Wondering Who Will Read Your Words? - The People Of Internetville.
The right words can spark curiosity, reignite passion, and create wonder.
Upcoming episode on Becoming A Writer podcast this Saturday — we are going to talk about how starting small is the key to get our writing momentum going.
The right words can spark curiosity, reignite passion, and create wonder.
- Diane Ackerman
Traditional publishing is the way to go. At least, that's what I thought as a new writer.
It was common sense, too. Up until this moment, I had read books I had bought from bookstores, and I knew that these books came from publishers. So, if I wanted to write books and have them sold at a bookstore, it was going to happen through a publisher.
But as my research into the writing and publishing industry went deeper, there was a small section that was taking a different path. These were authors who didn't wait for a publisher to approve their work. Instead, they self-published their work.
It felt as if I found the door to a hidden chamber. I was yet to know what this chamber holds and was therefore hesitant but my curiosity grew stronger and stronger. I had no choice but to venture in.
There was a time when writers needed to pursue editors and publishers to get a chance to showcase their works to potential readers. But here, I found out that many authors were enjoying fulfilling writing life without the traditional route. The point of writing a book and getting it published is to have it read by the readers - and self-publishing was making that process faster and direct.
If one goes the traditional route, the writer would have to wait about a year or two before they can see the final printed copy of their book. And that is IF the publishers deem it worth publishing in the first place.
On the other hand, if one goes the self-publishing route, the writer can publish their book within as less as 48 hours. And then let the readers decide if the book is worth their attention.
And here's another thing. I believe the works of every writer - published or not - are worth reading. When we write, we write through experience and imagination. And with each new writing, we become more apparent with our thoughts and feelings. This is a very potent space to be in - both for the writer and the reader. The more we understand, the more we get understood.
So, waiting for someone to give me permission to spread my words seemed like a process that could be avoided.
Later, when I decided to venture into the online writing space, I was again faced with the question - traditional or self-published?
Again, as a new writer, it was hard for me to get online publications to like and accept me. So many writers are trying to do the same, and I didn't want to get lost among them. Plus, I had fear stop me from writing for a long time. So now if I added friction to the road between my writing and having my words sent out in the world, I knew I would have been disheartened and would give up.
So, I started my own Medium and Substack pages. It's just me and my readers, and no one is interfering.
Why Should You Share Your Writing Online? (Personal Reasons)
Practice. This is the number one reason I benefited from most. Any creative skill needs practice for improvement. I had to learn to go from a non-writer to a writer. Every essay I wrote and published online was equivalent to me doing a leg press. Over time, and at a sustainable pace, I improved my writing muscles and endurance.
Personal growth. As I wrote my essays and shared them online, I started to find the writer in me. The more I wrote, the more I understood what my inner writer wanted to write and how to write it. This helped me articulate my thoughts, experiences and feelings better.
The joy of creation and completion. One of the reasons I didn't feel like a writer was I didn't see proof that I was a writer. Before I started publishing online, I had never started and finished a writing project. But now, with a deadline of writing and publishing one essay per day, five days a week, suddenly I was started and finishing my projects at record speed. This act made me feel proud of myself.
Identifying as a writer. This is what was stopping me from being a writer. Earlier, I was having a hard time accepting and embracing the fact that I am a writer. I knew it in my heart but couldn't see myself as such. But once I started sharing my words online, I realised I do have something worth writing about, and I do know how to write. Do I need improvement? Yes, all my life. But am I already a writer? Yes, I am and will be all my life.
Freedom to indulge in creative exploration and experimentation. While writing through a traditional route would mean that I would have to write the way my publishers want me to, writing online has given me the space to try out different writing styles and genres and, through it all, find my unique blend.
A healthier relationship with my writer self. Since I am writing and publishing my work online to be read directly by the readers, I am the only one who decides what I write about, how I write it and when I write and publish it. So when there are days when I or my writer self aren't feeling good, we take a day off without guilt. And when we do sit down to write, I give complete reins of my wiring to my writer self and don't interrupt her. I let the creative juices flow freely. Once she says she is done, then I step in with my editor hat on and make our work better. Me and my writer self are best buddies now and work in total harmony.
Why Should You Share Your Writing Online? (Professional Reasons)
Letting people know that you exist. If you want to be a published author someday, you need to let potential readers know you exist. I find that having an online presence through your writing (shorter than books) is a great way to let the readers have a taste of your work. If it's something they find interesting, they can follow you and come along on your writing journey. Then, the day you have a book to share with them, they can be your potential first supporters.
Engaging with your readers. Sharing your writing online lets you have direct contact with your readers. Their comment and reactions to your work let you know what they resonate with and what more they want. Having this information helps you navigate your writing in a direction where you and your readers are both satisfied.
Documenting your process and your progress. When I started writing, I had no writing process. But as time passed, I started noticing the patterns that make my writing work for me. This turned out to be my writing process. The second thing that happened was I started noticing my upward hike in the quality of my work and in the quantity of my readers. This lets both me and other readers know that there is something of interest going on my writing pages.
Attracting and/or creating exciting opportunities. Exposure on the internet may attract opportunities such as writing competitions, collaborations, or invitations to contribute to publications. But what I find more fun is that writing and sharing your work online gives you enough confidence to create your own opportunities. Writing my own books, starting my podcast, and planning out a potential book series - these are opportunities that were born of my online writing experience and practice.
Marketing yourself becomes slightly more comfortable. I enjoy being a writer and cringe at the thought of being a salesperson for my books. But if I don't promote my book, who will? Doesn't matter if you traditionally publish a book or self-publish it, you need to market your work and yourself. And having an online presence makes it less cringe. It does so because here readers allow you to let them know about your work because they have subscribed to you in terms of follow or email list. Of course, the ultimate decision to buy your book or not is up to them, but by subscribing to you, they have given you permission to make a pitch.
How To Start Your Online Writing Journey?
Choose your topic. Don't think about what's working in the market; think about what you want to share with others. When new on this journey, it's okay to write about multiple topics that you find interesting. Over time, you'll find where you flourish the most, and that will have the possibility of becoming your niche.
Choose a place where readers already flock. There was a time when starting your own blog could make you successful. But the major issue here is attracting traffic to your website. Instead, suppose you start your blog on websites like Medium, Substack (for non-fiction) or Wattpad (for fiction), where readers are already present and are reading works similar to yours. In that case, it becomes easier to attract them to your work.
Choose your input limit. Be honest with yourself and figure out how much time you can genuinely put into this new writing project. If you have a day job, kids to take care of, and other responsibilities, first accept that this is your reality. Then, try to figure out how to shift things around to make time for your writing as well. Even if you are able to write for a couple of days per week and publish your work once a week, that's completely alright.
Choose your output limit. This is about figuring out how many times per week and month are you going to publish your work. Remember here that when trying to make an online presence with your words, you are not only competing with other writers but with other addictive social media and entertainment apps. So unless you know for sure that you want to write long work, keep it short. 800-1200-word essays, short stories or chapters are comfortable enough for online readers. You can also divide your long works into parts and publish them as a series. Another point here is that you can change your word count based on how many times per week you are planning to publish your work. When I was posting 5 times per week, I kept my word count close to 500 words for each essay. Now, when I am posting 1 time per week, I am going up to 2000 words. Why do this? Because we have limited mental and emotional capacity for writing allotted to each of our days. And forcing yourself to write beyond that will lead to burnout and frustration. And I know, from experience, that's not a fun place to be in.
Forget about the results. For the first 6-12 months, don't worry about who's read your work or not. The aim in those months is to show up and prove to yourself that you can keep your writing promises to yourself. As you do this, week after week, your confidence in your writer self will grow, your writer self's trust in you will grow, and the websites you write on will understand that you are here to stay. All this effort will compound over time and eventually bring you results.
Have fun. Don't make this 'online-publishing-your-work' a too serious affair. Have fun. Experiment. Engage with readers and other writers. Try out different mediums. Keep the whole progress as stress-free as possible. Don't try to make leaps of progress; work in your Goldilocks area and grow over time. You love writing. Make sure the love stays alive lifelong.
