Risk + Revelation = Success

{photo by: biblioteekje}

What’s the key to success?

Well I’ve shared my secret to successful freelance writing in the past. But this post is less of a secret and more of an observation.

Here’s a hint:

What’s Julia and Julia, Steven Rowland and Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson have in common?

They all did something most of us wouldn’t dare do. They took a huge risk and gained not only notoriety and dough, but revelation-a key piece to their success. Let’s look a little closer.

The Players:

{photo from squidoo}

1. Julie & Julia. Julie Powell’s now become a household name in the hard to reach land of blogger turned author. How’d she do it? She decided to dedicate a year (that’s 365 days!) to cook and devour all of icon Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I (that’s 524 recipes!). Maybe that sounds less than courageous to you. But imagine dedicating a whole year to cooking delicious, but highly difficult to make and sometimes to eat dishes, especially when you are a writer not a chef. Think about all the time and effort spent preparing, buying groceries and planning meals. To me, the idea seems terrifying. But to Powell it sounded right. And it was a good thing too. She not only scored a book deal, but a movie (if you had been living under a rock and didn’t know) played by I-could-just-about-die-if-it-happened-to-me actress Meryl Streep.




2. Steven Rowland. You may not have heard of Mr. Rowland. Unless, you are an editor of a magazine. Why? In an inspiring story I read in the October 2010 issue of Writer’s Digest, I learned that Rowland gave up his life of freelance writing (the horror!) because and I quote, “after three years I’d had enough of the freelance life. The late payments, the constant pitching and rejection, the solitude, the inertia-almost everything about freelance got to me, and so quit.” But he didn’t quit for long. Instead, he had an epiphany. If he was going to make a living as a freelance writer, he needed to get more work. Hence, his decision to query all 642 magazines in a market guide for writers. Yep, that’s a lot of pitches. But it’s landed him a coveted article in Writer’s Digest and a book deal.




3. Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson. Would you ever think graffiti writing over public signs could inspire a $150,000 book deal? It does when it’s done by an editor (Deck) and a bookseller (Herson). The two friends traveled for three months in America whipping out their pens and Wite-Out whenever they saw a typo or grammatical error. Even though they did face federal charges for “fixing” a sign in the Grand Canyon, they ended up paying $3,000 in fines-a small price in comparison to their book deal.

Was it Worth It?

In the end, all parties received an open door towards opportunity-one that may not have presented itself had they not taken the risk. This writer definitely thinks it was worth it.

What Can We Learn From Their Experience?

A combination of big risks and revelation creates a juicy and attractive equation for success. If you’re willing to jump outside of your comfort zone and do something courageous and authentic (something you’re truly interested in), you may gain a following. And that kind of buzz can change the course of your career.

What do you think?

I guess the real question you have to ask yourself is: What would you do to make your freelance writing career a success? And am I willing to do it?

If you are a business owner needing a push to get your website off and running with compelling copy or a writer who needs help getting more work, email me at bauyemura (at) gmail (dot) com. I’d love to help.