If you're a new writer, you may be feeling overwhelmed with how much there is to do and keep straight in your head. You've got to get ideas, research, write, find markets, create queries, and send them off to markets. And you'll got to do at least one or two of those things every day. Does thinking about all this make you exhausted?

If so, relax. Just do one thing at a time. For now, if you're a new writer, tell yourself that the ability to do everything we've mentioned will develop as you develop as a writer. Let's talk about growing your career and writing skills organically, because it's important.

Every word you write will improve your writing skills. However, if you're not selling as much (or for as much money as you'd like) you can become frustrated.

=> Let yourself grow organically

What does that mean--- "organically"?

It means to let yourself develop by trusting yourself. There's an excellent book: The Inner Game of Work: Focus, Learning, Pleasure, and Mobility in the Workplace by Tim Gallwey which talks about Self One and Self Two. Gallwey points out that we have two selves, Self One and Self Two. Self One is the bossy, didactic voice in our head. This voice is not our real self, it's a false self which parrots every hurtful, destructive thing we've ever heard. It's no wonder that we're frightened of failure, frightened of success, and just plain frightened if we take Self One seriously.

Gallwey suggests that we trust our real self, Self Two. Our real self, Self Two, is much more powerful than Self One. Self Two is everything we are. If we trust ourselves, and allow Self Two to do the work, it gets done.

The problem is that Self Two is mute. It's not verbal. It communicates with feelings, images and I guess --- intuition. The easiest way to discover whether Self One or Self Two is currently in charge of our inner self is to ask: am I loving what I'm doing? Am I feeling joy? If the background feeling to what you're doing is joy, then Self Two is in charge. Self Two is you, happily absorbed, completely engrossed with what you're doing.

Letting yourself grow organically means putting Self Two in charge. Trust that as long as you're writing, you're letting Self Two take the lead.

When you start out as a writer, writing 500 words is a big deal. Sending out ONE query letter is a big deal. At this beginning stage, celebrate all these milestones. You got a query in the mail! You wrote a complete article! An editor wants to see your work! And of course --- you've made your first sale!

If you're in the first five years of your writing career, enjoy your writing. Don