Advice for Aspiring Chefs

Pay attention to everything.
Listen.
Observe.
Be quiet.
Work really hard.
Create your own taste.
Don’t try and follow Michelin stars or other famous chefs.
Learn what you want to do.
Learn who you are.
Then do that.
Stand out from the crowd.
Spend a month eating in Barcelona.

This advice for aspiring chefs is also appropriate for aspiring authors and self-publishers.

Pay attention to everything. Pay attention to details. Listen. Observe. Be quiet. Listen to others. Ask for advice and feedback from those who went before you.

Work really hard. Very few bestselling authors simply fall into selling lots of books. They work really hard building relationships. They work hard doing things everyday. They work hard, really hard, doing webinars, Facebook Lives, podcasts, interviews, blog posts, social media networking, and writing every day!

Create your own taste. Don’t try and follow Michelin stars or other famous chefs. For authors in today’s world, this advice means that you should develop your own writing style, one that fits your personality and helps you stand out in the crowd. Don’t imitate. Create something new and vital.

Learn what you want to do. Learn who you are. Then do that. Dig deep. Spend time finding out what you really want to do, who you want to be, what you really want to write. Then do that.

Stand out from the crowd. Be you, and only you. Stand tall on who you really are. You can make your greatest impact in this world by being who you are. That’s how you stand out from the crowd.

Spend a month eating in Barcelona. That would be fun to do for anyone. But, for writers, spend time reading good writers. Read poetry. Read novels. Read memoirs. Read great non-fiction. Read children’s books. Read cookbooks (and actually try some of the recipes). Read travel books (and travel to some of the places featured in those books). Read. Read. Read. Then write.