Before you get into the game, decide what matters most and what it’s worth to you with a tangible measure of success. Success is a homonym; we all use the same sounds, but we mean different things. Decide on priorities and limits. Define your terms and state your intentions in clear language (“in order to”) before the fact. If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

Different projects and campaigns will have different objectives. Their measures of success should resonate and complement each other on a macro and micro level. Allow small wins to coalesce into large ones. How do smaller projects (and their measures) cohere under your larger goals?

Establishing a gauge frees you from dependence on outside validation, so you can’t fudge the numbers or fool yourself in the final analysis. Specifying a clear goal in advance will inform every decision you make and will skew any project toward triumph.

In your career, every detail counts. We all come to the table with unique assets and liabilities. Every game is different: no two authors, two books, two brands are the same. Due diligence pays insane dividends.

Authenticity matters more than almost anything else in your marketing arsenal. Remember who you are, and bring it to everything you do. Learn your industry and choose your path. Instead of parroting what everyone else is doing, learn your own strengths and weaknesses, and build an A game that works for you.

You get exactly what you pay for. That’s true whether you’re paying money, time, or energy. Don’t be seduced by bargain-bin offers with anything lest you damage your perceived value. That doesn’t mean you should bankrupt yourself, but rather that you should find the ideal balance of price, value, and access you can. When you’re paying for basics and laying the foundations, shoddy craftsmanship and half-assery have no place in your A game. Your career is the best investment you can make.

There is no single event or experience that will grant you the career you want. Your success is the summary of your experiences, your mistakes, your efforts, your wrong turns, your triumphs that create the career you need to have. The jealousy that people have of success is a convenient mask for laziness or inattention; they want a quick bypass for all the hell between them and what they want.

The best way to become a success is to work like hell every day till it happens. Anything that seems like a quick, easy solution to a complex problem is almost certainly a trap. Overnight success is a myth that ignores years of crushing strain and sleepless nights. This lie tends to pop up whenever someone’s private networking and strategy finally pays off. You don’t know what others have done to get where they are.

Games are defined by their rules; fair play and friendly interaction are assumed. As an author, you will meet a chattering mob convinced they’ve spotted various substitutes for hard work and paying attention. These people are either lying or delusional, and though they may not wish you harm, they can’t do anything but. Cutting in line and elbowing ahead will never produce the same results as earned success. The buck stops with you. Honor counts.

Essentially, cheaters refuse to play by the rules but insist on playing the game anyway. They may encourage you to cut corners, and the reasons rarely hold up to scrutiny. Trashing a colleague, rigging a contest, planting fake reviews, or manipulating Amazon stats will never turn anyone into John Grisham or Nora Roberts. Worse, when the misdeed gets exposed, and it will, you look like a loser and a jerk.

There is no way to game the system when you know the system is a game. Winners play fair.

Being a professional genre author requires energy, patience, and unbelievable tenacity. Authors can only fail through apathy and inaction. Take action. Whining or waiting have no place in any A game. Chop wood, carry water.

Traditionally, Russian families taught their children to play chess because of its insistence on action. Every turn a player must make a move. No player can be passive or pass the buck. The same holds true for your professional A game. Remember: choosing not to act is an action. Passivity is a choice, and inertia can run you off a cliff. Refusing to make moves will put your game at the mercy and folly of others. Play the game you choose or others will make moves for you.

Every day you should do one thing to further your career: a letter, a post, an email, a call, a submission…365 times a year without fail. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take breaks, but that consistency is the root of long-term success. Your daily action can be as simple as accepting an invitation or leaking your cover art or checking your website to make sure it’s up to date. As Damon’s grandfather said, “Luck is opportunity plus preparation.” Make time to invest in your own success. If not you, then who?

All boats rise together. A-game promotion means creating authentic relationships with your audience and colleagues that grow over time. At every opportunity, you should model the kinds of behavior that you hope to see in others, and when in doubt, always opt for grace, generosity, and gratitude. Save the griping and pettiness for your inner circle; your public face is yours to make.

In an industry driven by enthusiasm and word of mouth, your conduct colors every interaction with colleagues and fans. By helping other authors in your stretch of the genre shelf, you are helping yourself. Paying it forward will produce exponential benefits down the line.

Professionalism counts, but you cannot necessarily expect it from everyone you meet. Just because you know how to behave, never assume that people will follow suit. Embody the virtues you’d like to see in others, and be willing to tolerate gaffes from colleagues trying to do better. Cut slack to other people when they make mistakes and also cut the chronic slackers out of your own professional life.

Instead of bitching, try pitching in. By the same token, when you spot abusiveness or toxicity, don’t walk, run for the nearest exit. Surround yourself with gracious, generous people who challenge your preconceptions and inspire greatness.

Your reach should always exceed your grasp. If you are able to meet your goals easily and quickly, your standards are too damn low. Push yourself! Level up! Bringing your A game means you have to help folks do their jobs by doing yours to the best of your ability at the limits of your time and energy. Hold yourself to a high standard and then exceed it.

If you aren’t willing to invest time, energy, and resources in your career, why should anyone else? If writing every day, improving your craft, promoting your work, and interacting positively with your fans all sound horrible, then you may be in the wrong business. If you expect your agent to collect 15% of the money and do 95% of the work, then you’re delusional, masochistic, or mathematically challenged.

You should always be the MVP or you aren’t pulling your weight. No one will work as hard as you to guarantee your success. No one else feels the same incentive or enthusiasm. Instead of griping about that agent, publicist, or vendor, ask yourself what you would do differently and then do it.

If you need to change up your team, you can, but complaining without taking action is pointless. Don’t be an extra in your own life. If you aren’t playing to win, you’ve only shown up to lose.

If promotion bores, scares, or frustrates you, you’re doing it wrong. To have any impact at all, promo needs to be personal, interactive, and fun for all parties involved.

A game is something you play by choice which requires concerted effort. Every player and prize is unique. Like promo, games inspire passion but follow clear rules. They reward engagement, skill, and creativity. They encourage players to weigh odds and take smart risks to court success. They have teams, rules, strategies, and goals. The danger is limited and the prizes are real.

All that sounds like a career that will keep any of us entertained and on our toes.

Look for the tasks that make you happy, and embrace them. Any game should push your limits and test your mettle, or you’ll get bored. While all of us get frustrated by delays and disappointments, we need to take pleasure in some portion of our responsibilities or we’ll never meet them. Savor the blessings. Help your colleagues. Plant many positive seeds because a few of them will sprout.

Don’t postpone joy!