I recently read a blog post by Kristen Lamb

It made me shout out OOHYA and do a fist pump.

The Topic of Her Blog?

Good Girls Don’t Become Best-Sellers—Channeling Your Inner “Bad Girl” to Reach Your Dreams.

Among the many lessons in this post, she discusses how we can unlearn behavior lessons passed down to us over the years and learn from watching how men do business. One of the many ways I admire Kristen Lamb is that she’s not afraid to tackle controversial topics and tell it like it is. I personally needed this reminder of what I was like when I started on this journey. I was gutsy and determined.

Least you misunderstand my intent here, I’m not advocating masculinity over femininity. Let me explain. I have a dear female friend who is a highly successful author. She is at all times a LADY in speech and action. She is regal and commands your attention, without so much as a harsh word. Yet, when she discovered that her publisher didn’t have her best interest at heart, she took it upon herself to hire an attorney, get back the rights to all her books, educate herself on how to successfully independently publish and market her work – Globally. That’s the kind of strong, gutsy woman I’m talking about!

Perhaps having spent years working as a lone female in a male-dominated business environment, and being successful, has helped me understand how to use my strengths to advantage. And, I will tell you that running my own company as a woman makes me keenly aware of this facet of the business world. But if you want to be a professional author and make money with your books, well then you are talking about running a business. If not—it’s a hobby—not that there’s anything wrong with that. But you do need to know which avenue you are pursuing.

Here’s an example of the honest content in Kristen’s blog:

When it comes to writing, the second a man even starts a novel, he has business cards with “Author” as his title and he is securing a website. Women, on the other hand? Let’s pause that thought for a little test.

How many of you are aspiring writers? Raise your hand. No one will see.

Now, use that hand to smack yourself soundly and never call yourself that again.

Writers write. There is no try. There is no aspire. Aspiring is for wimps. It takes guts and blood to be a writer.

No one will take us seriously unless we do it first.

Yeah – Kristen doesn’t pull any punches!

 

So, Kristen asks if you see yourself in any of these scenarios?

Are you scared to admit you have a dream?

Do you call yourself an aspiring writer?

Do you find it difficult to admit you want something? To claim a certain life?

Do you tweet as @fairywriter or @ILuvBooks or @dragongirl instead of your real name?

Have you ever said, “Well I tried and that’s all that counts.” ?

Do you believe it is unbecoming to brag?

Are you afraid to start a blog?

Do you feel selfish that you want to write?

Do you put everyone and everything ahead of your writing?

Are you afraid of failure?

Are you afraid to ask for what you want?

If you answered, “Yes” to even ONE of these, read Kristen’s blog!

Good Girls Don’t Become Best-Sellers—Channeling Your Inner “Bad Girl” to Reach Your Dreams.

 

I would love to hear back from you regarding this topic. Do you agree? Disagree? Did you find it helpful? How are you going to be a stronger woman writer?

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