@joebunting

WSJ Bestselling writer, dad, founder of The Write Practice, and author of Crowdsourcing Paris. Cries in every movie. Devil eyebrows.

 Atlanta, GA
joebunting.com
Joined September 2008
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How do you finish writing a book? After writing 15 books and teaching thousands of people to do it too, I've learned anyone can finish writing a book. Writing a book is hard, really hard, but with a good process, it's very achievable. A thread.
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Learning new skills creates new realities. When I was 4 months into learning French, suddenly French newspapers had meaning, overheard conversations weren't gibberish, and navigating Paris restaurants went from stressful to fun practice.
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What skill are you going to use to unlock a new reality?
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The editor who rejected my memoir years ago later gave me an $80K advance for a new book. You don't know what the future holds for your writing. That "no" might just be a "not right now."
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Sold a book for a $125K advance, which is amazing, but the book proposal also took almost a year of development (before the book was ever written). Most writers rush from idea to draft, but successful books often need more planning before they're ready to write.
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I set what felt like an impossible (to me) goal: run a sub-20 minute 5K (6:20/mile pace). Then six months later I ran a race: 25:33 (8:12/mile). Not even close. But the real win is that before setting the goal, I ran maybe twice a week. Now I run 6 times a week, 25-35 miles.
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After six months of training I was still far away from my target. But I also wasn't the same person who set that goal 6 months before. What impossible goal would transform you?
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Learning a language, like learning everything, comes in waves, moments of breakthrough followed by long periods that feel like you're not making progress. I recently read several entire chapters of La Parole de Vie in French.
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All because I keep showing up every day with my flashcards. Consistency over confidence every time.
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Flashing back to a run last summer when it rained on me by the sea in northern France as I listen to A Year in Provence. Magic.
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I read 45 books this year, nearly 20,000 pages of reading.
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Favorite guilty pleasure series: Dungeon Crawler Carl (so fun!) Favorite novel of the year: Once a Runner Favorite re-read: Spinning Silver (always favorite) but Great Expectations and Boyd were close seconds Least favorite novel: Wicked (honestly, hate it so much)
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Favorite nonfiction: Wild Courage Favorite narrative nonfiction: A Year in Provence (magical reading it in France!) How about you? What's on your list?
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I'd quit writing books so many times that quitting became my identity. It didn't change until I stopped trying to be perfect and started practicing deliberately. Theory, goals, coaching, feedback, community.
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These five elements transformed me from a chronic quitter to a bestselling author.
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The rule of publishing is that it will be messy. Always. Two quick stories from today:
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Then, a few years ago, an agent I work with offered to represent it, but the client had moved on to other projects. A week ago, they just reached out and are ready to restart the process. I'm so excited about this project, and 100% confident it will be published.
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Publishing is messy. It almost never goes how I want it to, but it often works out how it should (if you can outlast the heartbreak along the way).
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That moment when you collapse on the floor sobbing because your work feels worthless isn't failure. For me, it was the doorway to breakthrough. I've had a breakdown in almost every major project of my life. Now I see them as promises that success is just around the corner.
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