Focusing on writing as the product.
Today marks a whole month without the Substack app. In its absence, one thing has become supremely clear.
I used to be in an online community led by a well-known creator. Every time I'd take their advice to change my writing, it felt like it made me sound... like I was trying to be convincing, but failing. I pictured people getting second-hand embarrassment when reading it. But, I kept hitting publish with my words like that because the expert said so. Eventually, that pushed me to realize we weren't on the same page.
After a while, I'd figured out what it was. I'd realized creators use their writing on social media to market themselves and their services, but authors use social media to market their writing as the product. That person was a creator, teaching creating. And I'd yet to admit to myself my true dream of becoming an author.
That community shifted very intentionally from a writing-focused space to one centered around strategies for starting solo-businesses. It'd become very specifically tailored to something that didn't quite fit me or what I was looking for. It could also be true that the change was mine and not theirs. I'd been trying to force a topic I didn't actually like all that much so I could sell something associated with it. When I stopped pushing that, I started to love writing again. Others seemed to like it, too, because that's when I actually felt I'd found my voice.
Finally—like I stumbled far enough to find the trap-door.
Writing is my product but I hadn't been treating it that way until recently. At least, not fully. What I wish I’d done two years ago is get real clear on which parts of my writing to give away for free, where to put it, and how often.
So that's what I'm doing now.
Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
74/365
Are you clear on your goal? Is what you're doing truly in service of reaching it? How do you know?
onward.
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