The Dreaded Word "Ambition"

The Dreaded Word “Ambition”

The word ambition gets an unfair rap. The mere mention of it conjures up the image of office buzzards that like to back-stab and stomp all over the backs of their coworkers in order to scramble up some imaginary corporate ladder as they attempt to achieve their goals. And why shouldn’t it? Why shouldn’t the word “ambition” bring to mind this thought? These rotten jerks are alive and well in every company and every time decent people have a run-in with them they are beside themselves because…don’t those types belong in the movies?

But the truth is this: Ambition is a necessary asset to those of us who intend to take advantage of the American right to the pursuit of happiness. For those of us who pen the written word, we are not only writers, but salesmen, or women. Just like those hated ambitious buzzards, we have to market ourselves and hustle in order to get our product out there. Sure, there is a modicum of integrity that should be exercised as we do so, but the end result is the same—get your product in there before someone else does.

And this brings us to another despised word, “perseverance”.  Nobody likes an individual who won’t take “no” for an answer, but that is a necessary evil when you are trying to make it in today’s society, especially where writing is concerned as, now more than ever, it’s harder to stand out amongst the crowd. With social media in every home and self-publishing available to everyone, more and more people are able to become “qualified” authors based on their own say-so. The unfortunate thing here is that readers often don’t know the difference between an author whose work has been appraised and accepted by a legitimate publisher (which is still the way to go, contrary to what the blogs of Indie Authors suggest), and an (Indie) author who decided on their own that their work is worthy of being shelved next to expertly evaluated manifests.

Now, before I move on, I want to make it inherently clear here that I think the option of self-publishing is an excellent medium. Truly, I do, and I am considering it for my next novel, Book II, in an attempt to offer it as a promotional piece with the purchase of my published novel, Book I. There is a lot of talent out there that, unfortunately, gets overlooked by legitimate publishers either due to the fact that they receive hundreds to thousands of manuscripts, accepting only roughly 5% of those submissions. I have met and read the works of self-published (Indie Authors) who exhibit amazing talent and if self-publishing is the only way for them to get their much deserved work out there, then I’m all for it. That is the biggest drawback to traditional publishing—it used to be that their job was to find the talent—now they only accept well-known authors; the money-makers, leaving the new, up-and-coming authors hanging out to dry. And so…enter self-publishing, which, incidentally, is a form of perseverance. These authors are not letting the word “no” get in their way.

Okay, back to the despised word, “perseverance”. As I have mentioned, we writers are sales people, and the number one rule of sales is “Don’t Take No For An Answer” (incidentally, there is also a trick to sales that even outshines the first rule, and that is, if they like you, chances are they will buy from you). If you believe in your work and have put an extraordinary amount of effort in it, then don’t let those doors slam in your face!

Count on your acceptance of self-ambition and perseverance to help you fight for your precious baby—that book you’ve written. Because that’s what it is; your child. And just like any parent you need to go to the mattresses for it.

I wrote a blog about the importance of networking (The Importance of Networking) and it might be a good idea for you to go ahead and read that. There are so many things that can be done by us writers to get our names out there. It can be slow-going, but what the hell? The days are going to pass by anyway, right?

Sign up for every writing website there is and involve yourself in as many discussions as possible. Just make sure you've created a signature for your account that includes your website information (if you don’t have a website, you need to get one) and all other information that is available about you. Get business cards! You have to put yourself out there and can’t be afraid to do so. It’s difficult, sometimes. I know because once in a great while I want to crawl under a rock and hide. But there’s no crying in baseball. It has to be done.

 I had an episode just this past week at work where I was contacting one of the agents in our editorial department at the paper I work for. She was giving me vague information as to getting my book published in our Life Section. Now, as an employee of this paper (the second largest in the region) I felt that my company should have a sense of pride in showcasing me. I knew it would take a while since the department was a bit backed up, and hey, I could wait my turn. But the individual I was directed to contact would not return my emails. Frustrated, I emailed the original agent I had spoken with who had said kindly and helpfully that I could contact her any time with any questions. Well, last week when I wrote to tell her that the gentleman handling the Life Section never returned my emails (despite my working there), I was told not to email her about “this” again. Naturally, being the type of person isn’t accustomed to taking attitude like that (what writer is? We’re born to stand out), I marched right down there and had a diplomatic argument with her, telling her in no uncertain terms that what I was attempting to do was extremely important, which culminated in what I had been telling her all along and asking her help with; that I didn’t know where the gentleman I should have been speaking with was located (never mind the fact that she could have saved us both the trouble if she had gone to speak with him from the get-go and asked him to please contact me). She got up and showed me (easy-peasy, right?), and here he told me he was unaware that I worked there. I’m not even going to get into the fact that my emails contain the company signature and my title.

Nonetheless, he told me he would contact me and have me come down to he could interview me.

The moral here is “ambition” and “perseverance”.  If I had allowed her email to frighten me off and send me running to a corner to cry, that would mean I wasn’t cut out for this business. I’m going to tell you what I told her, “This is damn important!” I will do what it takes to get my writing career off the ground, save for trampling over others. Writing is where I belong, and that is the career I was born to have.

So just remember, when you find yourself nervous and in fear of the steps you are taking to make yourself known, whether it is scheduling a book signing, contacting book stores and asking them to sell your books, meeting up with book clubs, or simply writing a blog, push those irrational doubts  far back and go full speed ahead. Let nobody stand in your way. This is your life and your calling—make it work and just do it! Don't be afraid to be ambitious and perseverant.