I’ll get right to it: the best tool for a writer isn’t a cool pen, the newest organizing software, or a leatherbound journal. 

It’s a good mindset. 

Over the last twenty years of exploring creative writing, I’ve discovered what contributes to a good mindset for me, mostly by doing things that put me in a bad mindset.

I call my good mindset-producing things My Directives. 

A directive is defined as an order or instruction intended to guide or influence; an official notice to impel you toward a goal or action.

Every year, instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I type up a set of directives, print them out, and laminate the sheet. I keep it close and review often.  

MY TOP 5 DIRECTIVES

Directive #1Suspend disbelief

There’s a lot of talk in the writing community about when you can actually call yourself a “real” writer and it’s actually a pretty useless and crazy-making discussion. Instead, I decided to play a little game with myself: I simply suspend disbelief and choose not to believe that I am not a writer. I also suspend disbelief on the quality of my writing, on whether it is publishable, etc. I focus on the writing and find that what I eventually do come to believe in, is the story that I’m trying to tell. 

Directive #2Focus on the process, not the product

It’s easy to get all focused on the novel, poem, essay, memoir, what-have-you that you want to write. Some people track word count or on producing X number of pages/poems per day. But I found it better to put my attention on developing a creative process. My creative process.

Refine that, and the products will come, was my way of thinking. 

To get lost is to learn the way.

• African proverb

To discover my process, I did a lot of observation and experimentation. A lot!

I asked: What fuels my writing—music, reading, exercise, time in nature, talking with other writers? What time of day am I at my most creative? What drains my creativity? (Too much social media and political news, anyone?)

With this information I came up with a routine. It’s not speedy and it takes some work to maintain, but I just finished writing (and revising) an 80 thousand word novel using it. 

Now my mission is to protect my creative process and do the things I know will enhance it.

Directive #3Start anywhere, go somewhere

Have you heard this quote from Louis L’Amour? 

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

There are a thousand books that will offer instruction in writing. I know—I’ve read a lot of them. But we learn writing best by doing two things: reading and writing. I’m betting you are already a reader. Now go write. Anything and everything. Because making begets making and the best way to get over feeling self-conscious about your writing is to hammer out a lot of it.  

Directive #4You don’t have to know that yet.

Writing is complex. Getting overwhelmed at everything I need to do and learn puts me in a bad mindset, so I give myself a bit of grace. I write what I can, as well as I can, knowing that I can come back to the bumpy parts later. 

“I don’t know that” becomes “I don’t know that yet.” 

Whether it is the turn in a poem, the “so what?” of a personal essay, or which route your character is going to take to get to the big showdown, it can wait. Keep writing. More will be revealed. 

Directive #5 Do “the next and most necessary thing”

Writers can idle their engines for hours, trying to decide what to do next. Promote on social media? Finish those poems so you have enough for a chapbook? What about an essay for Modern Love in the New York Times?

Carl Jung offered this advice: do the “next and most necessary thing.” 

Some part of you knows what you need to do next and here’s the kicker—it’s often the thing you’re avoiding. Something hard. 

I have a sticky note on my monitor that reads: Buck up, buttercup! It reminds me that the only way I’m going to be a better writer is to screw up my courage and do the hard work. By choosing the next and most necessary thing, I keep moving forward. I build momentum.  

You’ll have to come up with your own directives, of course. Give it a try. Most of all, I hope you find your path to a good mindset. Write away!

Lynn G. Carlson lives in Cheyenne with a retired firefighter and a know-it-all cat. She has been a member of Wyoming Writers, Inc. for almost twenty years and did a stint on the WW, Inc. board, something she encourages all y’all to do as well. She is currently pitching her amateur sleuth novel to agents after working on the manuscript for almost four years. Her blog, Skirmishing Words, can be found at www.lynngcarlsonwrites.com.

Lynn's writing companion, Roscoe

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Listen to Wyoming Writers Chat with

the Writers Who Read Podcast

Wyoming Writers, Inc. board members Andrew Call and Erik Saulness joined our 2024 conference keynote speaker, Laura Pritchett, in chatting with the Writers Who Read podcast for their latest episode! Hosts Gary Alan McBride and Mira Landry (Mira is also joining us at the 2024 conference taking pitches for Corvisiero Literary Agency) learn more about Wyoming Writers, Inc., our upcoming conference, and what it means to be part of a writing community in Wyoming.

"Ready for a new book podcast? How about one that shows you how to turn your favorite authors into your favorite writing instructors?

Writers Who Read is a podcast that uses Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow you to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.

In each episode, Gary McBride, Whitney Pinion, and Mira Landry analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. They read with intent, uncovering why the author wrote this novel and how they did it, while studying content and form to uncover techniques that you can apply to your own writing. Current episodes feature Nell Zink and Hernan Diaz, and Bonnie Garmus, with upcoming discussions of Salman Rushdie, Eleanor Catton, Curtis Sittenfeld, R. F. Kuang and Lawrence Wright.

Learn to read like a writer, turning the most renowned authors into your personal writing teachers."

Click here to listen the the Wyoming Writers episode of

Writers Who Read

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Wyoming Writers Board of Directors' Melissa Cook Shares Her 26 Marketing Tips for Writers

Find Melissa's book, The Last Frontier: The True Story of a Woman's Twenty-Year Alaska Adventure, on her website. 

Before You Publish

1 - Have your manuscript professionally edited. My husband served as my content editor since he lived the same life. I had 14 beta readers (FB ad) and gave them a timeline and questions. I used their comments to improve the book and for promotional material later. Then, I hired a copyeditor and sent it through two proofreaders and my three endorsers. Three rounds of professional editing is costly but well worth it.

2 - Request endorsements from well-known authors in your genre. Most authors will help others, but be sure to give them a quality manuscript using the editing process mentioned in #1. I have three endorsers who later became friends and, in a way, cyber coworkers. Funny how that works. A shout-out of gratitude to Aaron Linsdau, Larry Kaniut and Ann Parker.

3 - I developed a database using Tap Forms (no affiliation) to track my contacts, invoices, and marketing efforts and to prevent harassing people by knowing when I last contacted them and how.

Post Publication

4 - I called the small store owners in the major airports and tourist shops in Alaska and told them about my book after I had 250 ratings and an award to show the book's quality. I check in with them in February and July to see if they need more copies.

5 - I send postcards once a year to the bookstores and tourist services such as lodges, smaller stores and airlines. The postcard contains my book cover, award stamps, one endorsement, who could benefit from the book, where to purchase it at wholesale, contact information and a call to action. For a personal touch, I sign it in colorful ink.

6 - I appear on shows, including YouTube, podcasts, Facebook Live and radio. My book has a thread of my multiple sclerosis (MS) story, so I have been on MS and Alaska-related shows. I post most of these under media on my author page. If you have a show, do a crossover with another author who has a show.

7- During the launch, I gave author talks in libraries and towns within 2.5 hours of my house. One library recorded my presentation and put it on the local TV channel. Later, I gave presentations in Alaska.

8- Before each author's talk, I contact the local newspapers one month in advance, offer them a copy of my book and ask if they are interested in announcing the event with an article about my book to increase attendance. Most reporters write a comprehensive article before the presentation and a short article following it.

9 - I contacted the press in the region where my book took place and asked if they were interested in writing an article to post the week of my book's release.They did.

10 - I attend local author book signing events.

11 - I respond to emails and social media posts from fans. I also take fans on adventure-related day trips in the summertime as part of my YouTube show, which creates super fans for my book, channel and blogs.

12 - I help other authors by sharing my experience and limited knowledge. We are all somewhere in the learning process, meaning someone is ahead of me, and someone is behind me. And the fact is, we all have Swiss cheese knowledge. I am at the point in my publishing journey where I can give my endorsers, Aaron and Ann, pretty good tips in return.

13 - I write articles about other authors in my genre who then link posts or content back to my articles - this type of marketing sells more books than most of my other promotional writing activities.

14 - I meet other authors and readers, take photos and post them on social media. I post a daily photo or video on my accounts, which gives me more support from the social media platform for being a "content creator." My social media is adventure-related.

15 - I know who my target market is through analytics and save time by focusing my efforts on the right people–not everyone is an adventure fan.

16 - I always have business cards on me–one for my book and one for my YouTube channel and I hand them out whenever appropriate. I leave my YouTube show cards on adventure vehicles like mine. If they watch my show, they will see my book ad at the beginning of each episode.

17 - I put a 5-second ad at the beginning of my YouTube episodes. These ads are not always the same but are always about my book. I already had an adventure YouTube show before I wrote my book, which has come in handy.

18 - When my first book proof arrived, I opened it on my show during one of our adventures and included a more extended ad about my Alaska story in that episode.

19 - My author's website includes links to purchasing signed copies, Amazon links, blogs (Alaska & MS), social media, a color photo gallery (from my book), media (appearances), about, contact form, social media icon links, awards and endorsements.

20 - Think out of the box for new ideas. This list is only part of what I do or have done. Every day is different. My book has been out for 26 months, so honestly, I can't remember everything. Look at successful authors to see what they are doing. Watch Craig Martelle's Five-Minute Focus and 20BooksVegas on YouTube and participate in a regional author's group. Many of my tips on this list came from watching Craig's show.

21 - Paid advertising. I make back every dime I pay in tourist magazine advertising because I strategically place my ads for my target audience. I do not always bring in more than I pay when I use social media or Amazon ads. I keep these ads to a minimum due to my lack of knowledge despite my effort to learn them.

22 - Always be friendly to everyone you meet; they may know you even if you don't know them, especially if you have a YouTube channel. Gone are the days of being the unhappy customer because that one moment you were justifiably upset may come back to bite you if you are not nice about it.

23 - Learn to say no. Not every opportunity is worth the time required. If you put more time in than you gain in profit, you must do it for other reasons, such as enjoying the author's ride. That ride is a blast initially, but you will run out of steam and writing time (for the next book), so choose events and offers wisely.

My Future Marketing Plans

24 - Write regular newsletters and swaps. I have yet to start a newsletter because I am unsure of which genre to write in. I will dive deep into it once I decide. In the meantime, I have a link on my author's website for fans to sign up. I should be putting out something now; once I send out a newsletter, I know some subscribers will drop, but again, it's time.

25 - Giveaways. I have done one giveaway on my YouTube channel, which has given me a little experience in this department. I need to write the next book before I worry about this.

26- Create another YouTube channel and social media groups with appealing content for my target reading audience. I started one FB group focusing on Alaska. I can post about my book in this group, though I follow my rules and only do it once a month.