Change The World With Words

It’s never crowded along the extra mile.
- Wayne Dyer

What separates the great from the good, and sometimes the finished from the unfinished (and often the published from the unpublished, when it comes to writing) is the extra mile. That little bit extra you give when you’re already tired and ready to quit.

Most successful writers (and everyone else who has celebrated great success in life) went the extra mile. They sent out the manuscript to one more publisher, after it had been rejected 26 times. They wrote one more book, after the first two had been rejected. They did one more edit, when they actually wanted to punch the editor in the face.

Ways you can go the extra mile with your writing business:

Write that little bit more.

Write a little bit more than you think you can each day. Push yourself to write just 100 more words of your work in process, or at least outline just one more article or blog post. (When I’m burnt out from sitting at the computer I take my notebook somewhere peaceful and comfortable and just outline ideas. It doesn’t feel so much like work.)

Develop an “extra mile” submission strategy.

Submit more queries and manuscripts than you think you can. I like C Hope Clark’s idea of trying to keep “13 in play”. On her website Funds For Writers, she puts it like this:

“Two years ago I started “Keep 13 in Play” and have thanked my lucky stars for doing so ever since. You start a spread-sheet and list columns entitled Title, Publisher, Date Sent, Follow-up Date, Payment, and Notes. And I mail queries or complete manuscripts steadily until I have thirteen “in play.” When I receive a rejection or acceptance, the number reduces and I’m prompted to immediately submit another to maintain the magical ’13′. I made it an absolute necessity to keep the number at or over thirteen before doing anything else. The habit is a nice one to have.”

Respond to an email you don’t want or need to respond to.

I don’t mean a spammer or someone genuinely not worthy of your time and effort. Maybe a blog reader (or someone who reads your books, ebooks or articles) asked if you can help them with something, and you can’t. It’s easy to ignore, but there’s probably a reason she asked you. You know more than she does on the subject. Can you at least suggest where to start looking for the answer? Fire back a very quick and super friendly email pointing her in the right direction.

Edit proof, polish – every time.

There’s no excuse for sending out shoddy work or posting error filled work online. (Please don’t go through this entire blog looking for mistakes to prove I’m a hypocrite. I’ll save you time by promising there will be some. This is a list of things I aspire to do. Not a list of things I always do.)

Be responsive.

Just respond. To comments on your blog. To publishers or agents who want changes in your work. To editors who want to do that little bit extra (source some images, find a quote, promote this article after we publish it). You don’t have to do everything requested of you (we all need boundaries) but be responsive.

Help other writers.

You know that thing you responded to but genuinely don’t have time to get involved in? That’s fine. If you can’t do something say so politely and give a clear reason. “I’d love to take this on but don’t have time to do it justice right now.” is fine. “I know someone else who is willing to help.” is even better. Pass work you can’t handle on to other writers. Promote other writers on your blog through reviews and interviews. Offer help and advice when you can. What comes around goes around. Again and again.

I’m not suggesting that you push yourself with your writing to the point that you sacrifice your work/life balance. In fact “going the extra mile” can apply to your personal life as well, though that’s probably a different blog post – undoubtedly better handled by a by a different blogger.

If you’ve ever read The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma (and I recommend you do) you may have noticed that Chapter Ten is called Leadership Begins on the Extra Mile. He makes a great point, very succinctly. (Like most chapters in this book this one is less than two pages long.) As Sharma says:

“Ordinary people don’t spend much time on the extra mile. But who ever said you were ordinary?”

Did you go the extra mile today? How? Please share in the comments.

Related Posts

• Three (Unconventional) Writing Tips for Children’s Writers
• The Benefits of Free Writing
• Ten Writing Websites I’ve Learnt Something Useful From In 2011
• Forty Inspirational Quotes For Writers
• Ten Things Janet Evanovich Taught Me About Writing