Q: “We’re thrilled about your blog-to-book success — what’s one tip you can give to aspiring authors on WordPress.com?”
A: “I have two important words: mulish determination.In my experience, the most important thing is just to keep on doing it, and to keep on trying to learn how to do it better. Keep on blogging, writing, taking notes, talking to friends and strangers who write, and pushing yourself to learn more and improve your craft.
I found Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers really helpful. He talks a lot about the “10,000-Hour Rule,” which claims that the key to success in any field is practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. That’s a lot of time before success hits!
So, practice that mulish determination and just keep on writing.”
Last November, we chatted with New Zealand blogger Jared Gulian, who snagged a publishing contact for a book based on his WordPress.com blog, Moon Over Martinborough. His book of the same name, released last month, has climbed to #4 on New Zealand’s bestseller list for nonfiction. We caught up with Jared amid this exciting, eventful month and talked to him about his experience so far.
Your book, Moon Over Martinborough, was released on June 7. What has the past month been like?
It’s been absolutely insane in the best possible way. It started out with a launch event in the Martinborough village, where I live. The turnout was amazing. Everyone was very excited about the book, since it features Martinborough and its people.
After the launch, it kept getting better. I’ve been surprised by the level of media interest across New Zealand, and I’ve had interviews with…
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