Quick Link: Paralyzing Fear and Creative Professions

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There seems to be some connection between being creative and fearful. We are capable of imagining great things but the flip side is being able to imagine horrible things too. Whether you suffer from paralyzing fear or know someone who does, this is a great article by  over at All Indies Writers.

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Paralyzing Fear and Creative Professions

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Creative work is unlike any other job you could take on. When you create, you leave a piece of yourself behind for the world to see. There’s a certain amount of vulnerability involved.

That vulnerability can make it difficult to separate you, the artist, from your art. And that can lead to paralyzing fear of sharing your work.

If you’ve ever dreaded sharing a creative project for fear of being judged, you’re not alone.

Many creative professionals go through this, including me.

And, this year, I’ve decided it’s time to tackle this fear and lack of confidence head-on. Are you ready too?

Creative Comfort Zones

The funny thing about creative projects is they aren’t all created equal. (Or at least they aren’t for me.)

Take freelance writing for example, or blogging even.

Those are “easy” creative projects for me in that I don’t have the same kind of vulnerability or attachment I have with other types of art. The same thing is true with photography.

These are things I’m pretty open about sharing.

But that’s far from the extent of my creative interests.

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Quick Link: Should You Give Up On Your Novel and Write Something New? – by Janice Hardy

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Usually, the problem for me is to ignore the shiny sparkly new story that is begging to be written, but I recognize that not everyone is as impulsive as me (thank goodness!).  So when is the right time to give up on a story and move to something new? Janice Hardy from Romance University has some tips to help you decide.

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Should You Give Up On Your Novel and Write Something New? – by Janice Hardy

How many unfinished and abandoned manuscripts do you have? Author and blogger Janice Hardy shares her insight on the dilemma all writers face.  

Right after my third novel was published (2011), I hit a bad patch of writing. My muse had gone vacation, every sentence I typed was a battle, and writing became a chore I dreaded. Although it felt like giving up, I shifted my writing focus to nonfiction until telling stories became fun again. Eventually it did, but it took years.

I wrote a lot of so-so novels during that time. Every single one had an idea I loved, but they need a lot of revising and overhauling to make them work, and I’m not sure if revising them yet again is a good idea or not.

Idea #1 frustrated me for two and a half years of revisions. Idea #2 took another two years of my life. Idea #3 was a NaNo project that actually made writing fun again, but then languished when I wasn’t sure what to do with it next.

I want to make these novels work. The stubborn side of me needs to make them work–it’s a grudge match at this point. But going back to them risks me falling back into that same bad patch of frustration.

The end of last year, I picked up Idea #3 again. It was the novel that reminded me why I loved to write, and the one that had the least emotional baggage attached to it. It needed serious gutting and revamping of both the plot and the characters, but the story was sound and the idea excited me.

Last month, I sent it to my critique partners and beta readers, and it’s getting the kind of glowing feedback I haven’t seen since I sent them my debut novel (The Shifter). I’m overjoyed, and it’s given me hope that those other two ideas are indeed salvageable.

However…

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Quick Link: Oops. That Book Review’s Not Verified

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There have been a lot of changes with Amazon’s reviews lately. I understand the need to give readers better and more trustworthy reviews but it also needs to be balanced against how difficult it is to get reviews by writers. Big Al at Indies Unlimited has the scoop on the latest changes.

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Oops. That Book Review’s Not Verified

by Big Al

Way, way back in September of 2013 I wrote an article about verified reviews. In the world of Indie publishing, especially where anything directly related to Amazon is concerned, three-and-a-half years is a lifetime. Much of what I wrote then is either no longer true or suspect. In this article, I’m going to talk about some of the changes and why you, I, or a random reader might care. (Or maybe not.)

At the time I suggested that the only reason someone might care about whether a review was verified was if they thought the review seemed questionable. Then the “verified” flag would indicate the reviewer had actually bought the book or other item from Amazon. For someone looking at reviews and trying to decide on a purchase, the verified flag might still not be that useful. I suspect some people who are more attuned to happenings regarding Amazon might be concerned about fake or paid reviews, and pay a little more attention. But if they’re aware of these issues, they’re probably aware that reviewers who were willing to write a glowing review for a price have options to make sure those reviews showed as verified purchase reviews anyway.

However, authors who are trying to get selected to run promotions using Bookbub and other hard-to-get-selected advertising options want not just good reviews, but they’d prefer a lot of them with that verified flag.

Quick Link: Taking Yourself Seriously as a Writer—Before Anyone Else Does

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Emily Cavanagh has a really great post at Writers In The Storm, about how you see yourself as a writer that affects who are you as a writer. She even has some great lessons learned that she wished she did earlier in her career. Check it out and let us know what you think.

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Taking Yourself Seriously as a Writer—Before Anyone Else Does

By Emily Cavanagh

For the past ten years, I have written steadily and quietly. While my friends, family, and colleagues all knew I wrote, only a few close writer friends knew the extent of my writing life. Only a handful of people knew that I had written four unpublished novels. When I would somehow let this slip in conversation, I would receive looks of marvel, looks that made me inwardly cringe. What others viewed as a major accomplishment, I viewed with embarrassment. After all, I’d been trying unsuccessfully to get an agent for years. Telling people that I kept writing despite anyone recognizing my work felt like admitting publicly to my failure as a writer. Without the external approval of an agent or publisher, I couldn’t take myself seriously as a writer, beyond a narrow circle of writing colleagues. (This need for approval speaks to many things in my life, but let’s just stick to writing, shall we?)

When I finally signed with my agent in November 2015, everything changed. Not just because I was suddenly on the path to publication after all this time, but because signing that contract allowed me to change the way I viewed myself. With my agent as my ally, I could finally take myself seriously as a writer. I sprang into action and in a matter of months set about creating the outward appearance of a writer. However, looking back, I realize that my own unwillingness to take myself seriously may have impacted my slow journey to publication. If I could go back and do it again, here are a few things I would do earlier:

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Quick Link: Hints from the Pros: Book Tour Tips

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Are you thinking of doing a book tour? Want to know more about book tours? Head on over to Writer UnBoxed where has gathered some helpful tips from book tour pros. What is your secret sauce for a great book tour?

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Hints from the Pros: Book Tour Tips

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Greetings from the road! I’m out on book tour promoting Girl in Disguise, skipping around from the very north (Minnesota) to the very south (Alabama) of the country, filling my days and evenings with readings, signings, panels, book clubs and keynotes. Other than forgetting to pack my makeup remover, things are going pretty well so far.

Like most of publishing, book tours aren’t what they used to be. Which doesn’t mean they’re worse – or better – just different. From an economic standpoint, spending money on plane tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals for absolutely no guaranteed return on investment is, well, not entirely sense-making. Which is why book tours are the exception these days and not the rule. (“We’ll be leveraging your social media presence” is an oft-heard substitute, and perhaps I’ll write a different post about that.)

But visiting bookstores, libraries and other locations to talk about your book is an experience like no other. Those face-to-face interactions with readers are precious. I still regret not getting a photo with the reader whose boyfriend drove her three hours each way to bring her to my bookstore event in Toledo as a surprise. And while there are just as many ways to plan a book tour as there are ways to write a book, I thought I’d gather some tips from the pros – other authors who are out on tour with their books this spring – to provide some guidance.

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Quick Link: Acknowledgments: Make Them Awesome

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My wise old granny always said have an attitude of gratitude and as authors, it is important to acknowledge those who help us. But as an author, you are already creative so make them cool. Head over to Books & Such and read Janet Kobobel Grant’s post to learn more.

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Acknowledgments: Make Them Awesome

Janet Kobobel Grant

I wrote this post in 2015, but I’ve added a snippet at the end that’s actually an announcement tied to acknowledgments. So read on!

I love to read book acknowledgment pages. I feel as if I’m peeking into the Who’s Who in the creation of the work. But the acknowledgments I like best are those in which the author shows that he/she has the mojo to cast a creative eye on this page that often tends toward the unimaginative.

In actuality, acknowledgments are a great place to stretch your writing muscles. Allow your voice to be full-throated.

Would the Acknowledgments Fit with Any Book?

My mind turns to such stellar acknowledgments as Cynthia Ruchti’s resounding commendations in her An Endless Christmas novella. Her approach was original and wouldn’t fit any other book she’s written. Let’s take a look at what she did as a lesson in how to write awesome acknowledgments.

Establish a theme

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Quick Link: Your Author Bio: Does it help your Book Sales or Stop Them Dead?

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When is the last time you looked at your author bio? I thought so. Often overlooked,  a good author bio can give a reader a sense of connection. has some great tips for creating or sprucing up your author bio at Anne R. Allen’s Blog.

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Your Author Bio: Does it help your Book Sales or Stop Them Dead?

By Anne R. Allen

No matter how great a book’s cover and blurb, one thing can stop me from buying yet another ebook for my Kindle: an author bio on the buy page that screams “amateur.”

I spent some time as an editor, so when I pick up a book for relaxation, I want to know it’s going to be a professional work and not something that makes me want to run for my red pencil.

If you start your bio “I’ve always wanted to write a book, ever since I won a penmanship prize in third grade, and now that I’ve self-published, “If My Cats Could Talk” my wish has come true…,” all you’ve told me is you’re a beginner.

Is that really what you want your customers to know?

Your buy page at Amazon or any online retail store is like your own personal storefront. It can be a sleek boutique or a homemade lemonade stand.

A funky lemonade stand might get a few passersby to spring for a glass because they think you’re cute or feel sorry for you. With Mom paying for lemons, sugar, glasses, and the card table—and hey, you might “earn” enough to buy yourself an ice cream when the truck comes by.

But you’re trying to be a professional writer here, right?

So before you publish that book, learn to write a professional author bio.

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Quick Link: Why I’m Turning Trad-Pub Deals Down

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Elizabeth S. Craig is adding her voice in the traditional vs self-publishing conversation. Elizabeth has many options but has opted to still self-publish, because it works better for her. Check the post out to see her reasons and let us know how you feel.

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Why I’m Turning Trad-Pub Deals Down

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve been asked by writers and others if I’d ever query traditional publishers again.

As a matter of fact, I’ve gotten queried by traditional publishers a couple of times in the past year.  I’m not really sure why, since there now seem to be many cozy writers out there. I’ve politely rejected them.

It’s not that I had a bad trad-pub experience. It’s just that I’ve had a better self-pub experience.

Reasons I’ve decided to stick with self-publishing:

I make more money writing independently of a publisher.  This is by far the top reason. I even made more self-publishing a few books than I did with more traditionally published books on the shelves.

I exploit all my rights and publish my book in a variety of formats or internationally. I can expand my reach to find more readers.  Publishers frequently hold onto your international, audio book rights, etc.

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Quick Link: Are You Ready to Conquer Writing Overwhelm?

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Kristen Kieffer, on her blog well-storied, breaks down steps to help you from being overwhelmed.  The big takeaway for me was about focus. Because the more focused you are on what your goals are, the clearer your path becomes.

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Are You Ready to Conquer Writing Overwhelm?

By Kristen Kieffer

Let’s face it: writing isn’t always easy. Sure, it’s fun when we’re in the zone, when we have a brilliant idea in mind and the words just seem to flow. But most of the time?

Most of the time, writing is hard.

We battle tricky plot holes, the urge to edit as we write, the monstrous task of editing, scenes that just don’t seem to have any direction, the hell that is proofreading, and so on.

And oftentimes, we lose our battles, letting the overwhelm of tackling tough writing problems or goals turn us to procrastination rather than productivity. So how can we flip the script?

That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today!

Why clarity is your new best friend…

One of the reasons I wanted to create my new free resource, Write With Purpose, was to teach writers how to get clear about what they want and how they plan to get it.

Because you can’t make a plan if you don’t know where you’re headed, and if there’s anything that’s going to help you overcome overwhelm, it’s having a plan. Why?

Well, most writing overwhelm is caused by one (or more!) of a few things:

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Quick Links: Self-Publishing Success Stories: How I Do It – with John Nicholl

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Another success story in the world of self-publishing! Check out the interview with the bestselling author of three dark psychological thrillers, John Nicholl at the Alliance Of Independent Authors.

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Self-Publishing Success Stories: How I Do It – with John Nicholl

By This week in our series celebrating super-successful indie authors, we talk to former British police officer and child protection social worker John Nicholl, bestselling author of three dark pyschological thrillers. Read on to find out how he does it, and to be inspired for your own self-publishing career, whatever genre you write in. 

What is the secret of your success?

I sometimes think more luck than judgement!

Writing my first book, White is the Coldest Colour, was a steep learning curve. I was contacted by Sue Ward, a popular blogger, shortly after publication. She loved the book, and it progressed from there.

Within fifteen days of release, it was flying up the Amazon UK bestseller chart. Not everyone liked the book, of course, but I think that writing from real life experience contributed to its success.

I’ve been extremely fortunate in that the book blogging community has been supportive of all three books. That makes a real difference.

What was the single best thing you ever did?

I think deciding to become an independent author in the first place.

The publishing world has changed, and it’s never been easier to get your work out there. Let the public decide if your books are worth buying. Being an indie gives the author control of the entire process, and for me that’s a plus. Never say never, but I’ve chosen to remain independent up to this point despite offers from publishers, with the exception of foreign rights deals. I’m always open to offers, of course, but I think it’s a mistake to accept a deal if it’s not right for you.

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Quick Link: The blank page – conquering your fears. And a couple of writing prompts

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Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to start. Roz Morris at Nail Your Novel understands and has kind words to help you overcome.

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The blank page – conquering your fears. And a couple of writing prompts

By Roz Morris

Hum the theme from Rocky if you need to.

‘So you don’t find the blank page worrying?’

Creative writing teacher Jane Jones was interviewing me as part of her women writers’ summit (watch this space). Actually, we recorded it multiple times because of tech catastrophes so a lot of our discussion never got saved. (Moral: don’t use untried software. Also, Zoom helpdesk are the embodiment of patience.)

Anyway, one of Jane’s topics was how we start writing. I said I’d always felt at home talking to the page. When I was a kid, I simply loved to write – letters, stories, reactions to books I’d read. At the age of 13 I discovered science fiction fanzines and sent them articles and reviews, which I really hope have fallen into landfill. Why science fiction fanzines? Chiefly because they accepted copy from teenagers writing in their bedrooms. I was shy and awkward in real life, but in manuscript I was a right chatterbox. I could think in ways I didn’t in verbal time; be inventive, confident. The page was a welcoming place.

Which is when Jane brought up the subject of the scary blank page.

The young me, typing to the world, never had a moment’s stage fright. Because I always started with a purpose in mind.

And this is where we pinned it down. The frightening thing is not the blank page. It’s the blank mind. And I find the blank mind as paralysing as anyone.

So what can you do about it? Here are some suggestions.

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Quick Link: How to Get the Most Marketing and Publicity Bang for Your Buck

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We can always use more information on how to market effectively. Good thing at Writer’s Digest we have an interview by award-winning author Kristen Harnisch with Caitlin Hamilton Summie, owner and founder of Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity. They discuss how marketing has changed and what are the best practices to get your marketing plan running effectively.

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How to Get the Most Marketing and Publicity Bang for Your Buck

By: Kristen Harnisch

This guest post is by Kristen Harnisch. Harnisch is the award-winning author of The Vintner’s Daughter, the first novel in a series about the changing world of vineyard life at the turn of the twentieth century. Her next novel, The California Wife, will be released in 2016. Harnisch has been a speaker at the Writer’s Digest Conference and currently lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children. Connect with Kristen at kristenharnisch.com, on Twitter @KristenHarnisch, and on Facebook facebook.com/kristenharnischauthor.

New and established authors alike struggle with how to best market and publicize their books. In my interview with publicist Caitlin Hamilton Summie, we discuss the changing landscape of book promotion and how to get the most marketing and publicity bang for your buck.

Caitlin Hamilton Summie is the former Marketing Director of MacMurray & Beck and also of BlueHen Books/Penguin Putnam. At each company she also managed imprint profile and directed all publicity, hardcover & paperback. In addition, for nearly two years she simultaneously directed and handled sales nationwide for MacMurray & Beck. In 2003, she founded Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, an independent book publicity and Marketing firm. Hamilton Summie wrote book reviews for The Rocky Mountain News, author profiles for ABA’s Bookselling This Week, and has published both short stories and poems. She is a former independent bookseller who earned her degrees at Smith College and Colorado State University. Her first book, a collection of short stories called TO LAY TO REST OUR GHOSTS, is being published by Fomite in 2017. Find Caitlin online at caitlinhamiltonmarketing.com.

 1. What changes have you seen in the marketing of books during your tenure as a publicist?

I’ve seen huge changes over the course of my career: the shrinking of book review pages, the rise of the Internet and Internet media, the development of the citizen (consumer) reviewer, and the creation of online engagement through social media. It has all vastly changed how we publicize and market books.

2. What do you see as your highest and best use as a publicist in today’s market?

I think the answer depends on what each author needs, but in general, for everyone, it is to create the kinds of publicity and marketing plans that help authors meet their goals. Do authors want sales, visibility, or both? A publicist should be a creative partner and guide for an author.

Before a writer contacts a publicist, I’d advise that he/she decide what his/her goals are and what expectations they have of a publicist.

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Quick Link: How Strong is Your Skeleton?

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You need a strong backbone to be a writer. You need one to actually sit and write, and yet another to hold your story straight. A new site to check out, Two Drops of Ink: A Literary Blog. There Michelle Gunnin discusses ways to keep your story skeleton strong.

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How Strong is Your Skeleton?

By: Michelle Gunnin

One Halloween during my childhood, I was waiting in our backyard to go trick or treating. I was dressed as a scarecrow.  This was in the days when you made your own costume from what you had readily available. Our backyard had grass and straw, so I was literally stuffing myself when I looked up and saw a skeleton climbing our back fence.  My heart skipped several beats.  I froze.  My eyes were glued on the glowing bones which were rapidly coming towards me.  I was squinting in the darkness to try to get my mind to understand what I was seeing; my mind felt that I should run and instructed my legs to do so.  In tears as I raced into the house, I was about to tell my entire family to hide from the skeleton, when the back door opened and in walked one of my brother’s friends.  My skeleton had a name.  Randy.  His costume was store bought and therefore, the coolest one around because it glowed in the dark.  I was embarrassed that the terror I felt came from my belief that the skeleton was real and dangerous.

I tell you this little story to illustrate a point.  When you write, you start with your skeleton.  Your story has to have strong bones so that you can put some meat on them.  Many writers I know are afraid of skeletons.  They brainstorm their ideas, but then they jump right into the writing without a plan of any kind.  They fear the structure will dampen their creativity, and that somehow they should run from skeletons.  However, in hindsight, they will realize that there is no need to be afraid because a skeleton is your friend.

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Quick Link: Should You Start a Video Blog?

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Bless Laura Drake for being braver than me! She decided to start a video blog and posted her experiences and why you should start a vlog. She even included her first one at Writers In The Storm for you to check out!

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Should You Start a Video Blog?

By Laura Drake

 

I’ve read so much about how video blogs are the next big thing. I swore I’d never do that. I mean, come on. I’m old, I’m fluffy, I don’t think well on my feet, don’t know anything about the tech involved, and I say ‘anyway’ all the time.  Oh, and I’d have to do my hair and makeup. Other than that, sign me up!

But then a few things happened. I read that in January 2016 Facebook announced there are more than eight billion video views and more than 100 million hours of video watched on the platform daily.

That’s an amazing stat, but it doesn’t negate even one of my arguments above.

Then I ran across this video:

Oh my God. I’ll bet I’ve watched that 9 times by now, and she has almost a million hits on it (more, after today, I’ll warrant). Do I judge her for being goofy? Hell no. She’s badass.

Dammit, this woman just negated all my arguments.

I eased into this the same way I convinced myself to write my first book – I’d write the book, get it out of my system, then hit delete!  NO one would ever have to see it. Boom.

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Quick Links: Embrace Your Boundaries

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There is something so right with Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman being together.  So stay happy you crazy kids. That bit of randomness was brought to you by at Writer UnBoxed and his post about setting boundaries to help your writing. Read the post and you will see what I mean.

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Embrace Your Boundaries

By

Today I want to talk about how having clear boundaries can HELP you gain momentum in three key areas:

  1. Your writing and creative work
  2. Publishing and sharing
  3. Engaging an audience

Boundaries are a gift to your creative work. Embrace your boundaries. Let’s dig in…

Why Boundaries Help

I’m sure you have very real boundaries. You may care for kids, have responsibilities to loved ones, work a day job, support an ailing family member, work through bouts of anxiety, and struggle to make ends meet. These challenges are real.

It’s easy to look at others and assume that they have the following things that you don’t have at the moment: money, resources, time, physical energy, mental space, confidence, and skills.

They don’t. These other people struggle with their own unique set of boundaries. It is helpful to remember that nearly all creative work is crafted this way: amidst limitations, lack of resources, and incredible amounts of pressure.

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