I might joke around
with readers
but I take my work
as a romance writer
extremely seriously.
As Seth Godin
explains.
That isn’t the same thing
as taking my work personally.
“Professionals take their work seriously.
The work matters,
the impacts and externalities are real.
On the other hand,
we can’t take it personally.
When someone rejects an idea,
or if a project doesn’t succeed,
we’ve learned a valuable lesson
about strategy and about tactics,
but it’s not a reflection
on our worth as a human.”
One of the things
that helps separate
my personal self
from my writing self
is my use of a pen name.
Trolls might target
(Pen Name)
but (Pen Name) isn’t
(Real Me).
The pen name creates a distance.
It allows me to see the situation
more impersonally.
Brand names or business names
can do the same thing
for entrepreneurs.
Employ tactics
that allow you to take
your work seriously
but not personally.