Fresh from presenting a sell-out masterclass, I was looking forward to writing this article for my ezine and had it scheduled in my diary to do the following morning. My most creative and productive writing time is usually in the mornings so I always aim to organise my other business commitments around this fact. The title of the article popped into my mind as soon as I picked up my pen.

I wrote it down and then decided to deal first with a specific task which also needed to be done that day. It was a financial task which I thought would only take about 30 minutes. Over an hour later (do you recognise that one?!), the task was completed but it had involved some serious working out and concentration.

So although it felt good to have it done, the process had shifted me out of feeling like writing! Fortunately I have been working consciously with the creative process for quite a few years now so instead of feeling frustrated, I knew that I could turn the situation around. This did not involve pushing myself to write when I didn’t really feel ‘in the flow’ but instead came from accepting fully the way events had unfolded and finding a way to re-ignite my creative feelings.

So I had an early lunch and went for a walk up the track near the house. I stopped at the brow of the hill where a broken branch provides a welcome resting place to breathe in the magnificent view across the landscape…

Without consciously thinking it through, by the time I began my return journey, the outline of this article had already ‘arrived’ in its entirety. Once I was back, the words found their way freely onto the page and I felt energised by the whole process.

So here is my 5 step process to help ignite your creativity when you need it and to keep it burning day after day:

1. Write a list of activities which lift your spirits and inspire your soul.

If you’re not sure what to include, think of what you enjoyed as a child and then interpret the principle to suit you as an adult. For example, I used to enjoy being outside and making ‘dens’ in the small patch of woodland by our house. Today, I enjoy being outside & walking through trees, especially when the sun dapples through the branches …

2. Identify what’s stopping you from incorporating more of these creative triggers in your current rhythm of life.

Many people will have time and/or money on this list of factors which hold them back from incorporating more creative activities in their lives. If they are on your list, take this opportunity to review what is truly important to you, and if necessary, reframe your thinking around the value of your creativity?

3. Write a list of solutions which ideally includes asking a friend or colleague if they would become an active partner – or even simply a ’sounding board’ – in support of your creativity.

Try shifting your focus away from how hard it is to find the time and/or money onto how much you get from feeling creatively inspired. This should make enough of a difference for you to incorporate more choices each and every day which bring you closer to your creative intentions.

4. Choose an activity from your list to engage in at least once a week and ideally 3 times a week, or even better, every single day!

These don’t all have to be large, time consuming activities. In fact many of them should be easily manageable alongside other commitments. I recommend having a mix of different ideas to suit different occasions, moods, time frames and feelings. Sometimes a 20 minute walk at lunchtime will do the trick. Other times, a longer session making a colourful vision board is just what you need to inspire you subsequently with the words on the page.

5. Share your choice with your creativity partner and then let them know how you get on!

Announcing your intention out loud to someone else is an excellent way of helping yourself to stick to it. The sense of accountability and support for staying on track can work both ways so offer this opportunity to your creativity partner too. He or she does not need to be a writer for this purpose. Anyone who values creative expression no matter what the form can be a good creativity partner. Once a month, catch up by email, on the phone or in person and exchange summaries of what you’ve enjoyed most from your creative focus that month.

Enjoy the journey!

Julia McCutchen opens the way for writers to find their true voice, discover themselves in the process, and write consciously, creatively, successfully and with soul. A former managing director and publisher with over 20 years’ publishing experience, Julia’s holistic approach includes coaching, mentoring and masterclasses for aspiring authors. To access free articles, audios and other resources for writers, visithttp://www.JuliaMcCutchen.com

Enjoy that? You can read more from Julia at The Cuckleburr Times here.

Mindset is not just about your thoughts, it is also very much about your emotions. So what you think is crucial but what you feel is even more significant when it comes to writing a book for publication, and indeed with everything you do in life. Thought and emotion are an immensely powerful combination which can either work for, or against, what you want to achieve with your writing.

On her 40th birthday, Jane decided that the book she had thought about writing for so long could not be put off any longer. It felt like ‘now or never’ and she was determined to see it through to completion. As a professional person who had an interest in personal development, Jane knew all about setting goals and positive thinking. So she created a plan and scheduled time in her diary to begin writing.

Three months later with only a few pages of notes and nothing concrete achieved, she approached me for help. She was dismayed by the fact that despite her best efforts and a strong mental determination to write this book, it just wasn’t happening. It was especially frustrating for her as she was a disciplined person who usually found it easy to stick to her plans. It wasn’t long before the coaching process revealed that although she had gathered her thoughts about writing her book, the way she felt about the whole process was entirely different.

Deep down she didn’t believe she could write or that she had anything interesting to say let alone that anyone else would be interested to read her words. She also felt she had no chance whatsoever of being published and discovered that sheer willpower didn’t work. The harder she pushed, the less progress she made! Once she realised what was happening she felt an enormous sense of relief. She was then able to let go of the enormous pressure she had been putting herself under. As a result, we were able to work on releasing the anxieties she was feeling so that she could embrace a healthier and more holistic approach to writing her book.

With the right awareness and support, she was able to shift her mindset – thoughts and feelings – onto a new level which ultimately led to an opening of the way for her writing to flow. She is now enjoying writing more than ever before and making good progress with her manuscript. Jane’s story is not an isolated example. When it comes to writing your book for publication, your mindset will literally make or break your success.

So here are 3 tips to help you review your current mindset and cultivate the right conditions to support your creative expression on the page:

1. Ask yourself this question: how do I feel about being someone who writes / a writer / an author?

Do you believe in yourself as a writer, if not all of the time, at least most of the time? If not, how many ways can you come up with to support a shift in your mindset around this question? You could write in your journal to download your anxieties and clear space for new thoughts and feelings to arise. Try remembering a time when you did feel strong and confident about something and then apply those feelings to yourself as a writer.

2. Check in regularly …

It is important to check in with how you are thinking and feeling about your writing on a regular basis. Every time you sit down to write take a few moments to bring your awareness to your mindset before you start. Develop a range of strategies to shift your mindset if you need to and seek support if you want to fast-track your progress.

3. Make sure you are in alignment – body, mind, emotions and soul!

You will know if you are in alignment because your life will be full of synchronicity. The right people and opportunities will arrive just when you need them. A book will fall open at a page with the information you were looking for.

Of course life isn’t always that smooth. Yet if you constantly feel like you are pushing a snowball up a mountain, you can be sure that something is out of synch somewhere! Get used to checking what’s going on within you at every level and then take action as required. Minding your mindset will enable you to do what you are here to do and write what you are here to write.

Enjoy the journey!

Julia McCutchen opens the way for writers to find their true voice, discover themselves in the process, and write consciously, creatively, successfully and with soul. A former managing director and publisher with over 20 years’ publishing experience, Julia’s holistic approach includes coaching, mentoring and masterclasses for aspiring authors. To access free articles, audios and other resources for writers, visithttp://www.JuliaMcCutchen.com

Enjoy that? You can read more from Julia at The Cuckleburr Times here.

To state what is obvious to some but invisible to others, the short answer is that traditional publishing is simply not appropriate, let alone possible, for everyone! It may be the objective that most people have initially. But once an understanding emerges of what is actually required to be successful as a commercially published author, thoughts and feelings can shift dramatically.

The reality is that only a relatively small proportion of aspiring authors achieve significant success in commercial publishing terms. And the truth is that you don’t have to be published by one of the large publishing corporations in order to have validation as a writer!

This is a point which I feel strongly about making and which is echoed by many of my professional colleagues. There is unquantifiable value in the writing process and completing any piece of writing, whatever the length and regardless of whether it is published or not.

In the contemporary climate, new routes to the marketplace are opening up all the time. This means that opportunities to share and communicate your work with a wide international audience – if you want to – are certainly no longer restricted to the traditional publishing route.

So finding the point of balance between being focused on your original intention and being open to discovering solutions along the way that work for you will ultimately lead you to the greatest rewards.

Invitation to Take Action:

Here are three questions to ask yourself right now:

• What is really important to me about writing this book?
• What quality of experience do I want to have?
• What is my vision for the end result?

Write the answers to these questions down and refer back to them at each stage of your Writer’s Journey. They will help you to stay aligned to your true purpose and this will lead you to a greater sense of joy and success in the long term.

An unpredictable business

Publishing, like any creative business, is extremely unpredictable. There are many factors involved in publishing success. Sometimes they work in your favour and sometimes they don’t!

It does happen – probably more than you realise – that publishers spend vast amounts of money on creating and promoting a book which they have high hopes for only to see the sales performance fall far short of their expectations.

On the other hand, happily the reverse can also be true.

A book which hasn’t received any real attention can sometimes suddenly take off in popularity. The scramble is then on to get a reprint through and books into the shops to satisfy the demand.

The same applies to self-published books. It can go either way.

Happily there are an increasing number of examples where the ‘buzz’ around a self-published title (usually via the internet) can lead to sales which far outstrip original expectations.

Understanding this unpredictable aspect of the whole business of publishing is relevant to you as a writer because it will:

• Help you start from a realistic and grounded place when considering the right way forwards for your book.

• Encourage you to be prepared for the ‘unexpected’, and to see opportunities where previously you might have only see setbacks.
• Enable you to begin the process of learning to trust that with the right intention and the right action, you will find the right solution for your book at the right time – whatever that is!

Helen’s story …

When Helen Moore first approached me for individual coaching she initially had it in her mind to approach publishers with her book idea.

During the coaching process, it became clear that Helen’s individual and immensely creative spirit might end up feeling severely restricted by the requirements of the commercial publishing route, and with no guarantee of the end result.

In addition to that, her clear vision for her book was already well advanced and the long time frame involved in the traditional publishing route felt like another negative factor.

Once the process of establishing what she was truly aiming for in order to feel successful as a published author was complete, the decision to publish the book herself emerged.

Helen has been incredibly successful at every level with her book Changing Nature: EcoNotes of a Digital Woman which has a foreword by Jill Attenborough of the Woodland Trust.

The book is beautifully presented in exactly the way she wanted it to be and she has also scored highly in terms of promotion, marketing and sales too.

As an example she was featured on BBC Radio Four’s ‘Woman’s Hour’ and in a double-page spread in the Mail on Sunday’s colour supplement.

Helen said, ‘It was interesting to observe how one success led to the next … having heard my interview with Felicity Finch, a freelance journalist contacted me within an hour of the broadcast to ask if I might be interested in doing a feature. She was able to sell the idea to the Mail, and within a few days had arranged to travel from London to Bath to interview me. A session with a photographer followed and within a couple of weeks I was delighted to see my book featured in the national press.

The effect on sales of my book was instantaneous… at 9am the very next day the phone was ringing and continued to do so throughout the rest of the day at regular intervals. Being mid November, the feature was perfectly timed for the Christmas market, and enabled me to sell a significant number of books.’

In summary

This story is not intended to dissuade anyone from pursuing the traditional publishing route in favour of self-publishing or other ways to reach your readership.

It is an individual decision and what is right for one person may not be right for another.

The most important point is to understand that there is more than one way forwards.

If you maintain your focus on your primary objective and keep an open mind along the way, you will have every chance to enjoy your Writer’s Journey and arrive at the destination that is right for you – whatever that is.

Enjoy!

Julia McCutchen opens the way for writers to find their true voice, discover themselves in the process, and write consciously, creatively, successfully and with soul. A former managing director and publisher with over 20 years’ publishing experience, Julia’s holistic approach includes coaching, mentoring and masterclasses for aspiring authors. To access free articles, audios and other resources for writers, visithttp://www.JuliaMcCutchen.com

Enjoy that? You can read more from Julia at The Cuckleburr Times here.

It’s the thought of finally seeing their book in print that usually does it!

Sometimes a deal comes along after many long months – or even years – of working on developing ideas, writing style, and approaching agents or publishers without success.

Then suddenly, someone, somewhere sees the potential … and makes an offer.

Fantastic!

However, when this is based on substantial changes being made to the plot, characters or emphasis of content, warning bells should ring before any final decisions are made.


Pause for Thought

The excitement of the way opening needs to be tempered with a thorough evaluation of whatever amendments may have been asked for by the agent or publisher. Otherwise, rash decisions can be the cause of regret later.

How could anyone lament being published I hear you ask?

The truth is that in the unpredictable world of publishing, the dream and the reality don’t always match up.
The initial joy which comes from seeing your book in print can easily turn into a hollow, empty feeling if you have been persuaded to stray too far from the book you started out wanting to write.

Add to this the possibility that the sales and publicity fall short of your vision of what would be achieved, and you have the recipe for long term disappointment at every level.


Maria’s Story

Maria had a recurring dream about writing her book for publication. At 43 years old she had reached a point when she felt like it was ‘now or never’!

If she didn’t make time to get her book written and try to find a publisher for it, she would always feel that it had been a missed opportunity.

So she worked hard on clarifying her ideas on an aspect of personal development that she felt totally passionate about and which she had been developing in her ‘day job’ as a leadership coach and trainer.
Writing came naturally to her and even putting the book proposal together seemed like fun once she understood what she had to do and how to go about it.

After a while, one of the publishers she had approached said that they would like to go ahead and publish her book but only if she cut the text down in length by 50%!

This meant that she would not have space to explain all of her ideas fully. Also, the book would end up being more of a ‘gift’ book than one which contributed more deeply to her readership in the way that she had first intended.

However, her dream of being published led her to be persuaded to go along with the publishers’ requirements and the deal was done.

Three years later, Maria still feels dissatisfied with the book that was finally published.

Sales of this topic into the gift market have been slow and the opportunities for promotion were disappointingly limited.

At a creative level, Maria regrets not having stuck to her initial inspiration which was to write a book that presented the totality of her work in a way that would be of lasting value for her readers.


INVITATION TO TAKE ACTION

So what can you learn from this story?

Here are three tips to help you avoid feeling disillusioned with the end results of your writer’s journey:

1. Watch out for the three levels at which persuasion away from your original plans tend to show up:
• Content (as in Maria’s example)
• Agent and/or publisher (not feeling ‘right’ about the people you are potentially agreeing to work with)
• The deal itself (not feeling comfortable with the terms on offer – although being realistic goes hand in hand with this point!)

Of course it is very important to be open to discussion with agents and publishers generally.

And as far as the deal is concerned, being flexible regarding what terms you accept – especially if it is your first book when your power for negotiating is minimal – is crucial.

So aim for the sweet success that comes from the overlap between what you feel is authentic and right for you with the suggestions which are being made. There is almost always a middle way.

2. Refer back to your original motivation, objectives and outcome to guide you.

If you are following my recommendations for your writer’s journey, you should always start by being clear about what you are really aiming for and why you are writing a book for publication.

Write your answers to these questions down.

This will help you to focus and prioritise your actions, and make sound decisions that are on track with your primary purpose when opportunities come your way.

3. Always seek professional advice and guidance, and especially if you don’t feel sure about any aspect of the process.

There is a huge amount of excellent information available for writers today via the internet, professional organisations and from experts who have genuine knowledge to guide you forwards in a way that is right for you.

You don’t have to walk this path alone.

The way for you to experience real, long-lasting success as a writer – and in life generally – is to remain true to your Self and with all aspects of yourself in alignment with integrity.
Ultimately, this is what the journey is all about – to know and step into your Truth and be able to express that in the world. This is the essential formula for success at every level, inside and out.

Enjoy!


Julia McCutchen opens the way for writers to find their true voice, discover themselves in the process, and write consciously, creatively, successfully and with soul. A former managing director and publisher with over 20 years’ publishing experience, Julia’s holistic approach includes coaching, mentoring and masterclasses for aspiring authors. To access free articles, audios and other resources for writers, visit http://www.JuliaMcCutchen.com