Writing Out on a Limb
by Stephan Miller
When is the last time you searched and searched for some elusive bit of information online, that article that speaks directly to you, that ebook that you would save to your desktop because of the wealth of information it contained. I have searched and found a few of these myself. You know what I discovered. I was searching for someone to tell me that the ideas I already had possessed some validity.
I am not saying that everything you search for falls in this category, but a lot of it might. Why do this? Low self esteem? Herd mentality? A feeling of belonging? Do you really need someone else to tell you that your thoughts have credibility before you can think them? What about your bookshelves? Are they full of books by authors that think as you do? Are you reading to learn or to feel better about yourself?
My suggestion: the next time you can't find what you are searching for, analyze why you are doing it. If you are searching for like minds, stop searching, go out on a limb, and start writing. Have faith in the products of your mind. Why? Because I guarantee that no matter how absurd your ideas seem to you, there are at least a few thousand people online searching for the same thing. You can reach them and if you are the first, you will have customers for life. They will love you for thinking like them and having the nerve to put your thoughts down in words. Or you can write the next product on becoming an information millionaire and compete with everyone else and have your customers jump ship because your competitors are selling their products for less than yours this week. It's your choice.
I have almost started rating the publishing potential of articles I write by what I call the "cringe factor." If I cringe at the thought of someone else reading what I have written, it has possibilities. If I think of sending it to the recycle bin because I have never met anyone with a similar point of view, I resist the urge and send it out. I am not talking about the quality of the prose. You still have to write good, solid paragraphs. I am speaking of exposing your mind to others. If you can do this, those people you reach will flock to your web site in search for more. They will e-mail with thanks for stating what they had been thinking. How do I know this? It has happened to me.
So start writing your article or ebook. Make sure its grammatically sound. And then send it out to a hungry audience before you can delete it from your hard drive. Trust your ideas and your readers will find you.
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Stephan Miller is a ebay seller, freelance programmer,
writer, and webmaster at
http://www.profit-ware.com
Home of Hotbid Auction Market Analyzer
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