Figure out what it is you want to accomplish with your writing and then do something about it. Breathe a sigh of relief and take a step forward in faith.

A slow start

In 2017 I went to the Breathe Christian Writers Conference. Finally! I committed to pursuing writing, and what better way than to learn more about it than to get with other writers and learn as much as I could.

I took in all the workshops time allowed, took copious notes, met some other writers, and came home absolutely overwhelmed with the idea of building a following for my blog. The presentations were helpful and informative. The overload stemmed from the word PLATFORM repeated so often throughout the weekend.

WordPress, Email lists, social media, lead magnets, landing pages. A sense of excitement and looming defeat came over me at the same time. Did you know that was even possible? Well, it is.

I came home and tried; I really did. Setting up a new blog WordPress went okay, I guess, but setting up and email list not so much. Tech isn’t in my toolbox. The whole exercise was enough to make me stop writing for almost a year.

I lost that round.

A confident comeback

The writing life was still calling my name. I missed writing enough to come back and fight for it. To give tech and social media a try, but more importantly, to start writing again.

That feeling of overwhelm, I put that on myself. It didn’t happen at the writing conference. That was a wonderful experience. I threw myself into the comparison trap. And the fear of failure is what turned my writing dreams into nightmares. No one was going to find out about my writing or sure wasn’t asking for help. Have you been there?

I’ve grown a lot since then. You can read more about it here. Now I write from a place of trust and obedience to the calling I believe God placed on my life.

I still don’t have an email list, and the tech still scares me a little. But now I see myself as in-process not less than.

Whether you are just getting started or, like me, you’ve been writing for a while but still have a very few subscribers, I caution you not to compare yourself to others. Instead, choose to be inspired by them.

Figure out what you want to accomplish with your writing, take a deep breath, and go!

A few tips to help make it easier

• Find a few successful bloggers in your niche and observe how they do it.
• Follow your favorites on social media.
• Join a writing community (linkups are a great way to do this; see my shortlist below).
• Try a membership website for writers (like Hope Writers).
• Take a course (try Flourish Writers).
• Learn all you can, how you can.
• Hire someone else for the technology side of things, if possible (like Fist Bump Media).
• Practice, practice, practice.
• Pray, pray, pray.

Writing is active. Yes, do the work, but enjoy the journey.

I’ve only included & linked resources I personally use. There are zero affiliate links in this post. Remember, I told you I’m still a little afraid of the tech.

Here’s my shortlist of favorite link-ups, but there are many: 
Five Minute Fridays, hosted by Kate Motaung 
Faith on Fire, hosted by Lyli Dunbars
Grace and Truth Link-Up, hosted by a team writing women. Click the link to Lauren Sparks Blog to see who they are.
Inspire Me Monday link-up, hosted by Anita Ojeda,
Let’s Have Coffee, hosted by Sue Donaldson on the Wild at Heart blog

Photo credit: Canva.com