Accountability for the Indie Author

It is a known fact that majority of people do better when they have some form of accountability. Trying to lose weight? Having a gym buddy or personal trainer will make you twice as likely to stick with it. Have a deadline or a business partner waiting on something? You get it done faster. Project where others are relying on you? It becomes more of a priority. You get my point.

Writing is no different. For the traditional authors, they have dead lines for agents or publishers. For indies, we have each other. Seriously.  I know that, for me at least, if I have someone counting on me to write, I write. If I don’t have goals or if I don’t tell anyone about them, other things constantly get in my way. (Or you know, posting on accountability because a really amazing book distracted me ALL DAY LONG!)

Find a writing group, a critique partner, or just post your goals for the day on Facebook or Twitter. Nine times out of ten, someone WILL ask if you made it and no want wants to admit to slacking off.  If you ever see a post like that, ASK them. You will be helping them.

Other ways are word sprints or write chats, where you promise to write at the same time as other authors. Even if you do screw around and don’t write, you are giving your writing buddy a chance to feel that accountability themselves and write what they can.

I have said it before and I will say it again and again, Find your people. Find those special people who encourage you and help you. Don’t deal with the hate and the negative presence out there.

So, feel free to add me on twitter or facebook because I post all the time about Word Chats or Word sprints and I would love to be your person to feel accountable to :D