Heinlein's Rule Number 5 - You Must Keep It On The Market Until Sold

And on the one year anniversary of this blog, we finish up the series on Heinlein's Rules of Writing.

"You must keep it on the market until sold."

This one seems to apply only to writers going for traditional publication, but I think it applies equally to self-published and indie writers.

Sure indies don't have that single magic moment where you can say "I sold a story." Sales happen over time: a trickle, and then less, and then a little more, and then a little less.... Are you ever going to get anywhere? How do you know when to give up?

I'll let Winston Churchill say it:



"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

You can define "sold" any way you want - but you must keep it on the market until you have achieved it.

And one last caveat: Seth Godin put it well when he said, "Persistence isn't doing the same thing over and over - that's just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over."

Never give in, but do learn from your efforts! (And now, of course, get back to Rule 1 - Write!)

And this brings to a conclusion the first year of this blog. Tomorrow we look forward into the next phase of this ongoing dare, explore what is undone, and set some new goals.