The celebration known as Elvis Week began shortly after Elvis’s death on August 16, 1977.
That year, mourners from around the world gathered at Graceland—the entertainer’s home and where he was when he passed—to pay tribute.
Ever since the gathering has continued at the same time every year. Fans make their way to Graceland in a tribute to Presley’s life, and there enjoy concerts, dance parties, celebrity appearances, meditation walks to the Meditation Garden of Graceland, and more.
I grew up listening to Elvis. My mom was a big fan and often played his records in the living room, encouraging me and my brothers to dance. She also took us to Graceland one year, where I was particularly fascinated by the jungle room.
In this way, Elvis and his music became a part of my life. I thought it might be fun to go back through his biggest hits to see which ones might apply to a writer’s life. Here’s what I came up with.
Elvis Week for Writers #1. I’m All Shook Up
As I’m writing this, I’m in the middle of my latest book launch, and this song seems particularly appropriate! Few book launches go off without a hitch, and this last one was no exception.
Here’s an example of just one thing that happened: The printer was behind on creating the proof for my book, so my publisher wasn’t able to approve it until a couple of weeks before the release date. My first book signing was scheduled for a day after that date, and I sweated whether or not the books would arrive on time.
In the end, they got there, but it was stressful worrying about it.
Writers have many reasons to feel anxious and shook up. Deadlines, writer’s block, rejections, book launches, and more can all create anxiety and stress. Elvis’ solution was “to have that girl that I love so fine.”
For writers, I think there’s a better solution.
Solution for Writers: Realize that you can control only so much. Do what you can, then step back and let the chips fall where they may. There’s a balance between going after it and knowing when to take your hands off the wheel.
Usually, when your stress level starts to rise, that’s the time to take a step back and do something that will help you relax and feel centered once again.
Elvis Week for Writers #2: Return to Sender
When I think of this song in terms of writers, I think of rejections. That story you sweat bullets over went out to an agent or editor and came back stamped with a rejection.
Of course, today the note is more likely to arrive via email than through postal service—if you get any communication at all!—but the effect is the same. You can hear the disappointment and frustration in the lyrics of the song, and surely that frustration is evident inside you if you’re the writer receiving the rejection.
Unfortunately, rejections are part of the writer’s life. You can’t expect to get your work published without receiving your share of them. But they can be extremely discouraging and if you’re not careful, may stop you from submitting your work altogether.
Elvis’ solution is to skip the postal service, “take it myself, and put it right in her hand.” I doubt hand-delivery would help in a writer’s case, however.
Solution for Writers: There are three ways to deal with rejections:
- Understand that they are part of every writer’s life, and they don’t mean that you aren’t a good writer.
- Have a submission system in place so that after receiving a rejection, you can send your story right back out to another agent or editor.
- Know when you need to get help. If you receive 10 or more rejections without a comment from any agent or editor, consider hiring someone to help you with your story, synopsis, query letter, or all three.
3. Heartbreak Hotel
Few writers get through the writing life without experiencing a little—or a lot—of heartbreak. We put our hearts and souls into our writing, then put it out there for others to read and critique. It’s the way it works, but that doesn’t mean the hard edits or bad reviews hurt any less.
Other sources of heartbreak for writers include rejections, poor sales, unfinished novels, and isolation. We can, indeed, “feel so lonely, [we] could die.”
As a writer, you don’t want to stay on “Lonely Street” for very long. As Elvis sings:
Now, the bellhop’s tears keep flowin’
And the desk clerk’s dressed in black
Well, they’ve been so long on Lonely Street
Well, they’ll never, they’ll never look back
We’ve read about authors who fell into a state of despair and never looked back. You don’t want to be one of them.
Solutions for Writers: Keep writing in its place. Yes, it means a lot to you, but it’s not everything in your life. At times, it can help to take a step back and remind yourself of the other things that matter to you.
Your loved ones, friends, pets, hobbies, etc. Gaining some perspective on writing can help any setbacks seem less encompassing.
It can also help to remember that you came to writing because you enjoy it. Try to regain that sense of play that you had before you started worrying about marketing and sales and other publishing difficulties.
Sit down and write something fun for the heck of it, without worrying about whether it will ever see the light of day. It can rekindle your love for the craft.
Elvis Week for Writers #4: It’s Now or Never
Based on the Italian song “O Sole Mio,” “It’s Now or Never” was one of my favorites that Elvis sang. I loved the tune and the urgency in the song, plus that last phrase where he belts it shows off the richness of his voice.
(I later came to love Pavarotti’s version of O Sole Mio just as much! You can hear them both here.)
Writers could benefit from following the advice in this song as often as possible! Too often we put off anything to do with our writing “until tomorrow.” We will write, blog, market, and build our platforms tomorrow.
Then tomorrow comes, and we put it off again. “Tomorrow will be too late,” Elvis sings.
This is no way to create a successful writing career. It’s now or never, as the song goes. If you don’t take advantage of whatever time you have now, that time will be gone and so will your opportunities.
Solutions for Writers: Make “now” your default, rather than later. I will write now, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. I will start my blog, put together my query letter, and submit to that podcast now or never.
Remove “tomorrow” from your vocabulary! (At least where writing is concerned.)
Elvis Week for Writers #5: My Way
This famous song was first popularized in the U.S. by Frank Sinatra in 1969, and it’s often thought of as his song, understandably.
But Elvis started performing it in 1970. It was released as a single after his death and went on to rise to #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart—higher than Sinatra’s version at its peak.
No writer follows the same path. We all have unique journeys to take as we improve our writing skills. The writing itself takes us where it will, and the trip is always unique to the individual.
This is why it is so silly to compare ourselves to other writers. Our lives influence our writing and vice versa. Your creativity is different from anyone else’s. There’s no way you can try to follow in another writer’s footsteps.
Your only choice is to do it your way. Chart your path the way you want to. Follow your creativity no matter how crazy it may seem at times. The more you dive into what makes you unique, the more your writing will stand out.
Solutions for Writers: It’s hard not to be influenced by everything that is around us. As a writer, it’s your job to go inward.
Step away from the world and find where your muse wants you to go. Trust yourself. It’s hard at times, but it’s what you must do as an artist so that when you come to the end, you can honestly say:
For what is a man, what has he got
If not himself, then he has not
To say the words he truly feels
And not the words he would reveal
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
(Listen to Elvis sing it at Aloha from Hawaii, Live in Honolulu, 1973, and remind yourself why he was the king!)
Do you have any favorite Elvis songs that apply to your writing life?