The Daily Writer

It is common in the entrepreneurial world to view a day job as the enemy of a writing career. You have a boss, you have office hours, and you have job responsibilities that feel a million miles away from the writing you want to do.

If you want to build a full-time writing career or gain more financial freedom, then building your own business is certainly a great goal. But while you are in your day job, it is important not to view it as the enemy.

On this episode, Kent shares ten tips for using your day job to develop great skills as a writer and communicator.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

There is a strange dynamic within the world of writers.

On the one hand, there is a huge amount of collaboration and community. We support each other, we buy each other’s books, we write books together, we share resources, and we generally try to spread the love.

On the other hand, it is also easy to be jealous of other writers who we perceive to be more successful. We wonder why we don’t sell the same amount of books or get as much attention. We may even start to wonder if we have the talent to succeed.

On this episode, Kent reminds us why comparison is a losing game.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

Here in the first couple weeks of the year, everyone loves to talk about goals. But once a week or two passes, the reality of life kicks in and the idea of a nice goal is not enough to carry you through the messiness of life.

Having a goal is not enough to make that goal a reality. That is where habits come in, which is the subject of today's episode.

One of the most influential books of the second half of the 20th century was Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The premise of the book was that you must take personal responsibility for your success. I'm borrowing the concept of the "7 Habits" to share some key actions that every writer should implement into their lives.

1. Read books that help you achieve your goals.
2. Write every day.
3. Publish your work.
4. Market your work.
5. Help other writers.
6. Thank those who helped you.
7. Persist through the hard times.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

On this bonus interview, Pastor John Stange shares his thoughts on the structure, writing, and marketing of his upcoming book, Dwell on These Things.

I encourage you to listen to yesterday's interview with John if you haven't already. It will give you lots of context for the information in this episode.

If you are working on a book, or considering writing a book, then you will find a lot of gold here. You will especially enjoy John's words of wisdom for aspiring authors.

Make sure to pre-order your copy of Dwell on These Things. You can find links to John's podcasts and his other books at DesireJesus.com, and you can connect with John on  Facebook.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

On today's episode, I have the pleasure of interviewing my good friend John Stange about the release of his upcoming book, Dwell on These Things.

Last month, John asked me to interview him for a special episode on his podcast. John and I talked about how the book can help people, especially right now in a time where man people are under a lot of stress financially and emotionally.

A bit about John: he is the Lead Pastor of Core Creek Community Church in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He hosts three podcasts: The Chapter-A-Day Audio Bible, Daily Devotions with Pastor John, and Dwell on These Things.

John has written over twenty books, all of which are focused on spiritual growth, leadership, marriage, and practical aspects of following Jesus. John also recently started The Healthy Discipleship Community, which has been a great success.

Dwell on These Things is a 31-day challenge to help you replace unhealthy messages you preach to yourself with Gospel-centered truth. Everyone deals with negative self-talk, and John's book is a big help in replacing those negative voices with something much more positive.

From a writing perspective, there is a lot to learn here about the way John structured the book and how we should be thinking about our readers when doing the same for our books.

I encourage you to pre-order your copy of Dwell on These Things. You can find links to John's podcasts and his other books at DesireJesus.com, and you can connect with John on  Facebook.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

As you begin to make progress toward your writing goals this year, you will run into some roadblocks. Life will get messy, you will feel tired, and even here in the first couple weeks of the year, you will probably feel like giving up.   But why do you feel like giving up? It all comes down to unrealistic expectations. We get discouraged when the picture we have in our head doesn’t match the reality in front of us.   We see the messiness in front of us and assume that the great books we love, or any great work of art for that matter, is perfect.   On today's episode, Kent shares how The Godfather can inspire us to embrace the flaws that come with being a human artist.   *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Follow Kent Sanders:   Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders

You were having a perfectly good streak. Things were going well with your writing, and you were making great progress with your book, blog, client work, or something else you were working on.

But then it happened. Maybe it was family drama. Maybe it was a work situation. Maybe an appliance or a car broke down. Or maybe there was political or social chaos that made it hard to focus. Whatever it was, it was an outside force that made it harder for you to get your writing done.

What should you do? How should you respond? Here is a great example from the history books. The 2nd century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius had plenty of distractions and crises coming at him every day, particularly in the years he spent away from home engaged in battle. Yet he did not allow external events to determine the destiny of his thoughts.

On today's episode, Kent shares a powerful quote about focusing on what you can control.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

Here at the Daily Writer, we are a huge advocate for not just writing books, but for reading them. They are a critical facet of your growth as a writer. You will be hard-pressed to come across a great leader in modern history who has not also been a great reader.

However, there is a danger in focusing too much on consuming ideas, and not enough on action. Reading doesn’t guarantee that your life, writing, or business has improved.

In fact, within creative and entrepreneurial circles, there is a “culture of consumption” where each leader and influencer tries to outdo the next by bragging about all the books they have read.

On today's episode, Kent reminds us about the dangers of reading too much and taking too little action.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

During this first week of the year, you will hear a lot of people talk about their goals. You will see social media posts, articles, emails, and news stories about all the big plans people are making for 2021.

Perhaps you have set some goals for yourself. If so, congratulations! That is an important step toward being successful as a writer. Maybe you even shared them with a few friends or posted them online.

Goals are important, but there is also a danger in talking about them too much. The more we talk about them, especially on social media, it can easily feel like we are making progress without actually having done the work.

On today's episode, Kent reminds us of the simple way to get started on working toward your goals.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

It’s the beginning of a brand-new year. You have dreams. You have goals. You have big things you want to accomplish in the next twelve months. And your mind is consumed by one overriding question: “Can I do this?”   It’s not a question of whether anyone needs to give you permission. Rather, it’s a question of whether you can muster the resources, energy, creativity, discipline, and focus in order to do things you have never done before.   On this episode, Kent reminds you that even if you have a huge goal this year, you CAN do it.   *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Follow Kent Sanders:   Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders