Am I Writing for You, or Me?
The challenges of publishing and 3 tips to help
The first two pieces I self-published on Medium were, overall, raw and unedited. Unfiltered, you could say. I shared Burned Out Thinking with family and friends and had a great return on investment — in compliments, that is. Lack of money aside, I was happy. My next two pieces were written differently. I rewrote them, I edited them, I thought about who would read them and what they would think. I wondered what people wanted to read and whether or not it aligned with what I was saying, all the while still trying to write a personal piece that meant something to me.
The latter experience isn’t a bad one. We want to edit our writing and we want people to read what we write, right? The challenge for us as writers is not losing ourselves in the process.
I was (and am) a novice here on Medium, but I do know something about writing and sharing my work. Here are three tips that help me get out of my head and put pen to paper (or, fingers to keyboard).
#1: Practice
It could be said this is the secret to everything. Practice makes perfect. Put in your 10,000 hours. This is just as true when writing for an audience. Practice writing (by writing!) and publishing your work. Over time, you will get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. You will begin to feel like you can produce your best work — work that you are proud of and that other people enjoy.
#2: Write first for you, then for your reader
I once heard someone say, “first I write for me, then I write for you.” This is great advice, although it can be more time-consuming. Consider writing a first draft with no restrictions. Don’t worry about flow, grammar, spelling, or content. Just go with an idea and get it out on the page. Then, go back and edit. Don’t just edit for grammar and spelling, however, edit for the reader by making sure your sentences are concise and attractive, and the content flows easily. It may take a couple rounds of editing, but it will be worth it.
#3: Be confident in your craft
This is the most important tip. Confidence. No matter what you write and who you write for, confidence is key. If you believe in what you are saying, someone else will too. Don’t let the algorithms and statistics get you down. You have a unique voice and people want to hear your perspective.
The underlying message in all of this is: keep writing!