On this day in the Series, Jeff talks about the difference between preparation and procrastination. The difference is action. Oh my goodness, it’s like he’s in my head! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been thinking about working on something, but not actually working on it, telling myself that I’m getting prepared. No, I’m really just procrastinating.
But I’ve been doing better over the last few days. I’m writing every day for the blog AND I’m writing every day for the BIG project I mentioned in yesterday’s post. I feel I’m building momentum, and Jeff says that’s how you know you’re actually preparing.
The challenge for Day 5, though, is another story for me. Jeff challenges participants to ship something. He’s talking about putting something out there – an article idea, a book proposal, something. The idea is to ship something, then get feedback and apply the feedback, then do it again. “Ship and tweak, ship and tweak, ship and tweak.†He expands on this idea more in his book You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One), which I finished reading last night. (Jeff offered the ebook for free this past weekend; but you can still get it for $3.99 by clicking here. *But see below for another offer.*) Talk about being in my head! I was moved so much by the book, feeling as if he was talking directly to me, that I sent him an email shortly after 1 a.m. to tell him I owed him $4. 😀
I must admit that I’m having difficulty with the whole shipping challenge. It’s just, I’m really not sure what to do. I reached out yesterday to a company about self-publishing … to go ahead and get some information on the process as I’m working on the BIG project (I’ll have to come up with a better nomiker than that, I know), and even though they promised a call from a representative, I haven’t heard back. I’m not letting that part get me down. I’m just not sure who else to reach out too. Jeff talks in his book about submitting pitches to more than one place – whether it’s to several magazine for one article idea; to different but similar blogs for a guest post idea; or to different publishers for a book proposal. This would be shipping. Problem is, part of me doesn’t feel ready and the other part of me just wants to write. Am I being true to the mantra: “I am a writer; I just need to write� Or am I simply procrastinating? Simply letting fear win?
What do you think? Oh, and I promised something above, didn’t I? 😉
Okay, the first three (3) people to leave a comment on this post will receive a copy of Jeff’s ebook You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) – my treat! You can click the book title or image to learn more about it. Here’s what to do:
If you’re interested in the book, leave a comment here (I’d really like to know what you think), along with your email address (so that I know where to gift the ebook to). If you’d rather not leave your email address in the comments, leave a comment and tell me your emailing me with your email address, then don’t forget to actually email me! I can’t send you your gift without your email address! (I promise not to use it for anything else, I swear 🙂 ).
And even if you’re not interested in the book, please feel free to share your thoughts below. I really do appreciate your time.
This is such a great post! I’m working on a project of my own, and I’ve been considering the “shipping” idea. I can’t decide if I should wait and ship it once it’s finished, or if it’s ok to start getting a proposal out there before it’s even done. You have a great question — does that simply count as procrastination? I wish I had a better answer for you! In my case, I think it’s more fear — I’m afraid of failing. But I recently learned a quote that said “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong” (Joseph Chilton Pearce). So whatever we do with our projects, I think we must not be afraid and just plunge forward. After all, we’re called to write — so let’s do it!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
(Also, if you’re still doing the giveaway, I’d love to be considered! I’ll send you my e-mail address. Thank you!)
Thanks so much, Katy! I really like that quote; going to have to put it up some place where I can see it every day. 😉 And I’m absolutely still doing the giveaway! Will send you You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) straight away! Hope you enjoy.
Thanks again,
Stephanie
[…] I’ve offered a giveaway before on this site and didn’t get a whole lot of responses. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again, because I certainly would. I guess I just want to know what readers want first. […]