Does anyone else have the problem where they write a lot, but it all seems to go into the void and never produce any tangible benefit? How do I produce writing that people want to read?
In fact, the single most productive writer I worked with was also the absolute worst to read on a word-by-word basis. He was also one of the most successful in his career. The trick was combing through his masses of thought-assault to identify out the good bits and fix the mediocre bits (obviously, throwing away the bad bits). I always got a chuckle out of how the end readers had no idea how much of the original writing was schlock, but his success was fully deserved on many other levels.
So in short: recognize that what you're experiencing is totally normal and acceptable, and work to your strengths. Write your crappy stuff that nobody wants to read and then fix it. If you can't fix it -- then editing is what you need to work hard on improving (and editing ≠ writing).
This. For many years I though I had to write like I read, that the words had to be perfect the first time -- like you are used to read. But the finished work is nothing like the first draft. Just write, don't stop even to fix typos. Never stop the flow. Then, once you have dumped your brain into words, leave it for a while and come back to do the editing later.
Like Stephen King also mentioned in his book (on Writing): write the first draft with the door closed, and the second with the door open. The first draft is for you, the second is for an audience (of selected people).
I wrote a quick blog post about it a while back: https://blog.torh.net/2022/06/14/writing-is-hard/
I like having a record of my thinking. I read a travel journal I wrote some time ago, and it painted a much more faithful picture of my trip than dozens of photos. I had a good chuckle at some passages, and at my doodles in the margins.
I also write in public, mostly to share solutions, but occasionally to share my thoughts. I've shared a few posts here and loved the ensuing discussion. Some people have reached out because they somehow came across a post I wrote. It's cool to help a guy from Tennessee change his break pads, or to meet a guy from Berlin because he thinks we'd get along (we do).
In the end, I write for the sake of writing. It's like practicing guitar. I have no dream of being a rockstar; I just enjoy the process. However, doing things in public occasionally bears fruit in the most unexpected ways.
Write these down and sharpen them. Share them with friends and get their feedback.
This removes the problem of what to write, which can be daunting as a new writer. And you may end up discovering something new in these old conversation pieces!
(1) It's a function of audience. I am writing on Medium with moderate success (~1.4K followers, prior top 5% of business writers worldwide), and I noticed that content discovery on the platform is just broken. The same applies to Twitter.
(2) In 2022, we are competing with content farms that drown out smaller "creators" ...start to hate that word.
It used to be true, that I would write an article about Apple's product launch and gathered 40K views. Not anymore.
But then, I am now mostly on Youtube for content consumption. So I guess, that makes me part of the problem.
For me, the hardest problem is even getting the word out. I’ve used a few different platforms to get my book in front of people. And by and large, the ones who start it also finish it. But even giving away content, it is surprisingly hard to connect to an audience of any size.
Pick any kind of writing, and you’ll find the marketplace is incredibly crowded. There is so much content vying for a finite set of eyeballs. And it’s not just other writers; you’re competing with all other uses of leisure time: Netflix, Fortnite, Twitter, TikTok, hell, even Tinder
I think you have to enjoy writing because it scratches your own itch. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll attract a few like-minded followers. If you’re hoping for a more sizable audience, you’d better enjoy marketing.
I'll probably write a blog post at some point covering the things I've tried, which is admittedly not a lot. There are vanishingly few free marketing channels, and paid marketing typically only makes financial sense once you've got at least a few books to increase your revenue per reader. Otherwise your customer acquisition costs exceed your margins.
If you're writing fiction, the best freebie I've found is sending advance review copies through Voracious Readers Only. They limit you to twenty without paying, but that at least got me a pair of reviews on Goodreads (sadly nothing on Amazon).
If you have specific questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Whether you want to take advice from the guy who only sold ten copies is up to you.
Things I've heard writers / bloggers / etc. in my life say about writing:
- There is no magic bullet; you just have to practice, practice, practice and be willing to throw away large sections or even entire drafts. Most people, including famous authors, write large volumes of crap. - If you're explicitly looking for an audience, you have to test with that audience! Get feedback early and often, and use that feedback to improve what (and how) you write. (If you have any product / design / UX training, you'll notice how similar this advice is to best practices in those fields!)
(On the second point: using Notion, Google Docs, or any other tool that gives you an easily shared link and allows inline commenting is a great way to get useful feedback!)
It doesn't pay the rent, but one can't deny the quantitative validation of imaginary Internet points.
Also, you might try distributing your writing more widely - not to promote it, but to get feedback. Find alternate distribution channels.
I am new to astro and enjoy reading Jim Kaler's writing which has a lasting effect on me.