by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart
“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Woody Allen
I think Woody nailed it. Let me give you an example:
At the Rubart Writing Academy (which I run with my son Taylor) we teach students how to be unique, how to stand out, how to make a strong impression on agents, editors, and readers.
One of the simple ways to accomplish this is to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. If everyone is sending emails, send a snail mail letter. If everyone is sending snail mail, send an email.
I was brainstorming with one of our students back in July on how she could get noticed by an agent she’s hoping will rep her. She was going to see him in a few weeks at a conference, so I suggested sending him a postcard a week prior to the conference.
That way he’d already have a good impression of her, and because none of the other conferees would have sent a postcard, she’d stand out.
She sent the postcard. It worked. Great meeting with the agent. Wants to see her manuscript when it’s finished.
She showed up.
But here’s where she knocked me out. The other day I opened up the mailbox and found this:
Grace showed up. Didn’t just send the postcard for the agent, sent one to me as well. Do you think that made an impression on me? Huge. She didn’t just talk about doing it, she did it. Does something as simple as that make me want to go to bat for her all the more? Yep. It does.
“The smallest action is worth more than the grandest intention.” Oscar Wilde once again.
You probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that while I’ve had more than a few folks over the years thank me for my counsel, far fewer take action. Grace showed up. Grace took action.
(By the way, did you notice how she calls me “Dad”? (Even though I’m far, far too young to be her dad.) Another way she makes herself stand out to me.)
Next month I have another story about a friend who made blew my mind (and made a significant impression on me) with her extreme thoughtfulness, but for the moment I have two questions to leave you with:
Where do you need to show up? Where do you need to take action? Whatever it is, I encourage you to do so.
What if You Woke up One Morning and the Darkest Parts of Yourself Were Gone?
Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on—with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep out of the blue, they’re shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he’s changed. Radically.
His anger is gone. He’s oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he’s been but knows he’s been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he’s been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.
But then shards of his old self start to rise from deep inside—like the man kicked out of the NFL for his fury—and Toren must face the supreme battle of his life.
In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, James L. Rubart explores the war between the good and evil within each of us—and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish his stories. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award winning author of nine novels, a speaker, branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington. More at jamesLrubart.com