The 7 Stages of Author Success

Isn’t it time you made your writing work for you?

Discover how to create a writing career by following the Seven Stages of Author Success.

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If you truly want to succeed at writing, then I believe your success is inevitable.

Basically, my philosophy is that if you truly want something, it will happen. You just have to want it enough and stay focused on the outcome you desire.

Easy, right?

Believe me, I know this is not easy at all – otherwise everybody would get the life they want, and everybody would be happy – which clearly, we’re not!

But anyway, if you do want great results – and quickly, here are the seven stages you need to go through…

And really, you do have to follow the 7 stages because it’s only then you will always get to where you want to go.

Times have changed. You don’t have to wait on luck anymore.

You just have to follow what is becoming a well-trodden path.

Here are the seven stages on your author journey.

1. Visualize Your Future

Spend a few moments - or hours if you like - every day, imagining your ideal future.

Now, I can testify that this works. I don’t know how, maybe by some spooky law of attraction type of thing.

I don’t know exactly how but over the long term this definitely seems to work. Whatever you imagine with enough clarity - and often, WILL materialize – and usually within 3 to 5 years, perhaps longer for more ambitious things.

This is great news if you’re a writer because we spend all day visualizing stuff with our writing. So, if we spend just a little bit of that time creating a better future for ourselves, we can only benefit.

I used to pretend I had film deals, a big house with acres of land, a swanky pool, a heli-pad and lots of money to spare. And like magic, this stuff has appeared in my life. Apart from the heli-pad - still waiting on that… but who knows, maybe this year. Then I’ll just need someone with a helicopter to visit me!

Of course, I’m not discounting the work we do along the way. That’s a given. Work focused on where we want to go – but that’s what we’re going to do anyway!

I’m just saying that BEFORE anything else, we have to motivate ourselves and give ourselves a target – and that’s what creative visualization does.

Especially when done daily, even three to five times a day.

2. Maintain a Positive Mindset

Right from day one, believe you will be a successful writer, an author, or any other kind of freelancer you want to be.

As the age-old advice goes, “Believe and You Will Achieve.”

This is no longer New Age rhetoric, it’s now a proven strategy:

When you want something sincerely, never give up and keep pushing yourself towards one overriding goal, and you WILL achieve it.

I’ve discovered that’s how the Universe works. And you’ll discover it too if you just hold on to the belief that you will make it.

The universe, the world, God, if you like, rewards your focus.

Now I know that being positive all the time can be a challenge, especially if you’re prone to depression and negativity. That’s okay. I’m not talking about walking around like Pollyanna, always seeing the best in everything. No, I’m talking about something more practical.

Simply maintain a healthy belief that your future life WILL reflect the one you’re focusing on in your visualization sessions – and that’s enough. Even if it’s only MOST of the time. Or more time than not – say, at least more than 50 percent of the time!

3. Obtain and Learn the Relevant Information

This is vitally important!

You can’t drive a car without learning how. You can’t do brain surgery unless you’re taught. It’s the same with writing. Most of us need to learn how it’s done properly before we can do it for a living.

I’d go so far as to say none of us are naturals. We’re never born writers because, for instance, we all have to learn how to read first.

We have to learn to recognize words and communicate using them.

All of us have to learn how it’s done.

Chances are, if you know me at all, you’re a serious learner too.

That’s fine. There’s no shame in learning a trade and discovering the rules - that’s what I did.

As much as I might want to believe I was a natural artist, a born creator, I know too that I had to study writing, film making and had to learn how to play an instrument.

That’s basically what the Academy is for. You join to learn all there is to know about the craft of writing - because it will enable you to make a good living from it.

People often ask me about formal education like universities and colleges.

Trouble with these places is that not only are they incredibly expensive, they often don’t teach you the practical hands on information that will help you make a living in the real world.

Students who have studied writing formally often tell me they learn more from the Academy in a week than they ever learned at uni!

Theory is one thing. Life is another…

4. Practice

Now we all know that to get good at anything you’ve got to practice. Leonardo Da Vinci, I’m sure, did a lot of bad paintings before he perfected his craft. Stephen Spielberg made a lot of bad movies before he got to Hollywood and some modern pop stars – well, they’re still struggling with their musical ability behind the scenes - even though their producers – and modern technology – can often make them sound very talented.

Everything is about learning and study - and never believing you know it all.

You’ve got to keep developing, enhancing your abilities, constantly looking for new ways to express yourself.

Perfecting your craft is a duty you owe to yourself and you do that by working on it every day. I remember learning how to play the guitar when I was a teenager. It took me about a year just to get my fingers to do what they were supposed to, and another year to get any good at playing along with other musicians. All the time I wrote songs because I thought that was a great way to learn new things and get my voice stronger.

Similarly when I decided I wanted to write for a living, I wrote every day, little bits and pieces, diary type entries, mock articles, short stories, sometimes whole novels – because I knew instinctively that practice makes perfect.

Now I don’t quite know where the dedication to do these things consistently comes from. Perhaps it’s just innate in some of us but I do know that you can’t get better without practice and lots of it!

You just need to be aware that the best get good, but don’t stop, they then continue to develop themselves, get better, and every day strive to be the best they can be.

5. Focus on Specific Goals

You can’t get what you want unless you know exactly what that is.

You have to know what you want – your goals, your perfect life - and aim for it.

Plan for it.

Take active steps.

Push forward every day.

And, as I often say, you’re much more likely to succeed if you just focus on one goal at a time.

Spread yourself too thin or prioritize too many things and you’ll lose focus.

And determination.

The mind likes repeated acts of focus, daily attention to the details of a plan.

Honestly, time spent every day just staring at your plan, thinking about it, even at a complete snail’s pace, will help you much more than finding excuses and working on other stuff.

When I was dirt poor it seemed like nothing would change for weeks at a time. I felt like I was wading uphill through sludge that never ended.

But then suddenly, huge changes would happen and I would celebrate and think, I got there! But then quickly things would go back to normal. I’d need to set a bigger goal and work on that and the struggle to make things happen would start again.

It took me years to realize, this is life, this is the journey, this IS the making of success.

It’s a realization that grows from within – that you did what you set out to do and that you are more than capable of doing anything you set out to do!

In other words, success is a state of mind brought about by the certainty that – with work - you can be whoever you want to be.

6. Work Hard

This is the one thing people don’t want to face up to: the fact that achievement usually comes from hard work.

When you see others succeed apparently easily you’re usually only seeing the tiny part of the iceberg that got them there.

Hard work, doing the right thing consistently, even doing the wrong things often, are all part of seeming to be in the right pace at the right time.

Thanks to self help gurus like Grant Cardone, the modern zeitgeist is that you have to work ten times harder than you think in order to receive the success you want. But I think this way of thinking is flawed.

When Grant says he decided to work ten times harder on projects to make them successful, what he’s really saying is that he did the right amount of work.

Artists and entrepreneurs have a kind of creative myopia about projects – because they always take ten times more effort to complete than you originally thought. But that’s good because thinking something will be easy is motivating. If you knew how hard it was going to be you’d probably never start – as many people don’t

When I wake up in the morning, I ask myself one question.

"What can I do today to make my life even better?"

And when the answer comes, I’ll focus on that for the day.

Usually it’s some Academy related project.

Or it can be working on a music project, or a new novel or novella.

Or working in the garden or going for a walk on the beach with my wife.

Doing ten times the work is no good if you can’t manage it - or if you just waste lots of time on the wrong things.

My view is that as long as you’re having fun, you’ll get there.

The fun you have on your way is what carves out the future and ensures you’re in the best place to continue.

If all you’re doing is working hard and not enjoying it, what’s the point?

Why would you continue with something, working ten times harder, knocking yourself out to create it, if it’s not going to fulfill you? What's the point of ending up with something you’re too tired or irritated or sick to appreciate or enjoy?

And remember, each time you work too hard, you’re setting up all the wrong triggers in your brain.

You’ll start to dread the next project if you associate it with hard work.

Don’t do that. Relax, take it easy, have fun.

Do what you need to do, remove all the crap in your life and just get on with stuff as though you’re already successful in your chosen field!

As the old phrase says (because it’s true), find what you love to do and you’ll never work another day in your life.

7. Persist

It’s my belief most people have no clue how close they are to their perfect lives.

They give projects a try, new careers a try, new ways of looking at the world a go but pretty much always slip back into their old ways, like a tortoise pulling back it’s head into its shell. Because it’s more comfortable to be that way.

And sometimes things take so long, we stop in frustration and despair, thinking, it’s never going to happen – when if we’d just stuck with it a few moments longer, we’d have made it.

What we don’t realize is that it’s waiting for the final hurdle that IS the culmination of the goal.

Overcoming the sense of waiting too long IS the goal happening. Even letting go of the treasured outcome is part of the goal completion process.

Think about this.

You probably think that if you could make just a couple of adjustments, then your life would be perfect.

More money, less work and you’d be there, right?

The problem is that those little changes can come at a huge cost to us emotionally, psychologically and physically.

But that’s what it’s all about.

Because if those changes just happened, you wouldn’t know what to do, or how to feel.

In other words, we’re usually only ever comfortable being rich and successful when we’ve taken sufficient time and energy over getting there.

It’s often not the money or the stuff or the luck we actually need. It’s the time to adjust to feeling worthy of success that takes the longest time. And that’s why we need to persist.

Because it’s only by constant reinforcement and persistence that we change into the person we always wanted to be.

Okay that’s the seven stages of success.

Applied to writing in particular, it means you have to know where you want to end up before you start, visualize yourself as a successful author of books, living the life of a rich writer, then study and learn all you need to know, make a plan, and then go for it, do something toward your ultimate goal every day, and DON’T EVER GIVE UP!

As you can see, commitment is the key!

Commitment to your future life

Commitment to your learning

Commitment to your plan

Commitment to the work

Commitment to persist.

Commitment

For better or worse.

Stick at it.

Never say die.

Commit - and never look back!

Click Here to View The Writing Academy $9 Membership Plan

Advantages of Academy Membership

Ease of access - everything all in one place with progress and place markers. Your own dashboard open on any platform - PC, laptop, tablet, even your mobile phone
Access to crucial information anytime
Typically Academy members spend a tenth of what non members spend on courses
Access to discussion with the Academy tribe - and your personal writing mentor - Rob Parnell, for advanced guidance, help and motivation
Knowing your career is on track.
Professional accreditation you can add to your resume or post to LinkedIn
Conveniently structured learning system so you can pace yourself
Stop and/or restart your membership at any time - and your progress will be saved till you come back.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

I’m not a big fan of the idea you have to work 10 times harder than you imagined to get what you want.

Seriously?

Isn’t that recipe for disillusion and chronic burnout - and quickly?

My feeling is that is you can’t get what you want doing a normal amount of work every day, then it’s probably not an idea that was destined to work.

Isn’t that called flogging a dead horse?

What I have always done - and I think this is far preferable - is to work all the angles until you find something that does work without much work - and then stop doing everything else but the one thing that seems to need little momentum to sustain it.

This is called working smarter and is fundamental to business success.

Don’t knock yourself out trying to make bad ideas successful. You’ll just create ten time more embarrassing efforts.

Just find the good idea - and do that, because it’s obvious it’s what people like and are ready to support and endorse.

Stick to what you know.

Progress at your own speed.

The fact is everything works at a faster speed anyway.

A week with the Academy these days is worth the equivalent of a month or years learning before the net came along.

We can all learn to write salable novels now - something that used to take 15 to 20 years to perfect can now be mastered in a month or two.

Plus, we don’t have to spend months or years waiting for crappy, biased and impersonal feedback from a slow and outdated publisher.

We can now self-publish and discover immediately if there’s a demand for our work.

And we can write what we want for a year and be putting out our books, waiting for recognition, instead of fumbling in the dark for years, wondering whether have anything people want to read.

Learn quickly

Get yourself out there

Become successful soon.

Click Here to View The Writing Academy $9 Membership Plan

More Advantages of Membership

Ease of access - everything all in one place with progress and place markers. Your own dashboard open on any platform - PC, laptop, tablet, even your phone.
Access to crucial information anytime.
Access to discussion with the Academy tribe - and your personal writing mentor - Rob Parnell, for advanced guidance, help and motivation.
Knowing your career is always on track
Professional accreditations you can add to your resume or post to LinkedIn
Conveniently structured learning system so you can pace yourself
Stop and/or restart your membership at any time - and your progress will be saved till you come back

Like I said at the beginning of this (very long!) page, there are hundreds of benefits associated with being a career writer. But you don’t need me to endlessly outline all the benefits of being a full time writer, you already know in your own heart that it’s what you want.

Seriously, if you’ve gotten to the end of this page, you clearly want this.

And really, you’re not going to find anything like this anywhere else.

This is the real deal. Made just for you.

See you inside the Academy.

And keep writing!

Rob Parnell

Your success is my concern.

Click Here to View The Writing Academy $9 Membership Plan

Ever wondered why those elusive writing goals never seem to get any closer?

There’s actually a very simple reason. And, in less than twelve minutes, you’re going to know the secret strategies of world famous novelists and successful freelance writers - and be on your way to where you want to go!

There are many reasons to be a freelance writer and an independent bestselling author. Here are just a few of the benefits you could begin to enjoy…

The freedom to write whatever you want, whenever you want – for as long as you want!
The time and the ability to perfect and polish ALL your creative projects.
The chance to earn good money with no ceiling imposed by an employer.
The joy of knowing your time is your own.
The promise of fun and fulfillment in your work.
The unique independence of thought, act, and deed that authorship brings.
The enhanced sense of self-worth you feel as a writer.
The purpose and meaning that writing brings to your life.
The ability to take breaks and holidays whenever you like.
The wonder of choosing your next creative projects.
The respect you receive from others is worth a fortune.
The security you gain from being outside the rat race is also PRICELESS.
You get invitations to speak at seminars, talks, and writing presentations.
You get to choose your lifestyle, everything. No more grey suits and ties!
You can claim EVERYTHING on tax!

And these are just FIFTEEN things that came off the top of my head - right now!

I could spend all day outlining the benefits of being an author – and still not run out!

How to Achieve Success as a Writer…

Now, we all know that becoming a successful author is often dependent on a variety of factors: luck, timing, contacts, talent, relevance, and a million other little things that are usually outside of our control.

But I’m here to tell you there are a few factors – SEVEN, in fact – that ARE within your control and these are practical, doable aspects you can begin to master straightaway.

Because these seven factors are part and parcel of EVERY successful writers’ career.

They’re not just qualities, or must haves, or suggestions, they are in fact, STAGES in a writer’s INEVITABLE rise to success.

And it’s these stages I want to talk to you about today!

I’m going to let you in on how to start making a good income from writing from day one.

Just like I did about twenty years ago.

And thankfully never looked back!

I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it was to finally get out of the nine to five and create a career as a writer. It was, without doubt, the best move I ever made –

And it's something you can do too, right now.

Right from the get go, I want to assure you it’s actually not that hard to start making money as a writer - not when you absorb the Seven Stages of Author Success outlined below.

Now, if you're one of those people who DOESN'T think that making a living as a writer is easy, then you need to stick around! Because you're in for a treat...

All will be become clear. Soon.

First of all...

Who Am I?

Okay, if you don’t know me…

My name’s Rob Parnell and I’ve been a freelance writer, educator, and author for over twenty-five years.

I’ve taught creative writing to well over a million students online and have had over thirty number one bestsellers – including novels and short stories - on Amazon and with offline publishers.

I currently run my own writing academy that, after just two years, has over 5200 enrolled students.

I’m basically a writing teacher who focuses exclusively on creating self-sufficient well-paid writers of commercial fiction and salable articles and nonfiction.

I've studied success - and how to achieve it - all my life. And I can tell you that, after a while, you begin to realize it’s a process.

You begin to understand success is not a fluke or something that happens to other people.

Seriously.

Here’s a quick piece of advice:

Probably the greatest thing you can do to ensure your success is take out ten minutes of your day, every day, to simply dream…

Meditate… or visualize, whatever you want to call it.

Seriously - it will help you. Big time.

Take ten minutes out of your schedule every day just to relax, close your eyes and CREATE your future in your mind’s eye.

Now, I used to do this, even before I believed it did me any good, actually because I enjoyed it.

Twenty five years ago, it made me feel better about my life which, at the time, was horrible…

But now I’ve received and achieved so much, I can fully understand and appreciate the TRUE POWER of those ten minutes a day.

Because each time you close your eyes and create your future, through some unexplainable process, you are somehow rearranging matter, and literally MAKING the future you want.

I know it sounds a bit woo woo.

But the weird part is that it works!

I used to fantasize about having a big house with a pool, and people from Hollywood talking to me about turning my books into movies!

And eventually, everything came true!

I think the trick is to see your future clearly, in full color. Hear the sounds, see the sights and even experience the smells of a new and successful you and your surroundings.

Try it. (I mean really, what have you got to lose?)

See yourself in your perfect future life and smile.

Tell yourself you’re blissfully happy in this new future place.

You welcome it.

You’re looking forward to it with an eager open heart…

I’m sure you get the idea.

Now, a lot of people talk about how much they want to achieve their dreams. But only a few ever get close to actually changing their lives.

It's all about FOCUS.

In order to change your life, you’ve got to focus on what you want, dream about it every day, and move forward, changing what you do, just a little, all the time, until you become what you want to be.

Long time ago, I wanted to be a paid writer.

And, suffice it to say, I got there.

And surprisingly quickly, within just a short while (following the stages below) I became a full-time writer – actually without too much stress, and definitely without working hard, because – as I said – there’s a clear strategy that always works. A series of seven steps that will alwaysget you to where you want to go.

Let’s face it, life is short.

We’ve got to do all the things we want because there’s no second time around.

No reruns.

No doubling back.

You’ve got to take on life and ride it.

See the places you want to see.

Be the people you want to be.

Meet the people you want to know

And be the success you need to be, for your own sanity!

Now, I like to think I’m just like most ordinary folks.

I’m try to make the best of every day

And not feel like I’m wasting my life.

I certainly know what it’s like to want something so much it burns inside.

But now that I’ve discovered HOW to always turn things around, I know how to get pretty much anything I want.

In fact, the hardest part about always achieving your goals is probably sticking with one thing after you’ve decided that’s it, that’s what you want.

These days it’s way too easy to get distracted.

So much trivia seems important when you should be focusing on your goals.

Focus is the key

Every time.

Once you know which horse you’re gonna ride, you gotta stay on it till the finish line!

Now, the thing is, you don’t need any qualifications to be a writer.

Th ere’s no entrance exam you have to study for.

And there’s no weird Masonic handshake you need to know before you’re allowed to enter some sacred coven of authors.

It’s funny because I used to think there was.

I used to think professional writers actively guarded the secrets to how to get published and become a successful author.

I wasn’t just being paranoid.

There some truth to this...

This may seem funny - and a little unbelievable - but I used to belong to a writers’ group where the published authors wouldn’t talk to the unpublished authors!

Long time ago, in the days before the Internet, you just couldn’t get ahead unless you knew someone or got a personal recommendation.

Even back in the 90s there was so little information about getting published that it seemed like every nugget was hard won from experience.

The Net changed all that of course.

Suddenly everything was laid bare and getting published was no longer a mystery.

Sure, the big publishers still didn’t want you banging on their doors.

Literary agents are still the most arrogant and unhelpful scumbags on the planet.

The Internet wasn’t going to change that!

They still behave like they’re doing you a favor by taking your call - even though they wouldn’t exist without us.

But it’s interesting because now the tables have completely turned. Authors don’t need publishers, agents, even magazine editors, anymore. We can get by perfectly well without them!

Which is why - more than ever - we need places like my Writing Academy, to help us grow together as a community - to help us learn new rules and get the up to date information that allows us to compete in the new marketplaces - and to maintain a high paying career as an independent writer and author over the long term.

Let’s quickly look at what the Academy is - and does - for you.

What My Writing Academy Does For You

Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy offers over thirty video and text courses on writing fiction, becoming a freelance author, and keeping motivated and inspired.

It’s perfect for anyone who wants to write successful genre fiction and/or become a well-paid freelancer.

When you’re a member, you’ll learn how to plan and structure your writing career and move inexorably closer to your writing goals and dreams.

Your Writing Academy dashboard is designed to be your safe haven – a place of peace and gentle learning, where you can improve your skills and know how to compete in the 21^st-century writing marketplaces.

It’s also a place to connect with your fellow writers, other authors, peers, and mentors in a community of like-minded artists seeking the same basic outcomes.

Here's a Great Piece of Advice for Writers

I remember a great piece of advice I got once when I was stuck on a new project. I was trying to write a book at the time when a writing coach said, “It doesn’t have to be perfect, Rob, but it does have to happen!”

And I remember thinking that’s true of anything we’ve got to do!

So often we don’t start because we’re afraid of messing up or looking stupid or not creating something perfect.

That’s really dumb because - when you’re an artist, a writer, a musician, whatever, you have to just get it all out - and you can’t be afraid.

You’ve got to know it’s okay to be bad, especially for your first go.

It’s only fear that holds us back.

And then only the fear of FEAR ITSELF.

Crazy really, because we have to overcome the fear of embarrassing ourselves, and just get the first draft down.

Let it all out.

Be a child again.

Daub.

Make a mess.

Be spontaneous.

It’s all part of the process.

Later, when the inspiration is down, you can hone - and polish - and chisel away the imperfections.

I’m a Writer at Heart, First and Foremost

That’s where my passion lies, in the creation of original books, film, and music. I’m always trying to find the right balance between my work and helping other people.

To me, the Academy has three main functions:

To inspire

To educate and

To empower

The Academy does this through:

Writing and Success Courses

Motivation and Community

The New Membership Program

The longer I study humanity the more I become convinced that we are essentially similar, that we are motivated by the same values, and that we all want the same outcomes for ourselves.

To be happy, secure, successful, wealthy, and fulfilled.

Click Here to View The Writing Academy Membership Plan