Think back to your high school years. Like most of us, you probably knew a kid in high school who was supremely gifted. His or her natural talent was head and shoulders above the rest. They might have even been voted “most likely to succeed” or “most talented.”

Everyone fawned over their natural talent. Everyone assumed their gifts would carry them on to great success.

In most cases, this never happened. They went through life frustrated because the promise of their great talent was never realized. They never had that bestselling book, they never wrote that Academy-award-winning movie, and they never got those awards everyone assumed were coming.

Don’t fall for the lie that talent is enough. There are plenty of successful writers whose talent is just fine, but they have gotten successful by doing the hard work. They showed up every day, wrote the words, revised them, published them, and connected with readers, mentors, and partners who helped them.

Talent is helpful but it’s a small part of your success. Success in writing has a lot more to do with putting in the time and developing good habits than natural talent.

Hard work isn’t sexy, cool, or attention-getting. But hard work is the only thing that actually works. Talent, on the other hand, is overrated.