*And why that should be great news for youWhat I'm about to tell you will change your writing career. Most writers secretly hope their work might be good enough to be published, and maybe even to become a best seller. Most writers tentatively share excerpts with fellow writers hoping their dreams of glory will be affirmed, secretly fearing they will not.Not me.
*And why that should be great news for you
What I'm about to tell you will change your writing career. Most writers secretly hope their work might be good enough to be published, and maybe even to become a best seller. Most writers tentatively share excerpts with fellow writers hoping their dreams of glory will be affirmed, secretly fearing they will not.
Not me.
In 2005, I published The Gift of Transformation. For readers, this book was a life changer. Again and again, readers tracked me down to tell me how the book altered their paradigms and opened the door for them to experience the love of God. One Christian ministry made the book required reading for its clients. When they did, they called me up and said things like: “I feel like I've known you all my life,” and “Everyone should read this book.”
Recently, just for the fun of it, I posted the book on a site trolled by editors, writers and wannabes. Within hours I had my first two comments. One person liked the book. The other person hated it.
Do I care?
Not one bit. Does it hurt my feelings that one reader hated it? No. Does it make my day that the other reader liked it? Nope.
Understand that it wasn't always like this. Years ago, I took my stories to writers' groups, and tentatively unwrapped my babies and read them aloud. I clung to every word of praise, while every criticism stung.
What changed?
For one, I became a professional writer. I started by writing resumes for clients. How do you tell if a resume is good? Simple – it gets you the job you want. If it doesn't get you the job, I don't care who wrote it, it isn't any good to you. The resumes I wrote started getting people jobs. One person sent out 75 of his own resumes and got nowhere. He sent out one of mine, got the interview and got the job. Someone else was hired sight unseen out of state because of one of my resumes. Stories like these started piling in from my clients. After trial and error (and prayer), I figured out why my resumes worked, and why other resumes didn't. I created a system and I stuck with it.
It didn't take long before my resume writing ability got a reputation. People who were in a position to know told me that I was the best resume writer in our county of 400,000 people.
When you write for clients you discover that every client is different. The work one client loves the next client hates. I wrote smart, powerful resumes for everyone. Most clients loved my work, but some picked it apart. Because the client paid the bill, I often needed to make changes that weakened the resume. But, in the process, I learned to take my clients' criticisms with a grain of salt. Most of the time, they had no idea what they were talking about.
But sometimes they did. Sometimes they gave me ideas and suggestions that I still use today.
Writing for thousands of clients taught me to approach criticism in a professional manner. Today I write books for clients. In the process of writing a book, there are always revisions. I don't take any of those revisions personally. I wrote it one way; they want it a different way. Sometimes the revisions are not in my client's best interests, and I tell them so. But, ultimately, the client pays the bill, so I write it the way he wants it written.
Writing, more than any other endeavor, forces you to squeeze your soul through the keyboard and leave it on fragile piece of paper that anyone can rip to shreds. To be successful in this business – and it is a business – we must get our affirmation from Someone other than our readers and our critics. For me, that affirmation comes from Above. I've taken that stinging criticism to Him and learned the freeing truth: He likes me. I'm OK.
Does all of this mean that I don't listen to criticism and critique? Of course not. I'm meeting with a young copywriter tomorrow morning. I've asked him to go over an online sales letter I wrote. I know he will offer great suggestions, and I'm looking forward to hearing them. But, at the same time, I'm secure enough in my career to know that even if he hates what I wrote, I'm still a good writer. I'm a professional. I earn my pay. I deserve to be in print.
And here's my advice to you: Study your craft. Get good at it. Listen to suggestions. But don't take criticisms – or praise – too seriously.
