Comments on: Failing Your Way to Success: 6 Reasons for Writers to Make Mistakes http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/ Michael Larsen Blog Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:25:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Michael Larsen http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-367 Michael Larsen Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:41:49 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-367 Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. --Einstein Accepting that mistakes are inevitable, and keep learning from them, and success is just as inevitable. Onward! Mike Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. –Einstein

Accepting that mistakes are inevitable, and keep learning from them, and success is just as inevitable.
Onward!

Mike

]]> By: Cathryn Louis http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-364 Cathryn Louis Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:08:45 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-364 I just found your blog today, and couldn't help but comment on this post. I failed - big time - and I believe I am the better for it. I self-published a book, and found out it was only a first draft. Needless to say, the 100 or so people who sampled it never bought a copy. :) Embarrassing to be sure, but it lead me to an editor who got me on the write (I mean right) track. I unpublished the book and am now using his advice to rewrite it. Had I not failed so dramatically, I would not have internalized and applied his critique so completely. It's been just over a year since I published the book, and I could not have come so far in that time had it not been for my 'epic fail'. I just found your blog today, and couldn’t help but comment on this post. I failed – big time – and I believe I am the better for it. I self-published a book, and found out it was only a first draft. Needless to say, the 100 or so people who sampled it never bought a copy. :)

Embarrassing to be sure, but it lead me to an editor who got me on the write (I mean right) track. I unpublished the book and am now using his advice to rewrite it. Had I not failed so dramatically, I would not have internalized and applied his critique so completely.

It’s been just over a year since I published the book, and I could not have come so far in that time had it not been for my ‘epic fail’.

]]> By: Admin http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-350 Admin Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:16:26 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-350 Never give up. Many thanks for the links! Good luck with your writing! Never give up. Many thanks for the links! Good luck with your writing!

]]> By: Admin http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-349 Admin Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:15:32 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-349 You're welcome. Glad you found it helpful. You’re welcome. Glad you found it helpful.

]]> By: Admin http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-348 Admin Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:15:31 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-348 Many thanks for writing about this. There's truth in what you say and a blog post worth writng about the subject, but it's the basis of a conversation. There are endless variables that affect success, among them ability, access to resources, the personal and professional circumstances in which one is working, how the market for what is producing changes, the quality of the feedback one receives on one's efforts, how realistic one's goals are and whether at some point being successful requires changing them, not to mention luck. Most people who succeed have encountered failure. Will everybody succeed? Of course not. But most people can. Many thanks for writing about this. There’s truth in what you say and a blog post worth writng about the subject, but it’s the basis of a conversation. There are endless variables that affect success, among them ability, access to resources, the personal and professional circumstances in which one is working, how the market for what is producing changes, the quality of the feedback one receives on one’s efforts, how realistic one’s goals are and whether at some point being successful requires changing them, not to mention luck. Most people who succeed have encountered failure. Will everybody succeed? Of course not. But most people can.

]]> By: Kate http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-347 Kate Thu, 21 Apr 2011 03:01:03 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-347 "Failure is as necessary as the success it leads to is inevitable." I have serious issues with that statement. I certainly agree that we can learn from failures, and even need them to make us better. BUT what I've stopped believing is that life is fair, and those who fail and learn from it will eventually succeed ... because that's just not how it is, or what I've truly seen. Sometimes very good people don't succeed (at writing or academia or sports or music or ...) not because there is something horribly wrong with what they've done or because they lack talent, but because of other factors over which they have no control. These can range from simply not knowing the right people (sometimes it really is WHO you know, not what you know), to having done something that is not what the "market" wants, or is ahead (or behind) it's time. So no, failing and learning from it will not "inevitably" lead to success. Sometimes it just leads to more failures. The problem is you don't hear THOSE stories because those aren't success stories and who wants to print that? But it's true, and I might have more respect for encouragement to continue trying if the people writing such encouragement at least realistically admitted that sometimes, the end result may never be success at all. One may end up simply failing. Or any success one has may never be known in one's lifetime (after all, Confucius died a "failure" as far as he was concerned ... and even if he's the Moral Father of China today, who wants to have Confucius' luck?). The REAL reason to keep trying is that, if one doesn't, then failure is certain. But don't tell people that if they fail enough, they'll inevitably succeed ... because some of them won't. It's not pretty, but it's true. “Failure is as necessary as the success it leads to is inevitable.”

I have serious issues with that statement. I certainly agree that we can learn from failures, and even need them to make us better. BUT what I’ve stopped believing is that life is fair, and those who fail and learn from it will eventually succeed … because that’s just not how it is, or what I’ve truly seen. Sometimes very good people don’t succeed (at writing or academia or sports or music or …) not because there is something horribly wrong with what they’ve done or because they lack talent, but because of other factors over which they have no control. These can range from simply not knowing the right people (sometimes it really is WHO you know, not what you know), to having done something that is not what the “market” wants, or is ahead (or behind) it’s time.

So no, failing and learning from it will not “inevitably” lead to success. Sometimes it just leads to more failures. The problem is you don’t hear THOSE stories because those aren’t success stories and who wants to print that? But it’s true, and I might have more respect for encouragement to continue trying if the people writing such encouragement at least realistically admitted that sometimes, the end result may never be success at all. One may end up simply failing. Or any success one has may never be known in one’s lifetime (after all, Confucius died a “failure” as far as he was concerned … and even if he’s the Moral Father of China today, who wants to have Confucius’ luck?).

The REAL reason to keep trying is that, if one doesn’t, then failure is certain. But don’t tell people that if they fail enough, they’ll inevitably succeed … because some of them won’t. It’s not pretty, but it’s true.

]]> By: Stephen Brayton http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-346 Stephen Brayton Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:21:27 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-346 Ah, yes. I fail constantly in my taekwondo tournaments. But I keep training and going back for more. Thanks for the blog. Ah, yes. I fail constantly in my taekwondo tournaments. But I keep training and going back for more. Thanks for the blog.

]]> By: Lucinda Bilya http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-344 Lucinda Bilya Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:35:09 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-344 This is a treasured find. I was starting to feel like a failure, yet I know I am not because I refuse to give up. It is always nice to know we are at least on the right road or at least headed in the general direction. You have a lot of wisdom. Thank you for sharing. (hope you don't mind if I tack a link to here on my blog and website) This is a treasured find. I was starting to feel like a failure, yet I know I am not because I refuse to give up. It is always nice to know we are at least on the right road or at least headed in the general direction.

You have a lot of wisdom. Thank you for sharing.

(hope you don’t mind if I tack a link to here on my blog and website)

]]> By: Michael Larsen http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-343 Michael Larsen Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:50:34 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-343 Glad you didn't fail to read it and found it helpful. Please call or write with questions. Good luck with your writing. Glad you didn’t fail to read it and found it helpful. Please call or write with questions. Good luck with your writing.

]]> By: To Borrow a Line from My Other Blog: It’s My Pity Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To « Joanne Huspek’s Blog http://sfwriters.org/blog/failing-your-way-to-success-6-reasons-for-writers-to-make-mistakes/#comment-342 To Borrow a Line from My Other Blog: It’s My Pity Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To « Joanne Huspek’s Blog Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:14:47 +0000 http://sfwriters.org/blog/?p=528#comment-342 [...] came out of my funk, I started writing. I also started reading. Here is an amazing blog post about failure. Son of a gun, but that was timely. Here is another about manufacturing writing time. Thank you, I [...] [...] came out of my funk, I started writing. I also started reading. Here is an amazing blog post about failure. Son of a gun, but that was timely. Here is another about manufacturing writing time. Thank you, I [...]

]]>