I was giving the Vertical Platforms talk last night, describing some of the changes that were happening at the BFA, and someone made a comment about how cool it was to see us editing our business. And I thought that was the most brilliant way to describe the process of sustainability.
So many of us are doing everything we’ve been told is supposed to work (to sell books, or honestly, in any self-directed profession) and because there’s no boss to tell us not to do those things (whether we would listen or not), we just continue to pile on thing after thing.
And we’re getting tired.
But here’s the thing. You’re not getting tired because of all the work. Most of us will thrive if we find the amount of work for our plate that will push it to the edge of our margin. (Everyone has a different size plate, of course, and not everyone can fill their plate with the same amount of work.)
You’re getting tired because the outcome doesn’t match the input. You’re getting tired because you are expected to do everything with no limits, and you’re encouraged to just keep doing more at every turn, with no concern for you or your health.
We are re-trenching at the BFA because we realized that that “all the things” were causing our business to flag. And there were things that weren’t moving the Big Needle for me (seeing authors feel more sane and sustainable, and developing people in their Strengths, which is what I want to do anyway).
I wasn’t tired because of the number of hours I was working (that does occasionally happen to some people, but the majority of people who are burning out and tired are specifically suffering from a lack of support or are suffering from a lack of results).
Doing a level 1 amount of work and getting a level 1 amount of result back (that balance of the equation) is what makes our biology feel like we have accomplished it correctly. When we work at a 10 and get a 1 result, we will burn out.
And when we’re doing 10 work because we assume (for many reasons, many of which are happening in our own heads and not necessarily on the promises of others… although sometimes on the promise of others) we should be getting 10 results… but we get 1 result or 0 result, we get demoralized.
We feel the most comfortable in continuing to work when we’re getting equal results for the amount of work we put in. (Especially for those of us who are more dominant in Achiever, Discipline, Focus, Responsibility, or Consistency… but in general, this is a biological thing.)
Yes, some of us are burning out just because there is too much on our plates. But we’re doing all the things because we think we’re going to get the results from the work.
One of the things I’m encouraging a lot lately is the push for sustainability, because we are in the equivalent of the modernist era of publishing. We’re not really building industry anymore. The industry is basically built. The Wild West is settled, the industries are rising, the railroads are either built already or in the process of being built. Now, it’s law and order time. Sustainability time. We have to learn the rules and learn how to thrive in those rules. Longevity will be the watch word.
By all means, reach for the stars, absolutely a fan of big, audacious goals (especially if that’s your personality). And if you don’t hit the stars, and don’t hit the moon, and don’t even hit space, there is still hope for you to be doing this career for your entire life. If you do it in a way you can sustain.
Yeah, this might mean some of us (likely, according to the stats and according to trends in all other entertainment industries, most of us) aren’t going to be able to have the “full-time” author dream. But I don’t think that’s bad news the way some people do. You always have agency to change your situation.
For some of us, that will mean being a full-time author, and for some it won’t. But we can all be authors for our entire lifetimes. Again. If we do it sustainably.
Some of us don’t have much gas left in the gas tank, and some of us are out completely. Please consider editing your business. Please consider quitting the things that aren’t working and QTP’ing the promises to get the gold rush back. Please consider writing more, and staying fully in the Research & Development phase (not building infrastructure) until the sales demand it.
We can’t long sustain 10 work and 1 result. And for some of us, if we burn out enough, we’re eventually going to want to quit. But the publishing industry is open. We can be authors for our lifetime.
Again, I know that some people will take issue with this. I get that. It will be uncomfortable for some of us, and not everyone needs to think the way I think. That’s the great thing about diversity of personality. But when I see a significant amount of frustration in this industry, I feel like shouting, “it’s going to be ok though” all the time, when I see us getting FOMO and adding things to plates because that’s why we do it. We’re not ok.
Anyway, this is one more step on a new journey for us, and I’m very much looking forward to the future. I feel lighter, letting go of expectations of what I should be. No one knows but me.
It takes all kinds of people in this industry. Some are going to be the “you can all make a million dollars” people (and we need those people, by the way…), and some are going to be me, because making a million dollars isn’t going to make you happy anyway. We are awful at predicting what will make us happy. So I guess I’ll just be me.
Apparently, I feel better when I quit things. Who knew.
Someone should really write a book on that…….
– Becca
Wow. Reading this post tonight was… It’s like someone heard me, begging for answers.
I took the Strength assessment this morning and I was like I’m already using my strengths pretty well, but… I want to know how not to burn out.
And you just…answered it. The 10-1 return is exactly what I’m feeling, and I need to quit some stuff. I don’t think I can will myself into being a bestseller. That involves too many things I can’t control.
Anyway, thank you. 🙏