Jane Austen didn't write Pride and Prejudice in a burst of creative genius over a weekend. She wrote it through years of consistent, daily practice—revising, refining, and showing up to her craft even when inspiration felt elusive. Her letters reveal a woman who understood something I see many of you struggling with: consistency is the foundation upon which all creative success is built.
So much of our online world is viral moments and overnight success stories, it's easy for you to believe that one perfect post, one brilliant campaign, or one flawless product launch will transform your creative business( and there are the lottery winning odd that it does happen to some people). But here's the truth that I've learned from working with successful authors and creatives: it's not the luck of a viral post that builds your career—it's showing up every single day and building your brand one post at a time.
I know consistency isn't glamorous. It doesn't make for exciting social media posts or inspiring success stories. It's the quiet work that happens when no one is watching, when your audience is small, and when you're not sure if anyone is paying attention.
But here's what I've seen consistency do for your creative business:
It builds trust with your audience. When people know they can count on you to deliver valuable content, updates, or products regularly, they begin to see you as reliable. Trust is the currency of creative business, and consistency is how you earn it.
It compounds your efforts. That blog post you published to three readers? It's still working for you months later when search engines find it. That social media post that got minimal engagement? It helped the algorithm understand your content better. Every consistent action builds on the last one.
It creates momentum. The hardest part of any creative project is starting. But when you've been showing up consistently, you're already in motion. Starting becomes easier because you never really stopped.
We have to talk about the perfectionist's trap…
I see so many of you fall into the perfectionist trap, believing that if you can't do something perfectly, you shouldn't do it at all. This mindset is the enemy of consistency—and therefore the enemy of your progress.
Jane Austen's first drafts weren't perfect. Her early novels were rejected by publishers. But she kept writing, kept submitting, kept showing up to her craft. The novels we love today exist because she chose consistency over perfection.
Your audience doesn't need you to be perfect. They need you to be present. They need to know that you're committed to your craft and to serving them, even when—especially when—things aren't going according to plan.
Why We Keep Talking About Weekly Wins…
This is exactly why we're always encouraging you to celebrate your weekly wins consistently. It's not just about feeling good (though that's important too). When you make it a practice to consistently look for and acknowledge your progress each week, you're training yourself to show up regardless of how "perfect" that week felt.
Some weeks your wins will be big—a book launch, a viral post, a major milestone. Other weeks, your win might be that you kept writing during a difficult period, or that you posted consistently even when engagement was low, or that you learned something new about your audience. But by consistently celebrating these moments, you're reinforcing the very behavior that builds successful creative businesses: showing up, week after week, regardless of circumstances.
When you consistently celebrate your weekly wins, you're also building a record of your progress. You're creating evidence that your consistent efforts are working, even when it doesn't feel like it in the moment.
Consistency in Your Creative Business
So what does consistency look like for you? It's simpler than you might think:
Publishing regularly. Whether it's blog posts, social media content, or newsletter updates, your audience begins to expect and look forward to hearing from you.
Showing up for your craft. Writing daily, practicing your art, or working on your business—even for just 15 minutes—keeps you connected to your creative work.
Engaging with your community. Responding to comments, supporting other creatives, and participating in conversations builds relationships that sustain your business.
Learning continuously. Dedicating time regularly to improving your skills, whether it's marketing, your craft, or business development.
Celebrating your progress. Yes, this includes consistently acknowledging your weekly wins, no matter how small they seem.
The key isn't doing everything perfectly. The key is doing something consistently.
I want you to start small. Choose one area where you want to be more consistent and commit to showing up there every day for the next week. Maybe it's writing for 10 minutes each morning, posting on social media daily, spending 15 minutes learning about book marketing, or yes—taking time each week to identify and celebrate your wins.
Track your progress, but don't judge it. Some days you'll do better than others, and that's perfectly normal. The goal isn't perfection—it's progress through persistence.
Remember that consistency is a practice, not a destination. Even Jane Austen had days when writing felt difficult, when words didn't come easily, or when she questioned her abilities. But she kept showing up, and that made all the difference.
I want you to imagine where your creative business could be a year from now if you committed to showing up consistently. Not perfectly, but consistently. What would your audience look like? What skills would you have developed? What opportunities might have opened up simply because you were reliably present?
When you look back at your weekly wins from this past year, what pattern will you see? I hope you'll see evidence of someone who showed up consistently, who celebrated progress regularly, and who built something meaningful through the power of persistent action.
The path to creative success isn't found in perfect moments—it's built through consistent ones. Jane Austen knew this. Every successful creative who came before you knew this. And I want you to know it too.
The question isn't whether you're ready to be perfect. The question is whether you're ready to be consistent.
Your creative business is waiting for you to show up. Not just today, but tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that.
Are you ready?
Leave a comment sharing one thing you are going to do to start building your consistency.
Until next time,
Melissa
Ready to build the consistency that transforms creative dreams into thriving businesses?
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