A writer's job
Over the past 3 years, I've learned that if no one's reading what you write, it's not always about discoverability, distribution, or algorithms.
Most of the time, as a writer, you don't understand your job well.
Your job as a writer is to do three things:
- Save your reader's time
- Help them discover something they didn't know
- Make it easy for your reader to understand
Let's discuss these three points in detail:
1. Save your reader's time
If you can say something in 8 words, don't take 80. Leave that "400 words for 10 marks" mindset behind.
Great writing is just good writing made shorter.
Before you think, "Wow! What did he just say?" That's not my line. I stole it from a guy who writes marketing and copywriting examples.
Now that you know what to do, here's what to avoid.
[I know you ignored that link. Please watch this masterclass after reading my blog on what not to do when conveying ideas through speaking or writing.]
So, don't waste your reader's time.
2. Help them discover something they didn't know
There's a reason someone's reading your work: either they don't know the subject, or they think you know better.
You can't assume everyone's on the same page as you.
You also can't keep talking about basics forever.
As you grow, you'll need to adjust. Change and grow with your audience, but starting with a knowledge bias is a blunder.
So, don't expect your reader to know everything.
3. Make it easy for your reader to understand
I know so many people with so much knowledge to share, and when I talked to them about starting to share, most of them failed at effectively transferring that knowledge.
The most common mistake is spitting out what you know without any format or visual presentation.
No, my little Paul Graham, you can't just spit out 1,000 words on a simple HTML/CSS website and expect it to reach even 10 people.
Nowadays, most people skim (first) and then read.
So your headline, sub-headlines, bullet points, formulas, and some pictures here and there actually matter a lot.
Why? Because you want to give your readers a reason to read what you've written, and the only way that's possible is by making it visually appealing and pleasing to start with.
I think these are the most fundamental things to get started with, i will share more of these things once I become more and more regular with writing here.