It is a well-known old saw that the home run kings in baseball also tend to be the strike out kings.
Sometimes we writers are like the proverbial home run king. We step up to the plate and expect our latest piece of writing to be that blast out of the park that wins the game.
And when it isn’t, we get all depressed that we struck out.
It doesn’t matter what we’re writing: poems, short stories, blog posts, plays, or the grocery list. If we don’t hit it out of the park, we become depressed at our “failure.”
The difference between we writers and baseball’s home run kings, is that writers too often give up. The home run kings don’t.
However, let me propose a different approach. We writers would be better off to picture ourselves as the initial lineup.
The purpose of our first work, doesn’t matter what it is, is to get on base. To get some name recognition. The money, scoring a run, will come later.
The job of the second batter in the line up is to move the runner into scoring position. And that is the purpose of our second piece of writing. It furthers name recognition. And builds reader attention.
Our third work is the one that may score the run. If not, perhaps the fourth one will.
In any event, we keep trying that tried and true plan of getting on base, moving the runner over, then bringing him home.
Michael Anderle did much the same thing I’ve written above.
Using the minimum viable product approach, because he didn’t want to spend a lot of money or time on his books if they weren’t going to get on base, Anderle published 3 books in one month and then a fourth the following month.
As it turned out, they were a hit and he went on to build a giant publishing empire.
Now most of us won’t become millionaires from our writing. But we can gain name recognition and maybe a few bucks if we work it right.
The formula is simple: get on base, move the runner over, then bring him home.
If we try for a home run every time we publish something — we’re going to have a lot of strikeouts and probably lots of disappointment.
And who wants that?
Baseball and writing. Yeah. It works.
Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!
CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.
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