Just a few tips that may just help someone.
To be totally honest, I was pretty lousy at English in school! English Literature bored the pants off me and I found English Language to be almost as bad. Add in the fact that my handwriting was (still is in fact!) a mess (I blame being left-handed!) and you can see that the idea of making any kind of living from writing would appear to be the last thing I'd attempt.
Weirdly though, since leaving school, I have maintained a keen interest in writing.
Many years ago, I bought a comprehensive course on writing, which I studied (somewhat haphazardly it must be said) but luckily, I gleaned sufficient information from it to be able to improve certain aspects of my English. Among these was composition, spelling and grammar.
Back when I first started to take a post-school interest in writing, most people were still using typewriters. Word processors were still quite rare outside of large corporations and were pretty basic - and bl**dy expensive! So back then, every time you made a mistake or a new idea popped into your head, you either had to scrap your work and start again, or - if you were lucky and it was a small mistake - erase your error with the erasing ribbon. Ah, for the 'good old days eh!' :-) But I digress.
Please excuse the long intro above, but what I wanted to impress upon anyone who may read this brief submission, is that you don't have to be a 'great' writer to succeed. As with many things in life, 'good enough' is, well, good enough!
Down the years, I have had a couple of things published by 'real' publishers - by which I mean they paid me, not the other way around and I feel certain that if I had stuck to my guns, I could have achieved much, much more. Oh well...
So then, the main point of this brief blog post? To give anyone who may be suffering with self-doubt a few tips that I have learned over the years and which I know work and which I further know are going to help me as I build my websites in the years to come.
1/ Know your audience! If you don't know for certain what your intended audience is looking for and you give them what you think they're looking for, the chances are that you will fail! All professional media outlets employ editors and their main job is to understand what their audience wants and to ensure that their writers/contributors etc give it to them!
2/ Take your time! The Internet has been around in one form or another since the 1960's and it isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. Don't rush to get things online because you think others may beat you to it - chances are, they already have anyway!
3/ Make sure your research is thorough AND accurate! Don't rely on just one source for your research and try to make notes of the pertinent points of your intended piece. And ALWAYS avoid plagiarism!
4/ Try to write the best that you can, BUT - and it IS a big but - don't think you have to get it right first time, every time! ALL successful writers check, edit - and if necessary - re-write their work completely! Hell, that's what the Word Processor was invented for! LOL
5/ Read through your work from time to time as you're writing it. I have with this piece. This way you can see whether what you've written is what you actually meant to say! Often, I have altered a line in a paragraph, only to find out that it has now rendered the rest of the paragraph obsolete or made things as clear as mud! DO NOT be afraid to change things as you go along!
6/ Try to get your spelling and punctuation right, without the need for a Spell/Grammar checker. I'm not saying that you shouldn't make use of a good Spell/Grammar checker, rather that you should try to ensure that the need to use one is reduced - as it will be if you concentrate on what you are doing. Not only will this save you time, but even good spell checkers sometimes fall down when it comes to the usage of certain words and how they 'see' them. I'm forever disagreeing with the one I use! LOL Oh, and don't get too hung up about 'real' English and American English! The Americans are always trying to find quicker easier ways to do things! LOL Note: COLOUR should be spelt like that! :-)
7/ Always try to make your sentences as short as possible and ensure that they convey information of value! By this, I mean don't 'waffle!' Padding may increase your basic word-count, but it will do nothing for your article's quality and will often put off your readers!
8/ Do NOT publish your article immediately after you have finished it! I know, I know; we're all perfect - especially you - and that first draft you've slaved over for hours can't fail to be great! But give it 24-48 hours, then read through it again (that's what I always do) and I guarantee that you'll find things that you wish to change! Poor sentence structure; repeating yourself; grammatical errors, etc, etc - you WILL find them, believe me...
9/ If you give people the chance to criticise your work, don't take it personally if they do so! Putting any form of product or idea 'out there' invites critisism. And often times, thats a good thing! YOU may think your product or idea is the best thing since sliced bread, but others - who are not so emotionally linked to it - may well have a different view - and won't, in many cases, be afraid to let you have it!
10/ NEVER GIVE UP! I've saved this simple statement until last because I believe it is one of the most important things that you need to keep in mind when starting anew in any form of business venture.
Try to remember this, if you'd given up trying to walk as a child, you'd still be getting around on your ass and getting nowhere fast!
Yes, you will get knocked-back; yes you will have bad days; days when you feel that the whole world - and its dog - are against you! But always remember this: Tomorrow IS another day; it is a fresh day and it is another chance for YOU to get back in the fight, to get back in and WIN!
The best of luck to you! :-)
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Great tips, George, especially #10!
Jeff
You're welcome. :-)