Anyone who wants to make a career in a field like writing needs to be in tune with their creativity. It’s your creations, after all, which stand to earn you an audience, a living, and a reputation. Unlike many other businesses, your content is your product.

The trouble is that, when you get down to it, a fair few creative tendencies are at odds with the working world. If you aren’t careful, the artistic streak which sent you down this path could see you packing up shop. To make sure that doesn’t happen, it’s important to recognize and manage these more destructive tendencies. And, to help you do that, we’re going to look at the creative habits which are harming your success right now.

You Don’t Think About the Cold Business Stuff

You’re a creative. You can’t clutter your mind with cold business facts. You don’t want to think about profit margins or expenses. Who can write their best stuff with taxes on their mind? The problem is that all this stuff is essential if you want to make a real go of this.

Creative field or not, you’re never going to succeed if you don’t spare some thought here. You may even find that you benefit from doing an online mba in business intelligence or other such qualification which makes it easier for you to handle this stuff.

If you really can’t bring yourself to think about this, at least bring accountants on board. They can make sure your finances stay above the water while you take care of the creative side.

You Always Wait for the Muse

When you make art for fun, waiting for the muse is part of the process. Nothing beats that moment when inspiration strikes. But, when you’re writing for a living, waiting for the muse is asking for trouble.

Career novelists and content writers alike will tell you that, when your earnings depend on it, you have to be your own muse. If you always wait until the ideal moment, you’ll struggle to earn enough.

Instead, get into the habit of jotting down ideas when they come to you, or freewriting when you’re stuck. The more you exercise that part of the brain, the more you’ll be able to produce quality stuff at a moment’s notice.

You’re Too Far Against the Grain

In history, writers and artists who have gone against the grain have made the most impact. Think James Joyce or Virginia Woolf. They were so far from commercial that it was crazy. Now, they’re worldwide names.

If you want to make money with your writing, though, you might want to pay a little more attention to what works. Doing your own thing is fine, but you’ll struggle to find an audience for it. And, no audience = no earnings.

It’s essential, then, that you learn to rein those creative impulses sometimes. Not everything you create is going to be groundbreaking literature. Still, that doesn’t matter if it appeals to your audience.

21-time New York Times bestselling author, Jerry B. Jenkins recently released an in-depth blog post revealing the 10 steps he recommends aspiring writers take to launch their career (based on his 40+ years of experience and 190+ books written). The post also has a detailed list of all the different types of careers in the writing field. Check it out here.