1. Write what you love.

Not what’s trendy. Not what’s selling. Not what everyone else thinks you should write. Write for you first. Write what you love. Writing isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time, effort, focus, and attention. Writing stories you don’t love is extremely painful and makes life miserable as a creative being. Be brave enough and bold enough to write what you love.

2. Write when you want to write.

Not everyone is a morning writer, a night writer, or a lunchtime writer. Not every writer wants to or needs to or should write every single day. (I don’t and won’t.) Figure out what works for you. This is a creative process. Heavy emphasis on the process part. It’s constantly evolving and changing. Figure out when you’re the most productive and creative. If you work a day job (or night job), writing time will be what you can manage, but capitalize on every single bit of it anyway. If the words aren’t coming through, don’t beat yourself up. Being creative on command is a skill that can be mastered, but it’s not something you want to rely on solely. Forcing yourself to write only when you really don’t want to is a great way to make yourself miserable. That said, on the flip side, you still have to write sometime. Figure out what works best for you. The creative process can be painful. Figure out how to do it with the least amount of pain for you. It’ll be different than my process, but that’s because it’s your process. Above all, give your story your attention. Think about it. Then, get it on the page.

3. Have the discipline and determination to finish what you start.

I don’t have many unfinished, half-written books. Only a few actually. Unfinished, half-written books won’t help you become a successful author. Vet your ideas. Pick the best one. The one that excites you the most. Write that one. Finish it. If you don’t finish it, it’s really hard to call it a book. This is not an easy road. It takes a lot of discipline and a ton of determination to finish a book. It’s not just you who struggles with crossing the finish line either. Even career authors with 40 books under their belts don’t always feel like they know what they’re doing or if they can finish the book. Landing the plane can be hard sometimes (and that can be exactly what it feels like you’re doing)! Give yourself grace and compassion. Then finish the damn book.

4. Make Creative Flow your best friend.

This is the number one way to succeed as an author. When you make Creative Flow your best friend, you step up onto a completely new and different level of creativity. You are co-creating with the universe, and the stories that come to life are magical. I don’t write any of my books alone. I don’t write any of my books without Creative Flow. It’s with me and I’m with it, and together, we craft beautiful work that can be enjoyed by millions. What is Creative Flow? Magic. The Universe. God. The Divine. The source of all creativity. Learn how to tap into that and people will think you’re the brilliant one, instead of just the channel the brilliance comes through.