In an earlier post, we discussed the fear that you’re not a good writer. That’s a totally legitimate fear because if you haven’t done much writing then how on earth are you supposed to be good at it?

There is a legitimate fear that self-publishing is going to yield low-quality writing.

The simple fact

Let’s face those fears here today.

To begin with, the simple act of writing and writing and writing will make you a better writer.

One of the best things you can do when you’re starting out is to write a post then leave it for a day or two. When you come back to it, read it again and fix all the issues you find.

Read it out loud and it’s going to sound totally different. This will not only help you catch mistakes, but the things that sound silly.

Find a problem and fix it.

What about taking it to the next level though?

Hire an editor

In late November 2014 I hired an editor. Her name is Diane Krause. Before Diane, I had my administrative assistant read through my posts to correct any spelling mistakes.

She caught some errors and my posts were better, but some small mistakes still slipped through.

Working with Diane I get something more though — I get someone to tell me when a post is just plain bad, and if it is, we take it back and re-write or scrap it altogether. She helps clarify my message so I’m communicating with my readers in the way I intend.

It’s more work for me now, but it results in better content for you — which is ultimately better for me, because better content attracts more readers.

If you are looking for an editor send me an email and I’ll put you in touch with Diane.

You can’t afford an editor?

At first, I couldn’t afford an editor either, but I could afford to have friends read some of my posts and provide feedback. These were people in my mastermind group, or other WordPress business owners. They helped me see where my message was unclear or where I sounded like a jerk (and I did sound like a know-it-all jerk for a long time, sorry).

These trusted people helped me refine my writing so I could reach more people.

Even with an editor I still send some of my posts out to friends for feedback. I believe more feedback will help me continually refine my content and bring more clarity.

If I have to make a choice between quality and quantity, I’d rather drop a post a week and have better content.

If you’re feeling less than confident about your writing, ask your partner/spouse/friend to be around when you want to run a post by someone. Most likely they’ll say ‘yes’ and then you have one more person on your team, helping you get your message to your clients.

photo credit: kevinpoh cc