Feel burned out before I've even started. I keep planning and writing "drafts", but never actually publishing anything.
I have 87 blog post ideas (and counting) divided into 5 major categories. My plan was to start with one category and write 10 posts for that before adding another category.
I've got the site all set up. I've got the about page, the policies and what else I "need" to have on the site. I've got my Facebook, instagram and pinterest profiles ready, and I've got my "brand" style just perfect and made templates on adobe spark.
I've basically done everything but publish. And I feel stuck. I feel a huge pressure to succeed in this (for reasons I don't want to get into, I feel like this is my best shot at any kind of "career"). I love the idea of doing this, I've loved setting it up, I love the topics I want to write and teach about, I feel like I have real value to share. I just get completely stuck when trying to write the content and getting it from a "draft" stage to a "ready to publish" stage.
I'm usually pretty decent at writing, and when I have to write about something that I'm interested in it's usually a pretty smooth process. I think I'm just afraid to start, cause if I start I can fail. But I'm also afraid that this is gonna be a sign that I'm just not cut out for this kind of thing, and in that case I have no clue what to do with my life.
I know that I should probably just get something out there, just get used to the process of writing, editing and posting. It's not like anyone's gonna read the first posts anyway, right? But I just can't seem to get over that hump anyway… I feel unable to start doing the work, and I really, really just wanna get working!
ghostsinmystate Sounds cliche but just go for it. You will never like your writing as much as the idea behind the writing (if that makes sense) so stop procrastinating and hit the button :)
AUser ✍️ That makes perfect sense. I've completely glorified it I think, but when I think about the idea of writing I think about "perfect" posts. I guess I need to get used to the idea that I really won't be able to live up to my own expectations.
Thank you for your comment, I think I needed the support more than I though!
JoeStorm Just take a breather!!! Don't overthink the situation. Just take it one post at a time!
AUser ✍️ Me not overthinking a situation is like ice not being cold – haven't experienced it yet. It's really a major problem of mine, I know! But thank you for the comment, you're right, today I'll take my "best" post, set a timer for 1 hour and when the timer rings I'm just gonna publish it. It's already written, already shot the photo, it really already should be out there!
JoeStorm lol! Hey, it's alright man. Just got to take that giant leap!
ckshei I always think about this comic https://i.redd.it/lamotwkhlwmz.jpg when I read things like this.
It's hard to take that final step in publishing your work for the world to see. But you'll soon find out that no one really cares about your work (sad but true haha). In which case, you shouldn't be so concerned about getting a 'perfect product' out there.
So just keep pushing and getting your work out, and slowly grow out your base of readers who do care.
Continue to do this and you will soon get used to publishing things that are 'passable', and forget about publishing things that are 'perfect'.
okaybuddyb Very true. I love that comic, its first time seeing it. I struggled with this a lot as an artist. At the end of the day, the project goes to waste if it's not completed.
ckshei That's exactly it. Not publishing something for people to see and not having created it in the first place, to the rest of the world the two are basically the same thing.
AUser ✍️ I love this comic, and it's so true. And I've always known this, but I still just don't know how to get over the hump. I know the problem, I know the solution, all I need it the execution!
But I really appreciate the support, I feel completely alone in this and I know that I can't be the only one in this situation. But I really just need to be ok with the fact that I need to learn and get experience before getting to the point I want to be at, and until then I need to be ok with publishing only "passable" content.
Thank you!
ckshei You got it! The first time is definitely difficult, because it's quite vulnerable to publish something publicly.
But it looks like you have everything in place. Just like cliff diving or jumping into a pool of cold water, close your eyes, cringe, and take the plunge. It's never so bad after the fact.
Destiner I think what you need is a little bit of discipline.
Having a lot of ideas is great, but every time you need to focus on a single one.
Try setting the following routine for yourself. Schedule your posts as 1 post per day or 3 days or week, depending on their length and complexity. Then just write and publish it.
This is how I write short posts right now. I write and publish one short essay each day. I have a backlog of ideas, and each idea is scheduled to exact day. When I have a new idea, I just put it in the queue. Each day as I start to write, I know exactly what I write about today. I know that I NEED to publish it today otherwise I fail. Simple but works.
AUser ✍️ I agree, and I'm also aware of it. I definitely lack discipline. I need to figure out how to work on it. But I'm completely amazed at how much help the support and motivation in here has helped, and I actually managed to follow all of your advice and finish one of my drafts! Or well, still need to edit the photo and publish it, but I can have that done within 20min or so if I don't run in to any issues!
I will definitely try to focus on the one post at the top of the list instead of the next 10 posts I have planned, I realise now that was a bad way of doing it.
Thank you for your comment and advice!
Destiner I am glad that it helped. I was reading for months the same advice "publish something every day" and was skeptical. But when I tried it I realised that it works.
Anyway, good luck with your journey!
SterlingLuck Nobody wants to fail. But surprisingly enough it doesn't feel as shit as you'd think when it does happen. I see 'failure' now as a way to perfect my craft.
You need to publish. You need to show the world. And most importantly you need the feedback. Failure be damned. That's not what you should care about right now. Let the criticisms pour in. Only then will you know where you can improve and work on.
And if everyone loves your work, well then it all worked out! .^
So publish. deleted 1.) If it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly. Don't let perfectionism stop you from publishing. If you're like me, you'll never be satisfied with anything you write. If that's the case, sometimes just getting it done is better than waiting for it to be perfect.
2.) Write something that you want to read. Don't worry about blog hits, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), advertising, promotion, or any other nonsense. If you write stuff that you find interesting to read, you've succeeded already.
