And authors with a smaller list, don’t let that stop you from approaching another author. Let’s say you only have ten on your list. Those ten readers obviously read your book’s genre; it’s entirely possible they’ll love that book you promoted in your newsletter. And now your author friend has ten new fans—fans who will likely go on to buy other boo

Those are lofty goals, but they’re also incredibly high for a first-time author. As authors, we’re all imaginative people, so we can all imagine ourselves meeting these goals. But living in that imaginary world takes you away from the reality of your own writing world.

We could read the studies that say that, yes, time spent on social media increases our depression and anxiety, lowers our attention span, makes us angrier, worsens the quality of our sleep, and reduces our ability to focus3.

when you journey with people, they find solutions to your problems that you wouldn’t have considered. They’ll be there to help you when you stumble, just like you’re there for them. They can share opportunities and connections, opportunities you couldn’t even imagine—and they’ll do it gladly, because you were their friend first.

Write something you can finish quickly. Get your story in front of an audience for feedback.

a tight, focused story that ramps up the conflict to an interesting climax, and has a satisfying conclusion.

what happens when you get stuck in the story and you don’t know what happens next? It could be a line you’re missing, or even a single word. Guy Anthony De Marco recommends putting brackets around that sticking point. If you’re not sure what a character says here, or what the setting looks like, or even what happens in the rest of the scene, leave

Writing is also a stop-and-start endeavor. You get through one scene, and the temptation is to reward yourself with a little social media time. Then “a little” becomes a

Here’s the lesson we learned in our own journeys: You can’t do everything, but you can do some things. So, prioritize achievable goals. Ignore the rest.