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Green With Envy? Fugetaboutit!

by Denise A. Agnew

No one wants to admit it, but everyone feels a twinge of envy from time to time in their lives. Authors write about jealousy in their novels, an emotion no one admits feeling, yet everyone has felt. Talking about it is almost taboo. I’m adventurous these days, though, so indulge me a moment. :) This is an “if the shoe fits” article, so if you’re already a positive, upbeat person with your eyes on the goals in your life, then as they say in Australia, goodonya. (No, I’m not Australian, I just like that word.)

Each writer, at some point in her career, envies another author’s success and the good fortune coming that person’s way. Nothing wrong with envy, really. It can motivate you to do a better job next time, to keep on writing, to accomplish your best work ever. There is one thing writers should watch out for because extreme envy or jealousy can eat away at you until the damage is done and you didn’t realize it until too late.

All Those Negative Thoughts Accumulate, You Know

Okay, sit down and think hard right now. Have you ever known a writer who isn’t a great person and yet has phenomenal success? Deep inside, based on intuition or on actual evidence, you’ve seen this person is rotten to the core. Alternatively, at the very least, an over the top self-promoting, loop-hogging, nasty…okay, you see which direction I’m going here, right? Finally, one day the inevitable happens. The Monstrous Author receives an ugly review or her books don’t sell well. Is it karma? Could be. Ah, here it comes. You suddenly feel a rush of deep satisfaction when that author isn’t doing well. Oh-oh. You’re basking in her lack of success. For a minute, you let the satisfaction waft over you, and then perhaps you feel self-disgust at enjoying the person’s misfortune. Still…the bad author got what she deserved, right?

Think hard again. Have you ever known a writer who is a great person and has phenomenal success? Of course. Deep inside, based on the evidence you’ve seen, you know this person is a pearl. Yet part of you wonders why YOU don’t have quite so many book sales or YOU don’t ALWAYS get triple 5 plus reviews, or people aren’t slobbering over your novels at a book signing. Instead of looking at what you need to change in yourself, you begrudge the good author her success and whatever she’d done to accomplish that achievement. One day the inevitable happens. The Good Author gets an ugly review or her books don’t sell well. Is it karma? You dunno. Ah, here it comes. You suddenly feel a rush of satisfaction the pearl is no longer at the top of the stack.

Do you see what’s happened here? It doesn’t matter whether writer A is rotten and writer B is an angel, you’re still receiving a rush out of their bad luck. You’re concentrating too much on the fortune or misfortune of others, and not on what you need to do/change/be to satisfy your goals and expectations. But, wait. You, too, can slay the green monster. You can pull up your bootstraps and march forward to triumph knowing you peddled there on your own steam. Here’s how you do it.

How to Fugetaboutit

Realize that downbeat thoughts get you nowhere. Negative thoughts are difficult to defeat but work toward a goal of positive thinking that will result in many rewards. Put the negative out there, and you will receive it right back. Probably in the form of an astronomical, obnoxious lemon cream pie in the face.

1. This is the absolute most important point: YOU ARE THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE. All positive steps you take toward writing, whether it be jamming in another page of writing in today, saying positive things about others, planning what you can do to further your career (without stepping on anyone to get there) will produce more excellent outcomes for you.
2. One Universal Truth needs no explanation: Do Nothing and Nothing Will Happen.
3. Work with what you can do and stop whining about what you can’t do.
4. Dump your obsession with how Susie Lou Sweet or Minnie The Mouth are doing in their careers. It doesn’t matter. Wish them the best and compliment them when they do well.
5. There will always be someone more successful than you, whether you like it or not. Not liking it doesn’t change a thing. They’ll STILL be more successful than you. So get off your duff and do what you need to do. :)
6. The less you fixate on other author’s successes and concentrate on your endeavors, the more achievement comes to you.
7. Wallow in scum and you come up dirty. Wallowing in your career misfortunes gets you nothing. Determination to climb from the quicksand and move forward is the best policy. Dozens of times I’ve heard authors who’ve had a devastating career event say, “I’ll never write again.” Why?

The tips above seem excessively simple. They are. In the space I allotted for this article, I couldn’t give you an in depth rundown. Hopefully, this short piece will provide food for thought and maybe a boost to drive you forward with your career. Remain focused on the best you can do. All the rest…FUGETABOUTIT!

Denise A. Agnew
www.deniseagnew.com

Suspenseful, erotic, edgy, thrilling, romantic, adventurous. All these words describe Denise A. Agnew’s award-winning novels. Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine called her romantic suspense novels “top-notch” and her erotic romance PRIMORDIAL received a TOP PICK from Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine. Denise’s record proves that with paranormal, time travel, romantic comedy, contemporary, historical, erotic romance, and romantic suspense novels under her belt, she enjoys writing about a diverse range of subjects. The fact she has lived in Colorado, Hawaii, and the United Kingdom has given her a lifetime of ideas. Her experiences with archaeology have crept into her work, as well as numerous travels through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Denise lives in Arizona with her real life hero, her husband.

Articles Index >Green With Envy? Fugetaboutit!