Talent Alone Won’t Make You Successful

If you’re new to writing or have written for years professionally, it’s always good to remember that talent alone won’t make you successful. Yes, success is defined differently for everyone, but if we’re talking about success as a writer there is a lot more that has to go into it than talent.

Hard Work

You can have all the talent in the world but if you never use it what’s the point? What makes the difference is showing up and working hard, talented or not. It’s better to have a team of  less talented basketball players, for example, who actually show up and practice to get better, than a team of talented players who do show up at all or just being lazy. Diligence rewards over time just like practicing. You will get better. Don’t just rely on your talents to do the work for you because over time it won’t last without discipline. Aim for your success, show up and work hard!

Consistency

This ties in with working hard. Being consistent means having a plan or routine and sticking to it. If you say you’ll do a video about writing every week, don’t do one once a month, than twice a week, and then none for another year. Be consistent so your readers/audience will have expectations to what’s coming. Then they can get excited. But if they don’t know when you’re going to write/publish something then they won’t invest in you as much.

Consistency is a slow build but it pays off for you because people will get accustomed to it and know that you’re not going anywhere.

Planning

Planning can save your career. With a plan you can organize what you want/need to accomplish for the day/week/month and so on. It can help with consistency and increase your productivity. With a plan you can stay focused, this combined with your talent as a writer will help excel you into a higher level of success and professionalism. Take a moment to write down what you need to do and write a plan/schedule so that  you know when you can get it done. Less stress for you and the work is more likely to be done. Win-Win!

Honesty

Cheaters never win in the long haul. So I always strive to be as honest as I possibly can at all times. Being true to yourself as a writer and as a person goes a long way. People notice. Besides your reputation is on the line and that’s more important than talent/skill or money. Honesty also has its rewards because it builds trust with your potential customers to know they aren’t going to get a crappy product from you. Being true to yourself and being true to others is the way to go!

Professionalism

This ties in with honesty because it’s your image/reputation that is on the line. You would never want to be rude or snarky on social media or anywhere because that reflects bad on you as a professional writer. It’ll find a way to make it back to your career. For example, if you bash someone on twitter and then ask for book reviews a day later. That won’t work. It’s a not a good look on you and it can easily backfire.

The thing is everything on the internet can never truly be deleted. People young and old have made mistakes of saying, posting, or doing things that they can’t take back that has harmed their career. But by staying professional all around can help you avoid most potential catastrophes, where talent alone won’t save you.

I hope this helps! Please let me know what you think about this topic and if you would like to add anything to the comments below.

Happy writing!

Shaquanda

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