Hi Reader,
It's easy to write a lot and wind up without a lot to show for it. Plenty of people toil in obscurity only to see their writing fall through the online cracks, unread and unnoticed.
So, how can you avoid this fate? How can you ensure that your writing gets read by someone, somewhere? How can you use it to make money, get attention, or gain fulfillment in your personal life?
In this edition of An Untethered Life, I'll provide you with a few tips you can use to make sure that you're rewarded - in one way or another - for all your hard work.
But first, a quick note about "return on investment" and what that phrase means for you and your writing.
How do you want to be rewarded?
Not everyone wants to make money with their writing. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it if you do. It's how I make my living, and there are definitely worse ways to scratch out a livelihood than by getting paid for your words.
But some people want something other than money in exchange for their writing: attention, fulfillment, recognition, even just to practice their craft. And that's just fine too.
The important thing is to be clear on what exactly you're hoping to get out of this little writing experiment you're doing and why.
Once you know what you're looking for, it's time to set a realistic and achievable goal that aligns with your desires.
For example, when I set out to seriously write on Medium, I set myself a goal of publishing an average of three stories each week for the 2024 calendar year. And while I've fallen short some weeks, my average has indeed kept up with that goal.
You'll notice that I didn't set a goal I couldn't control. I didn't set a goal of acquiring X number of email subscribers or making Y number of dollars. And that's because it's easy to become frustrated when you focus on external validation rather than internal effort.
I can't decide when someone is going to follow me on the platform or when a Medium curator will Boost my story. If it happens, great, but I'm not going to let myself be discouraged when it doesn't happen for a while.
So, set a goal that you control. And make a significant effort towards realizing that goal each week.
Strategy and goal alignment
Ensure that the outlet you've chosen for your work aligns well with your overall strategy.
For example, let's say you've decided that you're going to write online so you can find a creative outlet and find an audience for your short stories. You're not worried about making money in this hypothetical.
Well, you might choose platform like Medium or Wattpad to share your work.
Similarly, if you've decided that you want see if there's a viable market for a paid newsletter containing your political commentary, you may wish to try out Substack.
Basically, you want to confirm that the place where your content will live is aligned with your goals. If you're only interested in expanding your audience for your work - and you don't care about getting paid - well, it doesn't make much sense to start a WordPress blog from scratch that no one will be able to find.
Also, do yourself a favor and stick to a single platform at first. You'll find that it takes a ton of effort just to keep up with the demands of one platform.
If you set unrealistic and hyper-ambitious goals that involve multiple outlets, you may burn out pretty quickly.
Stick with it
Once you've decided on a goal that you can control and a platform strategy that aligns with that goal, stick with it. Don't expect your work to take off - whether that means immediately hitting exponential growth in terms of followers or seeing huge financial returns - in the very near future. Most of us aren't that lucky.
As a general rule, if you measure your progress in terms of months, rather than weeks, you're on the right track.
Use the time you spend at the beginning of this process "sharpening your saw."
In other words, take the time to improve your work. Listen to the feedback you're getting regarding your published work (the thoughtful stuff, anyway) and take it to heart.
Learn what kind of content the platform you've chosen rewards and decide if that's the kind of content you're interested in creating for the long-term.
Be aware that this is where 95% of online writers fall down. Most of us just can't seem to stick with it for any significant length of time. I, myself, have quit and re-started this process so many times I've lost count. It took me a ton of tries before I worked up the motivation to stick with public writing for an unbroken and extended period of time, and I've only made it to 8 months so far.
I would suggest that you stick with your publishing schedule for at least 6-12 months before evaluating whether you should get off the writing treadmill. It will take (at least) that amount of time before you can know how you really feel about this new habit of yours and figure out if you're getting any traction.
That's it, that's all
That's all for this week. I hope that I've been able to shed a bit of light on how you can make it more likely to get something in return for all this work you're about to do. Because there's very little more frustrating than pouring your heart and soul into a new hobby, habit, or job and see no kind of reward whatsoever.
And if you're looking for the TL;DR of it all, here it is:
- Decide what you want to obtain in exchange for your writing (money, fulfillment, recognition, practice, etc.).
- Align your outlet and platform strategy with your goal.
- Stick with your strategy for at least 6-12 months before judging its efficacy and (possibly) pivoting.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Did you enjoy this email? Follow me on LinkedIn and Medium!
|
