This time, it’s different. Here are 3 reasons why

As writers, we often need to pull open that mental drawer and dust off our list of life goals.

We may also need to pull open that real drawer and dust off that old manuscript that never quite saw the light of day.

Remember that brilliant story you started writing but never finished?

Whatever efforts may have fallen flat in the past should not keep you from looking to the future, and feeling certain that …

… should you give it another shot …

… this time, it will be different, and you’ll succeed the way you’ve always wanted to.

So take a look at these 3 reasons I thought of for why you might be feeling this way, and why giving it another shot is a great idea.

How many of these am I right about?

1. You’re ready now. When something doesn’t work out the way you want, it usually means you’re simply not ready for it. It’s one of life’s many ways of keeping us on the path of what’s right for us, even if sometimes it seems like the world is working against us. But believe me, what happened in the past has all been for the best. So even if the timing was off before, you can tell you’re simply feeling a lot more ready now.

2. Life has calmed down. Before, when things kept coming up, it was distracting to the point where you couldn’t find the time to write anymore—let alone summon your creative genius to put a whole story together in your mind. But now, you have a little more breathing room, and a few more minutes in your day for pursuing long-time goals, such as writing a novel.

3. Now, you have a plan. Wait, no I don’t, you may be thinking. I beg to differ! The 365-Day Indie Author Challenge is starting soon, and it’s a year-long guided journey to writing your first (or next) novel. This is how you take all of your ideas and learn expert tricks to organize them into a finished first chapter—and that’s just the first 30 days. Plus, in the company of all these other writers, it’s a lot easier to stick with it and succeed. See? Now, you have a plan!

No matter what you’ve tried before, or whatever the reason it didn’t work out, you just know that deep down, it’ll be different this time.

It’s amazing how one year can make all the difference, and you are ready for that big change.

A published book, beautiful book cover, growing audience, and a new group of writers to brainstorm with means that a year from now, it’s that glow of achievement—instead of the nagging doubt from the past—that you’ll be feeling.

Just don’t be surprised when people notice the extra pep in your step and gleam in your eye!

Now, over to you:

Have you ever tried writing a novel before where it didn’t work out? What happened? Are you feeling ready to try again?

Comments welcome below!

Success (as an indie author) belongs to you

My goal is to help you succeed as an independent author of novels!

The indie author lifestyle is perfect for many writers, but for others, it might not be ideal.

What about you?

Let’s hear your comments! What do you like about being an indie author? Or, if you haven’t published a book yet, what is the biggest draw of this lifestyle for you?

Add your response below, and while you’re at it, be sure to join our Indie Author Success Network for much more!

Want to succeed as a published indie author? Join our new writer’s network

Join our brand-new Indie Author Success Network!

If you’re ready to start a new life as an indie author, this new network is your ticket.

You’ll learn:

• How to get started writing a novel
• Tips from successful indie authors
• Ways to get involved and start a new life as a published author
• Simple changes you can make to power your new lifestyle
• How to jump right into the life of an indie author (and why you would want to!)

Get on the list now and start learning, writing, and growing as an independent author!

To your success,
Timothy Pike (Tim) | About me

The next year of your life just got exciting. Let’s publish a book!

Total beginners are welcome in the 365-Day Indie Author Challenge, where our free, step-by-step novel writing program takes you through everything you need to write and publish a novel in just one year.

This means that 365 days from now, you will be the author of a published book on the shelf.

It’s exciting! When you make the life-changing decision to hop on board with us, the next year of your life suddenly fills with promise and possibility.

When you join this free Challenge, you will:

Write every day. This is important. Our word count targets change from week to week—some weeks are pedal to the metal, other weeks give you time to breathe. But we are constantly moving forward. Put your creativity cap on!

Learn every day. Each day, I send you a lesson as part of a step-by-step walkthrough of how to write a fiction novel. Follow the path laid out for you, stay open to learning new tips, and you’ll learn how to organize all of your ideas into just the kind of exciting story readers love.

Write a thrilling first chapter. In just the first 30 days, you’ll have a first chapter you can be proud of. That way, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running with Chapter 2 and beyond. If you’re not sure how to do this, don’t worry! I (along with all the daily lessons you’ll read) will teach you what you need to know to write a first chapter that pulls readers in and keeps them turning the pages.

Meet other writers and discuss. We’re all in this together! Jump into our private discussion room and start networking with other writers, making new friends, asking questions, and sharing your experience. You’ll have the chance to get and give critiques on other writers’ work, which can greatly help improve your novel as you write.

Learn the ins and outs of self-publishing. You’ll become a pro on all of your options for self-publishing on Amazon. The Challenge is free, but if you decide to upgrade to our best-value Challenge plan, it includes my Published Novel Service, where I work with you (one-on-one) to publish your book and get you all set up to sell on Amazon.

Ready to jump right in on July 1st? Let’s go!

3 signs your author career is absolutely going to take off

Why do you want to be a published author?

This is one of those questions where ten different writers will give you ten different answers.

Some are in it for the ego boost, others for the dollar bills. And while those things are part of the game, there’s a lot more to being an author of novels.

Among those of us who are about to start the 365-Day Indie Author Challenge, one of our biggest personal goals is becoming better writers. A good writer is always learning, they say, and through our daily lessons, we will be learning plenty.

But what else?

Off the top of my head, here are 3 signs that you want to be a published author for all the right reasons, and that your writing efforts are going to send you soaring:

1. You love to write. Okay, this one is the low-hanging fruit. And it’s not just you—writing is a love we all share. But seriously, can you think of a more enjoyable way to spend each day than curled up on the couch tapping the keys of your laptop … or basking in the quiet chaos of the coffee shop down the street as you get ready to reveal the big plot twist? I certainly can’t.

2. You want an alternative to the 9–5. If you’re feeling stuck in your day job and it’s wearing you down, now’s the time to jump into writing with all your might. Don’t walk out on your boss just yet—but once you have that first draft of your novel written, you’ll start seeing that glimmer of hope and sensing that options are opening up for you.

3. You want to be someone’s favorite author. This is almost certain to happen. It won’t be overnight, but when you put your heart into writing stories that really resonate with readers, it won’t be too long before some of them start declaring you their favorite author.

And that’s just the beginning. Wait until one of those readers writes a novel of their own … and mentions you as their biggest influence. Mind = blown!

I hope you’re prepared to go from “Wouldn’t that be nice?” to “Wow, my life kinda feels like a dream now.”

For a lot of writers, they really want to go for it, but sadly, they never take that first step and make that leap.

But it helps to have a friendly group of writers ready to help you along the path to where you want to go in life, and a guide that takes you on a step-by-step journey from first sentence to book-on-shelf.

We’d love it if you joined us. Here’s to your success!

Writers, is the dream still alive?

It always bums me out when I talk to people who at one point wanted to write a novel, but lost hope somewhere along the way.

It happens for a variety of reasons. Some say other life demands took over, like school, family, or work. Others say they didn’t think their story idea would be good enough to sell, so they didn’t even try.

Others say they took to heart what certain Negative Nellies would tell them: “Write a novel? You? Yeah, right…”

(In so many words, anyway.)

In response, I always tell them: 1) you should absolutely do it and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t, 2) you can easily do it in your spare time, and 3) it’s never too late.

And I really drive home the last point: It’s not too late.

In fact, it’s the opposite: the golden age of indie authors is just getting started.

Technology is improving. Connecting with readers is getting easier and more fun. Printing & shipping is getting more streamlined.

Meaning that becoming an independent author of novels is more within your reach than ever.

The indie authors who are today making a living from their books, dreaming up new, exciting story ideas every day, and getting fan e-mail from their readers will tell you they started out where you are today: eager to write Chapter One, yet unsure of where it would take them.

Does this sound like the future you want? Is the dream still alive?

I certainly hope so.

If the fire still burns in you, jump right into the 365-Day Indie Author Challenge, starting in a few weeks.

It’s a straight-line march from story idea to published novel!

Got a novel in you?

Photo credit: KoolShooters

Finish it this year in the company of motivated writers!

The third-ever 365-Day Indie Author Challenge starts July 1st, and it’s free.

Learn. Write. Publish your book.

Join us!

Got an idea for a novel? Believe in yourself

Whenever I read about well-known authors who started out by self-publishing, I get all inspired.

As someone who is convinced that self-publishing is the future, I find myself digging deeper to find out who these successful authors are, and what they did right.

What I found is that they all had one thing in common:

They believed they could succeed.

Like any of us, each of them started out with an idea.

And surely, they had a gut feeling about that idea—a feeling of belief.

That belief—the belief that you have a winning idea—is only the beginning, though.

What happens next will depend on how strong your belief is.

It’s easy to jump right in and start writing, but what happens when you have an off-week where you’re not feeling it?

Or when life gets chaotic—as it sometimes does—and you get distracted for a month?

Do you come back to it? Do you keep your belief alive?

This is the difference between authors who make it big and those who don’t.

Will you be like Amanda Hocking, who wrote 17 novels—all of which were rejected by publishers—before going on to self-publish them and sell millions of copies?

Now that’s an example of believing in yourself and your ideas so strongly, you’re willing to look past what others are telling you and do what you need to do to be successful.

Or perhaps you’ll draw inspiration from LJ Ross, who just knew that her idea for Holy Island would be a hit.

She put in the work, wrote the book, and self-published it. Sure enough, it was a huge success.

Your belief—your gut feeling—is more powerful than you know.

So if you have an idea, don’t let it get away!

The worst thing you could do is find your dusty manuscript in a drawer 10 years from now and kick yourself that you didn’t believe in it enough to bring it to life.

It also helps to have a group of writers to turn to when the going gets slow, such as those who have already signed up for this year-long challenge to write a novel. When we believe in each other as much as you believe in yourself, and help each other achieve our goals, we can plow right through the slow times.

It’s happened to all of us. We get all excited about an idea, and dive right in. Then, the second the words stop flowing, we think, maybe this isn’t such a great idea to begin with.

But more often than not, it’s a fantastic idea that just needs a little fleshing out. Keep working at it. Poke at it from all angles, every day, until it starts to take shape—because it will.

You believed in it enough to start, now believe in it enough to finish.

You’ll be glad you did.

Don’t touch that first chapter! It’s sharp!

Something special is happening on July 1st for writers everywhere: we are getting serious about writing our novels!

It’s the start of 365 days of sheer writing enjoyment, learning, and excitement as your story comes to life and your book gets published.

We’ll spend the first 30 days sharpening up your first chapter.

That means by the end of July, you’ll have a first chapter with an edge so fine you’d be ill-advised to touch it!

In other words, a first chapter that really pops—and keeps readers turning the pages.

And once you have that, you’ll be ready to jump right into Chapter 2 … and beyond.

We’re kicking this off on July 1st, so don’t miss out. Reserve your free spot today!

Ever tried to write a novel? This time, it’s happening

It’s no secret that writing a novel takes determination.

And it’s not uncommon for a writer to start out …

… then lose motivation and set the manuscript aside. And forget all about it.

Was it because the ideas weren’t coming together?

Or because it was hard to know how to organize the plot?

Maybe it was because discouragement crept in once the story got too complex.

But for you, one thing is certain: you really want to make this work, and you know you can.

You dream of seeing a published book—with your name on it—on the shelf. You’ve even pictured yourself autographing the book for those readers lucky enough to meet you in person.

I’m here to tell you it’s still possible!

Join us for the 365-Day Indie Author Challenge and we’ll keep you learning and writing until that novel is finished.

This time, it’s happening!