Being clear about what you REALLY want

In my opinion this is the most important factor of success. We often want something without thinking it through properly. The example I generally quote is: when I was about 20, I decided I wanted a Rolls Royce. But, if you offered me one now, I would not thank you: I'd never be able to park the wretched thing; it would cost a fortune to run; and, anyway, I wouldn't dare take it on the road - I wouldn't want to handle anything that size in traffic. So the questions you need to ask now about your masterpiece are: :: What do I want :: What will that give me? I had assorted reasons for wanting to publish EASY BEING myself. Let's take the main one: to prove that EASY BEING works as a system. So what will that give me? One of my students, rather irreverently, christened this process 'The Christmas Tree'. Start at the bottom, and work up. And so on What will that give me? The opportunity to put more back into the world What will that give me? The opportunity to take my work into wider fields What will that give me? More clout What will that give me? The confidence to go on developing my work and to write more books What will that give me? Immense satisfaction What will that give me The proof I need that EASY BEING works What will that give me? To publish this book myself What do I want? Christmas Tree You can now do your own Christmas Tree, asking yourself these questions about your venture; and go as high up into the spiritual dimensions as you would like. When you have done that, the next question to ask yourself is: 'What will I lose?' One of the things you may lose - if you care about that sort of thing - is the respect of your co-authors, who might consider that, if you are not with a 'proper' publisher, your work is no good. Only you can make this decision: do you want to stay in the fold, or be a pioneer? Peter Finch regales us with tales of Richard Binns - the hugely successful author of FRENCH LEAVE - and his pioneering, unorthodox spirit. This might be the moment to do another Christmas Tree - this time, for your readers. What do you want for them? And what will that give them? They are, after all, the final arbiters: they are the ones who decide whether or not they are going to invest their money in your masterpiece. And., having invested in it, they are going to expect value for their money. What value, and added value, do you want to give them Now let's go back to what you might lose. Success is a curious thing, and heartily disapproved of by your average Brit. You may have heard some of the bitching from the realms of academe on the subject of Dava Sobel's delightful and fascinating book LONGITUDE: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time. It is, quite simply, a great story, which grabbed the imagination of the media. It is also beautifully produced: an attractive little book that your hand reaches out for in the shop - a little book that you want to take home with you. LONGITUDE was a run-away success, and academe was furious. The damn woman (Sobel) was neither a scientist nor an historian. How dare she presume to write a book of this nature! And worse: how dare she become such a success! They fell upon her mistakes with cries of SHOCK! HORROR! And did their best to tear her to shreds - while the great British public paid scant attention and went on buying the book. (Ironically, the subject of the book suffered the appalling treatment from his contemporaries.) And what does 'Success' mean to you, anyway? Does it mean lots of money? Does it mean credibility? Does it mean being famous? Does it mean one in the eye for Bloggins? What does it really mean to you? Stop and have a think - this is an important part of the 'thinking it through' process; because, if you don't know precisely what success means to you, how will you know when you've got it? What's Wrong? - Some Thoughts on Criticism Our brains do not seem to have been programmed to notice what is right. My theory is that, if I were to tell you what was right about your book, it would take far too long; whereas it is much quicker and simpler to tell you that your paragraphs are too short (or whatever my nit-picking brain should fall upon). (A story for you: the copy editor for LAZY LEARNING decided that my paragraphs were too short - I suppose she thought that short paragraphs did not make it look like a 'proper book'. So she ran them all together - with the result that there were often three entirely different concepts in a single paragraph. It did not enter her head that part of my prospective public would be people who did not like reading; and I have since been told by some people that they did not buy the book because it looked heavy - the paragraphs were too long.) You are going to get criticism, and we need to remember that criticism is purely subjective: it is about whatever is going on inside the critic at the time. Can you cope with it? Some of it may even be useful! And, if you have done your Christmas Trees, both for yourself and your punters, you will know exactly why you have chosen to do something in a particular way. (Another thing about critics is that they probably won't read your book properly and may miss the point entirely - but that is their problem. I have a theory about professional critics: if you and I are, say, theatre critics, I might think myself remarkably clever if I can one-up you - by pointing out a mistake in the production that you haven't noticed.) What else might you lose? Time? Privacy? Friends? Only you can answer these questions. And does it matter? If it does, what can you do in advance to avoid losing whatever it might be?