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| THE FILM THAT GOT ME THINKING... |
Last night my husband and I watched the fun,
thought-provoking film Hector and the Search for Happiness. At one point after Hector is kidnapped and nearly murdered, he learns to value one aspect of happiness. “Happiness is knowing how to celebrate!”
I realized that I have not properly celebrated my “author
milestones.” I may have met a friend for coffee or lunch, or bought myself some
expensive chocolate, but planning a book launch or throwing myself a party? These
seemed too noisy, too expensive, too much like bragging.
This was an “Aha!” moment for me. I thought about a workshop
presenter whose name eludes me at the moment explaining the “Five Percent Rule.”
She said that out of the millions of people who talk about writing a book, only
5% will actually start one. And only 5% of the people who start a novel will
actually finish it. And only 5% of those authors will write a second book. And…you
get the idea!
When I thought of my work in the context of the Five Percent
Rule, the importance of my Author Milestones—and of
celebrating them—came into focus.
My work is important! Sharing my happiness at achieving an Author
Milestone with family, friends and fans is important!
Having fun and
celebrating important milestones brings happiness to everybody’s life.
What are some of the important milestones I plan to celebrate with creativity and style?
- Book releases
- Short story releases
- Starting a new story
- Starting a new series
- Good editorial reviews
- Awards
- Collaborations
- Blog milestones (although since I blog with 19 other authors at this group blog, Romancing the Genres, I have been good about celebrating these milestones because my fellow Genre-istas insisted)
- Marketing plan
- Website makeovers
I’m going to find unique and fun ways to celebrate future milestones. With my new perspective, I’m ready to get my party on! ~ Sarah
As a reader, do you enjoy celebrating your favorite author’s
milestones?
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| PSYCHIC AGENTS BOOK 1 |
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10 comments:
Celebrate! Celebrate! Dance to the Music!!! Those song lyrics come to mind when I read your post, Sarah. The 5% rule is correct and the other important piece about celebrating is that everyone around you gets a boost of endorphin and happiness just seeing you. While doing more celebrating is a good plan, those Moonstruck chocolate moments should not be discounted!
Here's to sharing in your celebrations for many years to come.
That should be my blog post theme song! I agree that celebration is best shared with those who care about you.
And here's to sharing in YOUR celebrations for many years to come!
Very inspiring post! I have usually celebrated with my friends over coffee. You and Judith and I celebrated at the Thai restaurant near her home and again at Marion Forks. I have celebrated on this blog offering gift cards and prizes. I think when I have a few more books out I will be ready to celebrate big! We all need to celebrate big and little events in our lives and writing accomplishments. Congrats on Blindsight, loved the read.
You are pretty good about celebrating, Diana. And spending much time or money until you have three books in a series out isn't wise, I agree. But it is possible to plan a low-key or online book launch, for example.
This year I want to do some different things to celebrate. Things I haven't done before.
When I begin my next book, I'm going to bake cookies to celebrate and share them with family. And I'm going to post about it on social media and in my Blogs!
I love cookies!
You are so right, Sarah. We do have to celebrate our successes as they occur. Not just the big final one, but the steps in between.
I celebrated finishing the first draft of book four in my series by buying myself a pair of earrings I had seen at Na Hoku, the Hawaiian jewelry store. They make me smile when I wear them.
I celebrated a 10,000 word week by buying myself a bouquet of roses.
I do believe in celebrations and I don't always have someone handy to celebrate with, so I buy something that makes me smile. There are a lot more bouquets of flowers in my future. I love having them on the dining room table. There are three books that need final edits. A bouquet for each? Works for me.
You've earned the right to celebrate. Shout your successes from the rooftop. Treat yourself kindly. Think about the law of attraction. What you put out you get back threefold! Enjoy that success!
Celebrating is one of those things a lot of authors don't do enough. I think it is because we are generally plagued with self-doubt about being "good enough" and that dampers the celebration. I'm decent at celebrating with fans, not so much at celebrating with family and friends--unless it's a lunch out with an author-friend.
I like all of your ideas and may steal some too. I especially like the chocolate one!
You DO deserve to celebrate, Sarah. You've persisted in spite of challenges and you won the battle by continuing to write and put out books and short stories. That deserves lots of celebrating.
Barb, thank you for sharing how you celebrate! You have accomplished so much and are on the brink of a HUGE accomplishment - publishing a series!!! You inspire me!
Thank you for the encouragement, Marcia! I like that law of attraction!
I think you are right about the self-doubt, Maggie.
Thank you for your support! I keep telling myself that persistence will get me where I want to go. That's the key. And it's so much easier to persist with support from my friends. You are always there with words of encouragement!
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