5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Writing Online

Before I started writing online I saw plenty of posts with good meaningful advice on things you should know - before you start writing online. 

Of course, I thought I knew better and so I cast off their well-meant intentions and dived head first into the world of online writing making mistake after mistake that could have been avoided if I had listened to the advice of the wise and helpful writer that had come before me. 

Now has come the time for me to pass on my own sage advice in the hopes that you are wiser than I was and will learn from the mistakes of someone else before you meet the same fate. 

Thick Skin - Yeah They Weren't Joking About That One 

When I was first given the advice that if I was going to write on the internet I was going to have thick skin - I thought, "It can't be that bad, people won't actually be that mean…will they?"

The vast majority of people you'll meet in the writing communities are wonderful, supportive, and some of the best people you could ever come to know…

However - where there is light you also have darkness and yes… some people really can be mean jerks just for the sake of being mean jerks. 

I once had someone leave no less than ten comments on an article I wrote absolutely trashing me, my writing, and even my profile picture - all for the offense of having spelled something wrong. 

It can be hard to try and let comments and negativity roll off of you, but it is a skill you will have to learn because sometimes people are mean just to be mean. 

Quality and Quantity Both Matter

There seems to be a split among writers online about quality and quantity. Some say that it doesn't matter how well you write as long as you write and post often you'll gain success or followers while others say that better writing is what will draw in success no matter how far and few between you post. 

The truth?

They both matter. It doesn't matter if you are the best writer in the world - if you only post once every five years it's going to be hard for anyone to grow a community around your writing while if you post every day, but nobody can make heads or tails of what your writing it's going to be just as hard. 

Your quantity should not make your quality suffer. 

Write at a pace that allows you the time you need to write, edit, and revise before you send it out into the world

It's Not About The Writer 

One of the hardest lessons I've ever had to learn is that it's easy to be a selfish writer who thinks of nothing but their own reading experience when writing instead of thinking about the reader. 

Sure I write these articles and my stories because of a goal that I have, but to put it simply if I love chocolate cake but if I am baking a cake that is meant for my partner who only likes vanilla cake - well that's just selfish on my part. 

Make sure to remember that you are writing for yourself, but the product you make is for a consumer who should be kept in mind as well. 

Just Hit Post - It's Not Going To Get Any Better 

I once spent a month editing one article just to scrap it in the end because it had gotten so far off of the original point that it was a mess. 

Just like it's possible to under-edit your work - it's just as easy to over-edit it.

 Sure we want everything we post to be as close to perfect as we can get it, but at one point those editing sessions are nothing but a drawn-out procrastination tactic and we just need to hand the mouse off to someone who will hit post on it before we manage to make it worse by second guessing every decision we made. 

Engagement Goes Both Ways 

What do we want? 

For those who read our work to interact with it, like it, share it, and comment on it. 

But what should you be doing with all those comments and interactions? 

Interacting back. 

Thanking someone for taking the time out of their day to comment and interact with what you put out there turns those viewers from someone who just merely passed by to a member of your community because the next time they see something you post they're going to remember the positive experience it was and come back to support you. 

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While I can encourage you to take some of this advice to heart it's also a necessary phase in a writer's growth journey to have to learn from the mistakes that could have easily been avoided before passing on advice of their own to all the writers that will follow them on the same journey. 

It's an endless cycle of heartfelt posts and lessons learned through stubbornness. 

Best of luck on your journey. 

With love, 

B.K. xo xo