Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit as authors and bloggers. This fast-paced world of constant content demand has always got us chasing the next result without really stopping to think that perhaps that one sale or handful of views is actually a great achievement.
Even now and after many years of having my writing in the public domain I still feel weird when compliments come my way through reviews and social media interactions. For a creator who started at zero to receive any type of positive feedback is something I’m still adjusting to. The fact my words can make a difference in just one person’s life or journey is both amazing and something worth giving my self credit for. There is something to be said about valuing yourself and what you contribute. Social media does tend to default to celebration of one’s self but what about one’s work that has maybe only reached one other but might have contributed positively to their life. There is power in that, and not the type of power that most strive for but just seeing just another author take something from my self help book gives me chills – the good type of chills – the type where it makes me feel like this was all worthwhile. For all the struggle and constant grind, sometimes, just sometimes a little glimmer of light appears through the murk, illuminated by someone who has appreciated what I wrote.
It takes time and it takes work but being a creative in the social media age will eventually work out well if you just keep going. Standing out – that’s the key, but how? Keep going and eventually hard workers with the right attitude will rise above most but not in a competitive way because the only competition I have is the me of yesterday.
Sometimes blogging (aka rambling along to myself) seems pointless and slightly egotistical, you know? If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading and listening to you, it’s that every effort is important. Thanks for continuing to talk about the hard work – not to mention the essential weirdness – of promoting yourself.
After this series on my blog, I’m going to start reviewing. Any tips would be appreciated!
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Thank you for reading – I never really know how well these rambling posts will be received so its nice to know they are appreciated. In terms of reviewing; for book reviews I tend to try and extend a book’s blurb without really giving much away while also sharing anything that I really enjoyed or resonated with. Reviewing books is much like writing, something you get better at by practice. I take notes most of the time and try to include a quote from the book also. Hope this helps…
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Nicely put, Lee.
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love this inspirational post!!
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