A Good Writer Embraces Failure

News Flash! Mistakes are unavoidable no matter how much a perfectionist you are.

As sure as the sun rises every morning, you will find mistakes post edit, especially if you’re a self-publisher. The positive spin is that you will learn loads from your first book’s failings, and your next book will dramatically improve.

The reasons for a product’s failure are many, and most times, it’s hard to determine exactly why. It may be competing with a similar product marketed better. It may not have sold due to the wrong price point or, or, or…

By putting your book out there and getting criticism from paying customers, you will learn to develop a better product.

The bottom line is there’s always a reason why something doesn’t succeed. The key is to find out why and improve. So, go ahead and publish that first book. Put it out there, and accept criticism as a learning tool. Accept that not everyone is going to like it. Accept that in the age of social media anonymity, criticism comes easy for people to dish out.

The intelligent writer or marketer—essentially what you become when self-publishing—turns their failures into a fact-gathering mission. They don’t allow their wounded ego to deter them from becoming a better writer.