From the Issue Published: June 1, 2024

Martelle’s Motivation: The Courage to Keep Writing

Craig Martelle

Everyone is afraid of something. When it comes to your author career, there’s the fear that your book won’t be well received. That you’ll get bad reviews. That your brand will become tainted in some way. Pirates! There are a million things to send you into a dark corner, quaking.

Courage brings you back into the daylight because the rewards can be vast. Like the man in the arena, only you are in there, fighting. It’s easy for others to criticize, belittle, or demean when they risk nothing to do it. Complainers and whiners accomplish less, if anything at all.

Doers bear the burdens of a society of watchers. Stand up and be counted! Shout to all with ears to hear, “I’m an author.” There will be those who try to beat you down, but they’re not in the arena. If they are, they’ll only attack you because they fear you. Stand proud of who you are and what you are.

You are an author. You write books. There are many people who say they’re going to write a book but never do. It takes courage to put pen to paper and even more courage to publish it for anyone to see. You deserve praise.

You also have to know that it’s not your best work, not right away. Writing takes practice. It’s you against yourself. Write, and keep writing until you can say it’s your best work. Then sit back for a moment and enjoy the feeling. And get back to writing, with the courage of your convictions and the experience to know what’s best for your business.

Be the one in the arena, knowing that you’re competing no matter how much you may be afraid—whether you admit it.

You can’t win if you don’t play.

This was my last article for Indie Author Magazine. I hope you enjoyed the monthly column and wish you the best for a great future as an author.

Craig Martelle

About the Author
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Craig Martelle

High school Valedictorian enlists in the Marine Corps under a guaranteed tank contract. An inauspicious start that was quickly superseded by excelling in language study. Contract waived, a year at the Defense Language Institute to learn Russian and off to keep my ears on the big red machine during the Soviet years. Back to DLI for advanced Russian after reenlisting. Deploying. Then getting selected to get a commission. Earned a four-year degree in two years by majoring in Russian Language. It was a cop out, but I wanted to get back to the fleet. One summa cum laude graduation later, that’s where I found myself. My first gig as a second lieutenant was on a general staff. I did well enough that I stayed at that level or higher for the rest of my career, while getting some choice side gigs – UAE, Bahrain, Korea, Russia, and Ukraine.
Major Martelle. I retired from the Marines after a couple years at the embassy in Moscow working arms control. The locals called me The German, because of my accent in Russian. That worked for me. It kept me off the radar. Just until it didn’t. Expelled after two years for activities inconsistent with my diplomatic status, I went to Ukraine. Can’t let twenty years of Russian language go to waste. More arms control. More diplomatic stuff. Then 9/11 and off to war. That was enough deployment for me. Then came retirement.
Department of Homeland Security was a phenomenally miserable gig. I quit that job quickly enough and went to law school. A second summa cum laude later and I was working for a high-end consulting firm performing business diagnostics, business law, and leadership coaching. More deployments. For the money they paid me, I was good with that. Just until I wasn’t. Then I started writing. You’ll find Easter eggs from my career hidden within all my books. Enjoy the stories.