The Writing and Cable Company Connection

Every month when I open my cable bill, I seethe.

I pay for about two hundred channels, but I probably watch about ten of those channels. The problem for me is sports; I have to have those channels, mostly for football season. I know there are other options available now, but fear keeps me paying that always-increasing, monthly cable bill. Fear of making a mistake, of doing something wrong, of not really knowing what I’m doing and what if I miss my football games?

Fear can stall a writing career, too. Maybe it’s whether to try for an agent (or let go of an agent who’s not working out). It could be about pitching to big markets instead of staying safely in the smaller markets. It could even be as fundamental as finally putting work out there, of just screwing up the courage to submit.

But there are ways to get beyond that fear, and so I’ll share a few strategies that work for me, starting with doing your homework.

Who knew when you finally finished school that you’d be using that homework skill for the rest of your life? In whatever decisions that come along, researching first is empowering. When it comes to writing, we’re lucky. We have the Internet, and boy, that makes researching a lot easier!

Find out everything about the writing challenge you’re tackling. Track down every snippet of information you can find whether it be a market, a literary agency, a publisher, or editor. Not in a creepy stalker way, just in a general information-available-to-everyone way. Knowledge is the first step in conquering a fear, and so the more you know, the more emboldened you will be!

And that leads me to the next step in information-gathering: ask people in the know. Take the cable question. Lots of people that are, say, millennial types, do not pay for cable. They use all kinds of streaming services. They’re the ones I’ll talk to before I make any changes.

Look around to the people you know in the writing world, the groups you’re part of in social media or through writing organizations, or even your writing partners. Perhaps you follow lots of writing blogs; you can reach out to those writers, too. Chances are pretty good that a writer’s faced the same questions and challenges you’re facing; look for answers. You may not always get the help you’re looking for, but sometimes, you will!

And finally, consider timing. Weeks before the start of the college football season might not be the right time for me to switch from my huge cable company.

It’s the same for you in your writing career. What other major life changes do you have going on, and is this the right time to pile on something huge and/or new? Because what if you do your homework, ask around, conquer your fear and go for it—and find success at last? You want to be ready one hundred percent!

Or you’ll end up with another fear, the one about failure. And that’s a whole ‘nother story.

Cathy C. Hall is a kidlit author and humor writer.  When she's not cheering for her favorite teams, she's busy working on her next book. Her latest release is Great Leaders of the World, from Darakwon Publishing in South Korea. (Read all about it here!)

12 comments Cathy C. Hall, conquering writing fears, professional writing organizations, research, writing critique groups