Monday Motivation: Start Your Writing Career Today

January 15, 2009 was the day I was convinced to start writing for my business. The inspiration came high above Cayuga Lake on the Heights near Ithaca College where a local female bar owner presented “Blogging for Business – The Hottest Marketing Tool for 2009” to my audience of 30 women entrepreneurs. I’ve produced hundreds of events in my career so not all of them resonate and linger in my memory, but that one did.

My second business was only 4 years old with most of my marketing budget spent on creating it; so like other women entrepreneurs I was looking for hot marketing trends to promote my business and myself. Distinctively I remember Amelia Sauter said, “You don’t have to write a blog post every day to be successful; start with one post a month if you must but get writing.” It sounded easy since every week I was writing an inspirational “Wednesday Wisdom” for my state-wide audience of businesswomen. I knew minimally I could post once a week using the wisdom in my new blog.

I learned quickly I was forming a habit by writing weekly. As experts say, “Habit formation is the process by which new behavior becomes automatic like someone who instinctively reaches for a cup of coffee after waking up has a habit.” Call it duty or loyalty to a commitment, I wrote my Wednesday Wisdom every single Wednesday and have for 15 years straight, making it a habit. The funny thing about habits, they become really enjoyable and so it was with me and writing.

So when it came time to write my first book, “Under the Rose-Colored Hat,” I thought it would be natural since I was a proven, gifted writer for fifteen years. Well, the funny thing about writing a non-fiction book on my personal story of growing up with inspirational, well dressed and kind women, the pain of losing my identity with alopecia and discovering the kindness and compassion of others in the process, was it was hard. Words didn’t flow as easily as they do on any given Wednesday morning. I had to really think, write, re-write, proof, edit and read again for months before the book went for final layout (the state it is in now).

For once in my life, I had some writer’s block because I was detailing my own life’s experience with an important lesson to share. Never being a narcissist, it was difficult to know what to include or keep out of my copy. I had to stay the course, seek advice and finish the book accepting it as it was until I ready to launch another one.

Today’s marketing advice to fellow entrepreneurs is to get writing, even if its short, sweet weekly blog posts to inspire or educate your customers. You’ll discover an interest in working up to articles and eventually books, increasing your pace and commitment to writing. There are fantastic publicists and writing consultants to help you move onward if writing a book is a goal. Believe you can do it if you commit to the task of writing, making it a habit you can’t live without and helping to boost your marketing exposure at the same time.