Your writing matters
Believing in your work is an essential step to reaching your readers
I worry that too many writers don’t reach their ideal readers because they are too reticent to share their work. Yes, they believe in their creative vision enough to write and publish, which is a huge undertaking. But that vigor falls apart when they go to share. I don’t say that with judgement, but with empathy.
They worry they are bothering people.
They get self-conscious, feeling they don’t want to look like they are trying too hard, lest they be seen as an annoying self-involved marketer.
They do less because they justify it should all be easier. When something they try doesn’t immediately engage readers, they share even less.
They believe great work should magically find readers.
I was talking with a friend recently who has a lot of professional experience in publishing. But when they published their own book, they found themselves hesitating to promote it. They joked, “Hi reader, trying to find my book? Well, good luck!”
I loved their honesty about how this hesitation can create a true problem for readers, one where they are left on their own to discover your writing.
Today I want to explore why believing in your writing extends to sharing work. Not as a self-promotional maniac, but a person deeply interested in the themes you write about, who embraces craft as a writer, and loves conversations and experiences with other like-minded readers.
Let’s dig in…
The Lie of Not Trying Too Hard to Share
Every now and again, this image appears in my social media feed:
Maybe in the literary world, that same quote could be used on a classic photo of Joan Didion, or another luminary writer:
To me, the Kurt Cobain image and text promotes an insidious lie. One that encourages creators today to diminish their unique creative voices. To feel self-conscious about sharing. To feel that to be “authentic” is to not try to share their work at all.
Yet, throughout history, amazing artists have had their work seen and embraced, because they made an effort. And there is perhaps no one better to embody this than Kurt Cobain.
I was 18 years old when “Smells Like Teen Spirit” came out, and was a college DJ at the time. My friends and I embraced the music the moment we heard it, though none of us would then (or later) be described as grunge. It was simply good, refreshing music.
My memory is that Kurt did anything he could to promote his music:
He told his managers early on that he wanted his band to have massive success.
He created and appeared in music videos, which were the 90s version of short-form TikTok content. This packaged music into a visual, forced bands to create a singular interpretation of the song, and required huge production costs and teams to create.
He famously wore a t-shirt that read “Corporate rock magazines still suck,” on the cover of Rolling Stone. But he still allowed the appearance.
He performed hundreds of live shows. He loved live music, but he also performed in the back of stores, and on the stages of “corporate music” behemoths such as MTV’s VMAs, and Top of the Pops. The latter requires the band to mime playing, which the band famously mocked. But they still did it.
He and the band did loads of interviews and press tours. Did he enjoy them? Probably not. Did he still do them? Yes.
Kurt was reluctant to show up and accept big awards on stage, but he did still do it at least once that I can find.
I remembering reading about how Kurt felt conflicted about how popular his music was, and who part of his fanbase was. That these were the same kinds of people who had rejected him when he was younger. He felt his music wasn’t being properly understood by them, and he wanted to stop playing songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” live. Yet, he kept playing it, and kept playing live shows.
It’s been reported that he was aware of the image he was curating for himself and the band. The 90s were the age of “anti,” while also wanting to be seen being “anti.” He was celebrated for this.
This is not to say that anyone should do things they are uncomfortable with. Each person gets to decide that for themselves, and their views may change over time. What I’m commenting on here is to not whittle the idea of Kurt Cobain down to the meme above. To not make him a symbol of “This person was too cool and authentic to ever try to promote his creative work, so you are a bad person if you try to do it.”
Kurt was a multifaceted and complex person (as we all are.) In reading about Kurt in research for this piece, it was interesting to see the nuance, the contradictions that Kurt was working through. (His biographer shares this in very compelling ways.)
Reducing Kurt to a meme seems to encourage musicians/writers/artists working today to feel a sense of shame and self-consciousness about sharing or marketing their work. That somehow, they are the “bad, inauthentic, sell-out” if they promote their creative work online, because “Kurt never would.”
You have a unique creative voice. Using it to share what you create gives your writing the chance it deserves to reach readers. Let’s look at an example of that…
No One Will Believe in Your Work More Than You
Rick Beato shared this clip of songwriter Alex Warren describing how he got his song “Ordinary” to become a massive hit. It has spent 46 weeks on the charts, and is back on at #3. The song has 1.5 billion plays on Spotify.
Of course, step one is, “Write a great song.” For Alex, this was step two:
“Ordinary?” My label was telling me it’s not a hit, that no one’s going to listen to a ballad. I was like, ‘No, this is the song. This is going to change my life. Believe in it.’”
“No one believed in it. They go, ‘Maybe if we put a collab or feature on it, people will care.’ I’m like, ‘Let me do this.’ And no one did it, so I kept posting to TikTok. And they’re like, ‘It’s not working.’ I’m like, ‘Trust me.’”
“I posted on six different accounts 30-40 times. All of it flopped. And then TikTok was dying (This would have been during shut downs around TikTok) and I made one final plea, and I was like, ‘Please care about this song’ to #booktok. At the time, my wife was reading a book and I was like, ‘Please find this.’ TikTok dies the next day. And I’m like, there goes my shot.”
“Then all the sudden it comes back. And I’m like, ‘Hey, do we still remember this song?’ And it blew up again. I posted 134 times to “Ordinary,” I think before it even came out. We did 400 million views on my account to that song. And for so long, so many people told me it wasn’t a good song. So many people told me it wouldn’t go anywhere. So many people told me to pivot to a song that I didn’t write. It was such an interesting thing: I believed in the record and I’m the one who promoted it. No one promoted it. It was me.”
Rick reflected on the importance of showing up every day, and sticking with what you are trying to focus on. Yes, this applies to your craft of writing, but also how you show up to reach readers. Rick ends with the classic advice: “Posting doesn’t guarantee success, but not posting guarantees failure.”
Focus on Small Moments of Connection
While Alex’s story is one of going viral, that is not the only path. I would encourage you to instead focus on small engaged communities. To develop an audience of people who share your passion for the topics or themes you write about.
This is about doubling down on the passion that drives why you write. It is about being consistent in showing up to share that. It is about sharing as a craft, exploring the nuances, and experiment with intention.
Believing in your work matters, and that should extend to how you share. This is not about becoming a content farm, where you are constantly shoveling stuff online hoping something works. It is about being intentional about sharing what matters, and engaging one-to-one with people who it resonates with. Not because you are obligated, but because it is human.
I know, people may shudder at this at first. But let me ask: what if you ran this adorable little bookstore cafe in a small town. You curated what you sell, you arranged events, and made the place super cozy. And someone comes up to you, and says, “I love what you have built here, it is such a gem.”
Would you:
Stare at them, unblinking. Not saying a word.
Politely say, “I recognize your comment.”
Would say nothing, but jot down their commenting, waiting until you receive five of them, then announced to the entire store, “Thank you to everyone who has said nice things about the store.”
I doubt it. Yet, when we move this to an online space, those options are very common. A writer may receive a comment to their newsletter or social media post, and they don’t reply back. Or maybe they click the little ‘like’ on the comment to recognize it. Or maybe in their next post they vaguely say, “Thanks for all the feedback on my last post!”
What I really appreciate about the options writers have nowadays to reach readers is that you can set the tone. I can look at 10 different author newsletters, and find that each is crafted with a different frequency, tone, length, and so much else. You get to choose this for yourself.
What would feel refreshing to you? What do you want to see more of in the world? Why not create that?
Caring about how you share your work is not selfish. It is not selling out. It is finding a way to meet readers where they are — wanting to explore the themes that you love writing about. When you share frequently, it is not about putting yourself on a treadmill that only goes faster, but rather, about finding a pace that is sustainable. To do this work because you love it, and when you look back at your month, you can remember small moments of connection with readers.
My favorite recent example of this is someone I might have mentioned before: Elise Blaha Cripe. She ditched her blog of 20 years. She ditched her 87,000 Instagram followers, and has ZERO plans of going back. Instead she does a private newsletter. We are 16 days into this month, and I’ve already received five emails from her. And each one was infused with joy, craft, and her passion for creative ideas.
If you feel overwhelmed by things online, what if you flip the expectation? What if instead of following 500 or 1,000 people on Instagram, you followed just 10. Those who fill you with joy and trigger your creative spirit?
It’s Not Just the Idea, It’s the Execution
I remember hearing Casey Neistat talk about this years ago. Too often, writers approach marketing from an “idea” standpoint. For instance, they feel they have a big idea that can go viral. Or they justify that if they just had a clear list of best practices, that they would follow them. EG: “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.” This applies to so many areas of where to show up, what to share, how often, etc.
But often to really reach your readers, it isn’t just about the idea, it’s about the execution. That reaching readers takes time. It is about showing up, trying different things, caring about engaging with real people.
That is the opposite to trying to do the absolute minimum to share your work, and hoping it has a huge return-on-investment.
When someone first mentioned Melani Sanders’ incredible viral success to me, I went back to look at the video where it happened, which came out on May 13, 2025. She had this amazing idea, and it went viral. But then, I kept scrolling.
What I saw were hundreds and hundreds of other posts she has done for years, honing her voice and her craft. Yes, she was trying different ideas, but there was so much more than that. If she had never posted before, and just came out with the viral video as her first one, nothing would have happened. It wasn’t just the idea, it was how she slowly developed her community and her own voice online. That took years.
While her first post is from 2018, From what I can tell 2022 is when she hit an inflection point to really work to engage her community (in a post like this one.) I did a quick count, and she shared more than 300 videos since 2022 until just before she went viral. That isn’t just 300 ideas, it is so much more than that. It was her developing her voice, building a community, embracing her craft.
Your writing matters. Sharing your voice is about honoring that. You can to choose how you do this, and I simply encourage you do it intentionally. That you show up to make meaningful connections with your ideal readers and those who inspire you. And that hope, as always, is that this leads to a deep sense of fulfillment in your creative life.
If you want to explore working with me, there are two ways I collaborate with writers and creators:
My Creative Shift Mastermind. Learn about it here.
As always, thank you so much for being here with me.
-Dan
Kids of the Week: the big guy went on his first trip to NYC with just his friends. He had an amazing time:
Two of the songs the little fella has been practicing (videos):
Love this so much. Thank you for sharing. It was very encouraging during a time where I need it most.
I felt better after reading this, knowing that when I share my writing, I'm trying to do what you said - engage with individuals, and to stop feeling guilty about "over" sharing or promoting myself.