was the fifth consecutive year that I’ve volunteered to help out as a host. I remember thinking the first year how cool it would be if I had the chance to present at the conference. It was so long ago and I remember how big a stretch it seemed, how far from my reality. Today, it seems so much closer, the dreams so much more real.

Each year that I have gone I have met new authors and this year was no different. I was acting as a host for Darren Krill, the Manager of Corporate Communications for the Edmonton Oilers and an author with his first book out. I attended both his sessions with the students and we were both amazed at how involved the students were. When he asked the question “How many of you are writing a book?” nearly every hand in the 28 students (in both sessions) went up. Darren’s enthusiasm and stories really drew the students in… and I must confess, I was pulled in too.

Darren is something of an anomaly in writing circles from what I know. The publisher that signed him up for his book immediately snatched him up for three more in the series. He knows he will have four books published in the next few years.

So how does knowing Darren help me?

The first thing I want to emphasize here is I do NOT meet other authors with the question in my mind being “What can they do for me?”. I am more interested in learning about their journeys towards getting published and how they approach the craft. In many cases (most certainly with Darren) I get the motivation to continue plugging away.

For any of you who have ever struggled to keep going you know how very important that motivation can be. I also often gain a cheerleader which I also know I’m getting from Darren. This is a benefit I’ve gotten from many other writers I’ve met in the past too. You have no idea how nice it is to have a published author walk up to you and ask how your book is doing.

I’ve also learned a few tricks from the various authors I know: lots about self-promotion, approaching publishers, tips on research and many more. I hope that I have been successful in passing a few of these tips on to you. I’ve also learned a very simple truth, one that applies to me as well: “Authors love to talk about their work”.

If you remember nothing else, remember that. It will help you to break the ice when you meet an author. If you’re nervous about approaching a writer, fear not! They are probably as worried about meeting new people as you are.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s easy for Mike to suggest that because he doesn’t have any trouble walking up to people and saying hello. Trust me, nothing could be farther from the truth. There was a time when I would have run from the room at the very thought of mingling. Now I only think about running. I force myself to meet people. The minute I tell them that I’m a writer, the talking gets so much easier.

I plan on going to two big conventions this year with the sole purpose of meeting people. Some will be readers, some with be authors and some will be publishers. Every one of them will be able to help me in some way, whether it’s learning about the craft from them, getting more people interested in reading my stuff or perhaps even getting some interest in publishing one of my books.

If I’m passionate (and I like to think I am) about getting my books into print I’ve got to do it, no matter how scary it might be. Sometimes you just have to stare down your fear and do what needs to be done. You never know, you might just learn something in the process.

Anyone who has ever tried to lose a little weight can tell you that change is not an easy thing.  Successful weight-loss usually means a change in eating habits, an increase in activity and a lot of motivational help from others.  In other words, a change in lifestyle.

Writing isn’t a whole lot different.  Instead of changing your eating habits, you are changing other habits to make time for putting pen to paper.  The increase in activity is analogous to sitting down and actually creating the stories.  Motivational help… well that is definitely a key requirement too and part of the reason StartingWriteNow exists.

Just like the calorie-filled goodies that seem to be all around us, there are ample distractions to keep us from writing.  It could be a favorite television programme, family activities, date nights or whatever.  At the end of the day, it becomes too easy to curse yourself for being weak because you didn’t achieve your goals.

But what exactly are your goals?  Do you have them written down?  Have you set yourself a clear path to follow?  Every self-help guru I’ve ever heard who talks about improvements of any kind extolls the virtue of writing down your goals.  I know for myself, any time I’ve written down a goal it has been much easier to achieve.

Going one step further and publicizing the goal(s) adds additional incentive to succeed (who wants to be ridiculed by one’s friends and enemies for failure?).

Once you’ve written down your goals (make them time-specific) you need to post them where you will see them.  Maybe you set a calendar appointment in your Outlook calendar (iCalendar/whatever) that tells you to start writing everyday.

One mistake I’ve made and I know others have too is to set a finite time-limit.  For example, I did my 30-in-30 self-challenge for short-stories.  I was able to achieve 29 short stories in 30-days which isn’t bad.  The bad thing is I haven’t kept writing every single day since.

Still, all is not lost.  I have been averaging either writing or editing 4-days out of every 7.  I have let myself (yes, let myself) slide in the past few days because I’ve been trying to migrate all of my work and applications over to my new Macbook.  I need to quit using the migration as an excuse and keep writing.  I still have paper and pencil if necessary (and three other computers in the house) so the migration shouldn’t be any reason to stop.

The good news is that writing is finally becoming an ingrained habit; there has been a nagging… something… on the days when I’ve gone to bed without writing or editing.  I’ve also got these really awesome ideas for my first book.  Ideas that I know will make it much better and I can’t wait to get them down on paper.

Should you beat yourself up if you don’t get into the habit right away?  Heck no!  Have you ever heard the theory that if you do something for 21-days straight it becomes a habit?  I don’t know who originated the theory but I have seen myself and many other prove that it is a load of hogswash.  The only way something will become a habit is if you want it to be whether you do it 21-days straight or 210-days straight.  Diligence is important but desire is the key.

So my advice to myself (and to anyone else who wants it) is to keep my focus on what I want to do which is write stories.  If I miss the mark once in a while, ignore what I haven’t done and move on to what I want to do.

Personal Update

Back in January I sent out 9 query letters for one of my books.  I got an email from a publisher almost immediately asking to see 3 chapters and the synopsis which I sent.  The publisher came back about 10-days later asking for the manuscript.

Nothing back yet, but the publisher has confirmed that she has the manuscript and will be looking at it.  She just hasn’t had the chance to read it yet.

This week I got a response from another publisher (based on the query letter) asking to see 3 – 4 chapters.  I’ll save you the trouble of counting; that’s 3-months between query letter and request.  Still, that’s two publishers that have expressed some interest in the book.  If the first publisher passes on the book, I’ll send the 3 – 4 chapters to the second one and we’ll see.

I’m trying to learn patience, I really am.

See you next week.