Andre Hartslief
So, you have fallen down the proverbial “Rabit-hole, metaphorically speaking. No, I’m not advocating a Lewis Carol styled escape, but, I suppose, I should explain the Mole’s tea-party, with a twist. Here goes, Virily is forging ahead in Leaps-N-Bounds dead-set on making the site, the go-to page for up-coming writers. Should admin’s actions, not also transcribe to Virily’s existing writers?
If so, while most, if not all the writers, have studied some form of marketing, and realize, the importance of finding your niche and to know your audience, where they hang out. which will enable readers, to find out exactly what you’re offering them, that’s unique.
But what if you DON’T know who your audience is… or don’t know what to write about… or don’t know what book title/cover/description people will respond to?
All of these situations are based on uncertainty. Here’s a metaphor that can help. Imagine you’re walking along a path. Then… BAM!
You wake up. You have no idea where you’re at. You’re in total darkness and you cannot see a thing. So what do you do?
* Do you sit there and meditate for hours hoping to magically discover how to get out? #Or do you stick out your arm? Feel around?.
You decide to stick out your arm and it hits a stone wall in front of you. That’s when you remember…
You had fallen down a winding Rabbit-hole and got knocked unconscious. Now you’re in an underground cave. So again… what do you do?
If you’re like me, you keep feeling around until…You realize behind you is an opening. You walk through this cave. Then you hit another wall in front of you. You feel around… and realize you can either go left or right.
What do you do?
Does it really matter? You’d just have to pick any side and see where it takes you, right? If it’s a dead-end, then backtrack and try the other side. Taking this approach, you finally get your way out of the cave.
So what’s the point of this metaphor? Sometimes we’re in darkness. We can’t SEE where we need to go. And you can’t THINK your way out of it. Instead, you gotta put out ‘feelers’ and get feedback. You gotta use ACTION. Try things. If something’s not working, try something else.
It’s the same in business (and life). As an author, your ‘feelers’ might be a small piece of Virily content. An article. A short story. Perhaps even, A Facebook post.
You keep putting out your metaphorical arms/feelers until you find something that resonates with people. Then you know you’ve found an opening you can explore deeper.
I won’t spell out exactly what this means at this moment because this process is meant to activate your own creativity. Just remember being lost and uncertain is okay. Even when you’re in total darkness, you can still find your way out.
The key it is… you gotta act!
So what’s one action you can take right now that will give you even more clarity? Identify it, research about it and start writing about it.
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There is much to unpack here pal.
I suspect the guidance is don’t give up. But sometimes i wonder. I know there are situations that are impossible.
I know people give up.
How can we inspire those that have quit to start again?
Thank you for written this interesting piece of article
If it is only about Virily I am happy to say I have found my bearings, good and proper. I write my fingers just flow. I have completed 5 months here and feel I am here for years.
Merry Christmas!!!
Some people just like to write though. The writing itself takes them out of their own darkness.
Whether anyone reads it, or not, or whether it resonates with other people, or not, is a mere sidepoint to their writing.
The writing is what counts. I am like this myself. I just write for my own pleasure in my own writing. I put it out there, and if others like it they can read it, if not, well too bad.
I do not change my writing to cater for all possible types of readers.
“There is a reader out there for every type of book. Every book can sell itself to someone”, my old bookshop owner friend, once told me.
I take the same approach with my writing. There is someone out there that will find an interest in it.
Often the book finds the reader, not the other way around.
If my writing is out there, the reader that it is perhaps meant for, will find it, if not, well, it has already helped me, by my writing of it, which is my main aim in my writing.
Of course, Dunce, to each his own, I am in full agreement with that and I would not dream of imposing on anyone to follow my suggestions, and that is all this is, just another helpful way someone shared with me, to traverse the problem, should it arise, and I did refer to someone who found themselves, “At a loss for words”, albeit temporarily, and I quote, “But what if you DON’T know who your audience is… or don’t know what to write about… or don’t know what book title/cover/description people will respond to?” Clearly, by your comment, this is NOT you. Thank you for reading my post, Tranquilpen
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I am only just talking here for myself. They are only my own thoughts that I thought I might add here to show the many varied types of writers that are out there…LOL…
No doubt your well-written article will benefit many people. It also helped me indirectly too, in my clarifying for myself here, why I write.
Thanks for the reminder Andre… Even when you’re in total darkness, you can still find your way out.