Learning How To Fail

LEARNING HOW TO FAIL

I have been writing longer than I've been doing anything in my whole life. I have been publishing for over twenty years, and with all of that does come a sense of knowing what you're doing, and learning and apply all those tricks you've learned, that is very much something that will happen. But there's something else that is good to keep in mind when it comes to being an author, you will also have to brace yourself, and learn, about failing. 

That might sound defeatist, but it's a solid fact. You will not win one hundred percent of the time. Yes, I hope for all of us that the percentage is as close to that as possible, but perfection is not achievable for any one. You will try this thing, new to you or not, and whether or not it's worked for you, or others, in the past, it does not mean it will always work for you. 

It's hard sometimes you accept that, hard to realise that nothing in any part of the creative life is certain, and that's just something we all have to deal with. I have released twenty-four books, with, all being well, two more coming next year. Have I won at every release? Heck no! I have made mistakes, I have missed the mark, I have had things go so wrong that I wonder if I'm even good enough to call myself an author. But I keep going because over those twenty plus years, I have learned, accepted, and even embraced the fail.

I don't mean that I go into a release and don't try, or set myself up for failure. I mean that I allow myself the grace, the time, the breath, if that ends up being the case. I have had some super highs from the author life, I've also had such deep lows that I sometimes wonder if I imagined those highs. The life of a creative can be like that. Sometimes it's hit and miss, sometimes it's hit out of the park, and sometimes it's such a miss that you're not even on the same field. 

That's not to say that it doesn't suck when something you have poured your heart and soul into doesn't go the way you hoped. Being an author, a writer, an artist of any kind, it's exceptionally hard work, and it can crush you when things don't go well. But the thing that I always keep in mind is that nothing is permanent. Once a book is released, even if it fails first time, unless it is removed from sale, that doesn't mean it can't find its readers later down the line. It doesn't mean that, at some point, readers won't come to your book years after being published, read it, and then devour your backlist. 

I feel like that's a really good part of the author life, especially indie because we have control when and if our books stop being on sale, there isn't always a hurry about when that book or series or whatnot, will find its people. I've had books that were published a while back suddenly get a new surge of readers. It's delightful and I love it, but I also realise me saying that doesn't help. Sometimes, you can't wait, you just have to keep trying this, that and the other.

Learning how you failed as such, it's important. Is it the cover? The blurb? Something in the writing itself? They are all questions to be asked, to probe, to see if that solves things, and yes there are also so many new ways to market yourself that might solve the issue too. My point is that sometimes, it's okay to fail, and time may be the thing that saves you. Whatever the reason, trying to be perfect, to get it right first time, they can bring so much pressure and put you in a position you can't escape from.

So give yourself grace, breathe, and remember that it's okay to not be perfect, none of us are. 

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