What I’ve learned from writing and sharing more than 150K words in 2021 – one year of Life Inspiration File
My usual writing position with my trusting Mac.
On the 27th December 2020, I hit publish on my first article here on Life Inspiration File. It's a bit funny to me now because that very first article was all about setting goals and how to take those big abstract hopes, wishes, and dreams and turn them into concrete day-to-day actions.
I guess I had this dream of being a writer.
It was a dream I've only taken seriously very recently – I returned to writing in August 2020, simply thinking I would start writing a story to help me through some troubling times. Well, one thing led to another – you can read all about it in this article here – floodgates were opened, and I couldn't stop writing.
After getting passed over for a job in scientific editing in October 2020, I decided I was going to take things into my own hands, start this blog so that I could practice my writing in public, choose myself, and see where this whole writing thing could take me.
Perhaps I haven't had that much 'success' if my efforts are judged by an outside observer, (especially in terms of accolades and money), but I feel extremely successful one year in, and I know I have made an amazing amount of progress. I'm so excited about where I sit now compared to just over a year ago when I first hit that publish button, that I'm eager to continue on with this experiment and adventure in the coming years.
As Julia Cameron says in The Artist’s Way, 'leap and the net will appear.' I have experienced this to be an undeniable truth: try things before you feel you are ready and trust that it will all work out. Even before reading those words, I did take blind leaps of faith, I did step out of my comfort zone, I did somewhat quell my shy nature and be vulnerable in public – and so many amazing things have happened because of that:
I've written an insane number of articles about a wide variety of themes.
I've made countless friends through Instagram and this blog.
I've decided I want to write books and self-publish them.
I've become braver – and am now willing to do things I wouldn't have done a year ago.
I have become confident in myself, my ideas, and my writing.
I have become a better thinker, a better communicator.
What follows in this article are some of the main lessons I’ve learned in this first year of writing in public. Perhaps you will find them useful if you are a newbie just starting out with writing and blogging, or are even just thinking about starting, or maybe you're a bit more seasoned but need a little motivational boost to keep you going.
If you would like some more practical help, I have put together a little list of the resources/programs that have helped me out in this first year of blogging and writing. Simply click the button below, fill out your details (you will be added to my email list so you will also receive my monthly inspiration round-up), and you will have instant access to the resource list.
Lesson one: It’s a marathon not a sprint
There was a lot of time at the beginning (for the first few months) where I barely saw any progress – I would get excited if people even accidentally came across my landing page and then left again. It felt like it took an eternity to get my first tens of Instagram followers or my first email subscriber – I was starting everything from absolute scratch; even my friends and family didn't know about it – so really starting from ZERO. PS: I don't know if I would actually recommend that approach (the not telling your friends and family, that is), but I just felt like I wanted to give things a good shot before letting people who know me in real life knew about all this – just some breathing room for myself (and a chance to completely opt-out if I decided this really wan't for me).
But then things slowly got going – people started reading actual articles, I got my first comment, my first email subscribers. I started climbing the rankings in Google for some articles (I'm still not the best at SEO, but at least I know a little bit now – at the start of all this I had no idea what the acronym even stood for!). And, since around the six-month-mark, things have been gradually building month after month.
Another important thing is that my writing has improved over time. I've discovered (recovered?) my voice, I am more confident in my writing abilities, and I am starting to see how this daily practice of writing my heart out is paying off. I’ve even had a little external acknowledgment of my writing: I was really excited to have my piece selected to be published on Dear Damsels, and I'm now a regular contributor to Introvert, Dear.
Lesson 2: You need patience
Because it is a marathon not a sprint, you really need patience – even in ways you don’t necessarily expect. Sometimes things just take a really long time – especially when it comes to involving other people. Sometimes when I've submitted articles to other online publications for guest posts, it has taken months before it's accepted, and even longer to finally get published. I once had a piece I'd written in February finally get published in August! You have to learn to hang in there and have faith that things may still turn out (even if it initially seems like they won't).
Lesson 3: You need a good reason for doing it
I've spent countless hours working on this blog and my writing career/business in general – writing, marketing, pitching, learning – with no clear and immediate reward. And certainly no real financial reward to date. Sometimes I question why I'm even bothering. But I keep going, even when it feels silly and useless, because I'm drawn to this – to sharing my stories, to helping others in this way. One little comment or message from someone saying that something I've written has resonated with them is enough for me to stay motivated and remind me why what I'm doing is important. That's what gets me through.
However, with that being said, I'm keen to now start earning some money from this in order to make it more sustainable and keep me writing, which leads me onto the next lesson…
Lesson 4: Be concerned about the words first, money later
It took me until I was about 9 months into this project (and had already decided that I wanted to continue with it) that I seriously started thinking about, and taking small steps toward, monetisation. I just figured there was no point in being swept up with earning two cents from an affiliate program as a complete newbie with a tiny audience. I think this has been a good approach – it's meant that I've mostly focussed on my writing, and improved that while also building an audience at the same time. Now, one year in, I've got more confidence in my abilities and am spending a larger proportion of my time on monetisation efforts.
Lesson 5: Find good role models – whether they're your peers or NY times bestselling authors
I listen to a lot of interview podcasts (particularly The Tim Ferriss Show - it's even one of the 35 things I love). I am really interested in hearing people who are successful at what they do tell the stories behind how they got there. I've realised that most of the time, someone who may appear upon superficial inspection to be an overnight success, is really a success that took years and years of hard work in the background. I love it when some successful person says it was really hard, they almost gave up, but then they kept going and then...[insert amazing thing here].
I also admire people from a variety of backgrounds – my role models are not all writers! They also include: athletes, musicians, actors, psychologists, ordinary people living their ordinary lives...you get the gist.
Lesson 6: You will probably find that you have a seemingly infinite number of things to write about
Well, at least I did. I really don't understand these people who talk about idea generation – I really do not have a problem with finding ideas, for me the problem is finding enough time to write about all the things I want to write about.
Actually, before I started I had about 30 concrete ideas - because I wanted to make sure that this all wouldn't fizzle out. I discovered that the more I write, the more I've got to write. One idea blossoms into 10 or 30, and it just goes on and on like that.
Lesson 7: Writing can be a very satisfying and fulfilling way to help people
I have a background in science (cancer research), and I did used to feel fulfilled in my research job – that my experiments would contribute to the general scientific knowledge and therefore to the development of better cancer therapies. But, over time, I began to feel really removed from my impact, to the point where I felt like I was barely having any impact at all in that job.
Writing has been so different though – especially with my approach of practicing in public. This means that I can actually be in contact with people who read my writing, and readers can not only tell me if something has resonated with them, but exactly how as well. It is so satisfying and fulfilling to me. I don't know how else to describe it except that I feel like I've found my true calling.
Final words – Thank YOU
I hope you enjoyed this little behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creation and first year of Life Inspiration File and my writing career.
But, I wouldn't still be here doing this without you. Thank you for reading this article (and any others you may have read). Thank you for following my squiggly journey and interacting with me over on Instagram. And especially thank you if you've joined my email list. I have a lot of fun writing, but it's made all the more fun knowing that you are reading it and are getting something from reading my work. If I can help you to improve your life just a smidge, then I consider that an absolute success.
Thank you for being with me on this adventure.
A bit of fun
Just in case you are new around here (or, even if you’re not but want to read some older articles that you may have missed), I thought I’d direct you to a few that mean something special to me.
The article which I got the most feedback on (lots of people resonated with this one). It was also one of the toughest articles to write. ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: A Bad Time to be a Woman and an Even Worse Time to be a Mother’, as a guest post for The Egalitarian.
An article that was really vulnerable and almost didn’t publish (but I’m so glad I did: I had a few people approach me telling me about their similar experiences): ‘The boy speaks: what my late-blooming son taught me about deep acceptance’.
My long explanation for why I started writing again and why I decided to practice in public. ‘Why I started writing again + a gentle case for making your writing public’.
Note: This article contains affiliate links. Using these links will not cost you anything, but may give me a few cents or dollars. If you do use an affiliate link - thank you! You are supporting me and my writing.
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