I am, by nature, a fairly competitive person. Throughout my life, I have been in competition with someone over something. Whether it was competing with my brother at sports, vying with other men for the attention of beautiful women, or trying to beat out my competition and get the good jobs, competition is a part of life.

Writing has taught me to be competitive, but to be smart about it as well. It's not just about being the most skilled in a certain area, but having the right SET of skills for the job!

As a writer, it's not enough to just tell the best stories. I've read so many stories that had the potential to be fascinating, but because of the skill of the writer, the stories fell flat.

It's not enough to just be an amazing writer. I've read stories that were technically perfect, but they also fell flat because the story itself was lacking or the writer failed to put enough emotion, struggle, or growth into the book.

It's not enough to just write well; you also have to market your book. As EVERY writer knows, it's incredibly tough to get your book in front of readers, and there are so many competitors trying to get customers to spend money on their product as well.

Being a writer these days is one of the most competitive jobs around!

Thankfully, I've learned the secret to success: write better, tell better stories, communicate with the reader better, and go bigger than everyone else.

Granted, actually putting that into practice is DAMN hard. I've struggled to improve my writing skills, and I've dedicated myself to being as creative with my stories as possible. I try to add value and depth into my writing in order to communicate with my readers, and I try to go as "big" as possible in the emotional rewards of the stories.

It's good, honest competition with all the other writers out there, and I plan on winning. I may be way behind people who have been writing for decades and have dozens of books out there, but so what? I have no doubt that I can be better than most, and I'll definitely work harder than most as well. All I need is luck and proper timing, and I'm on the path to success!