Lucky writers…it’s just not fair!

I’ve heard many times in my writing career that it helps if you get lucky somewhere along the way.

“So how do you become a bestselling author?” writer Rod Raglin asks. “You get lucky….success is less about talent and more about opportunity plus it’s greatly influenced by accidents of time, birth, and place. In a word, luck.”

Others have similar feelings about luck—that a little bit is necessary for you to reach your highest goals.

Robert H. Frank, professor of economics at Cornell University, says, “[E]ven in the most competitive arenas, it is almost impossible to make it to the top without having also enjoyed at least a bit of good fortune along the way.”

What about you? Have you been lucky so far in your writing career? Whether you have or haven’t, you can improve your situation. Scientific studies have discovered that we can actually increase our chances of getting lucky. How? Try these seven tips.

7 Ways to Be One of Those Lucky Writers

1. Lucky Writers Prepare Themselves for Opportunities

This is about having faith in yourself. You put your head down and practice your craft, so when that opportunity does come your way, you’re ready for it.

Lucky writers write and write and write, regardless of whether they reach their goals right away. They’re the ones who create several novel-length manuscripts so they’re prepared when they get that three-book option.

“Excellence at performing a complex task, like writing a good novel,” says Raglin, “requires a critical minimum level of practice and that’s all there is to it. You first must get good, then get lucky.”

So don’t wait for luck. Prepare yourself now by setting a regular writing schedule and acting like you already are that successful writer you want to be.

2. Lucky Writers Seize Opportunities When They Come Along

Studies have found that lucky people are more open to opportunities.

Psychologist Richard Wiseman (author of the Luck Factor) has researched luck for years. In his study of over 400 men and women, he found that “lucky” people generate their own luck based on four principles, one of which is creating and noticing chance opportunities.

Wiseman found in his experiments that unlucky people missed chance opportunities because they were too focused on looking for something else. Lucky people, on the other hand, were more relaxed and open, and more likely to notice opportunities that showed up, rather than zeroing in only on what they were looking for.

Wiseman also noticed that lucky people went out of their way to encounter chance opportunities. They made a point to meet new people, and weren’t afraid to try new things just for fun, whereas unlucky people analyzed things too much before taking action.

Finally, lucky people were more likely to say “yes” to opportunities. “If your first reaction to a new opportunity is to say ‘no’ well, then it doesn’t matter that you spotted them,” says Jelte ten Holt in Vagabond Writers.

3. Lucky Writers Consider Themselves Lucky

Do you think you’re lucky? Your answer to that question could be the reason why you are or aren’t.

Those who consider themselves lucky are generally optimistic people, and those positive emotions may help them to actually get luckier. “Lucky people expect good things to happen,” says Michael Shermer in Scientific American, “and when they do they embrace them.”

Indeed, just feeling lucky can improve how you think and act, which can, in turn, actually increase your luck. “Feeling lucky can lead you to work harder and plan better,” says Chelsea Wald in Nautilus. “It can make you more attentive to the unexpected, allowing you to capitalize on opportunities that arise around you.”

Feeling unlucky, on the other hand, can actually negatively affect your creative thinking and your ability to plan and organize. In a 2013 study, researchers found that beliefs in being unlucky were associated with deficits in cognitive functioning, while a 2015 study found that those who believed themselves to be unlucky were less able to focus well on a task.

“People who believe in bad luck didn’t necessarily engage in some of the processes that are needed to bring about positive outcomes,” said lead author John Maltby.

4. Lucky Writers Listen to Their Intuition

Wiseman also found that lucky people listened to their intuition, and followed it to make “lucky decisions.” This may be particularly true for writers and other creative artists who must rely on their intuition not only to do their work, but to create their careers, as well.

After all, there is no direct blueprint for how to create a successful artistic career. You have to find what works for you and where your niche is, and build from there. That means you really have to listen to your creative instincts as to which direction you should go.

“Almost 90 percent of lucky people said that they trusted their intuition when it came to personal relationships, and almost 80 percent said it played a vital role in their career choices…,” Wiseman said in Luck Factor.

In other words, when in doubt, go with your gut.

He continues, “Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation. I think this helps them because gut feelings act as an alarm bell—a reason to consider a decision carefully.”

I can’t remember a single intuitive decision I’ve made (and most all are intuitive) that didn’t turn out to be the right decision when it came to my writing career. Of course, it helps to fine-tune your intuition so it’s working as well as possible. How to do that? Wiseman, like so many others, recommends regular meditation.

5. Lucky Writers Expect that Lucky Break

Another thing lucky people have in common is that they expect their good luck will continue. They don’t believe that there’s a finite amount of luck to go around and after at time, theirs will run out. Instead, they have faith that they will continue to encounter good luck throughout their lives.

“The first sub-principle of this principle is having faith that your good luck will continue,” says ten Holt. “If you believe this, then you will continue to interact with the world in good faith. And that, in turn, makes the world far more likely to interact in a positive way with you.”

This is all about allowing your positive emotions to guide you. If you expect that good things are going to happen to you in the future, you’re more likely to take actions that prepare you for those good things. When you believe you’re going to become a good writer, for example, you may be more likely to invest in that writer’s conference or workshop, which will, in turn, help you reach your goal.

If you believe you will get that publishing contract you want, you’ll be more likely to keep trying even after receiving rejections. Your positive beliefs lead you into positive actions, and those actions increase the likelihood that along the way, you’ll get lucky.

6. Lucky Writers Transform Lemons Into Lemonade

Wiseman found something else unique about lucky people—they tend to see the good side of bad luck.

In one experiment, researchers asked people to imagine they were standing in line, waiting to be served at a bank, when a bank robber storms in and shoot a gun. The bullet hits the participant in the arm. Would they consider that to be lucky or unlucky?

Unlucky people saw the bad side of the situation—that they were unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and to end up getting shot. Lucky people, on the other hand, saw the good side, feeling they were lucky that the gunshot didn’t create a more dangerous or deadly wound.

Wiseman stated, “Lucky people tend to imagine spontaneously how the bad luck they encounter could have been worse and, in doing so, they feel much better about themselves and their lives. This, in turn, helps keep their expectations about the future high, and, increases the likelihood of them continuing to live a lucky life.”

So how exactly should you feel about that rejection, or that bad review? Consider how it could have been worse, and you may increase your good luck in the future.

7. Lucky Writers Have Lucky Pens

If you want to be luckier in your writing life, consider getting a lucky pen, if you don’t have one already.

Researchers recently discovered that having customized items that reinforce your identity can actually improve performance. In one set of studies, they had university students solve an anagram puzzle using either a pen they had customized to express themselves, or a pen they had picked out that they liked. In another set of studies, they had students decorate a paper dart or a beer coaster, and then observed their performance in a game of darts or a coaster flip game.

Results showed that when students used their customized “lucky” pen, they found more words in the anagram puzzle, and when they used their customized darts, they scored higher in a game of darts. When they used their customized coasters, they caught more coasters in the flip game. Across all the studies, customization improved performance by 25 percent!

The effects worked best when the object had something to do with the person’s goal or purpose. So if you want to be a better writer, a pen or mug that proclaims something to do with that goal would be best. If you want to be a bestseller, adjust your products accordingly.

Want to increase your chances of getting lucky as a writer? Consider making yourself a customized pen, mug, mouse pad, or something to inspire your improved performance when writing. Vistaprint is a great place to get started.

How do you increase your luck as a writer?

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Source
Jelte ten Holt, “The Four Principles of How to be Lucky,” Vagabond Writers, October 6, 2017, http://vagabondwriters.com/how-to-be-lucky/.