Dear Writer,
We all make mistakes. None of us are immune to screwing things up or failing. You know what, that’s okay. It is essential to fail sometimes. It doesn’t feel good. And it can be unpleasant, but it happens.
Today, I got an email from someone who had joined my publishing email list, and he said my links were broken in one of my emails. I went and checked. Sure enough, all my links were broken. Then I found out that the platform I was using reduced access to different things, and I couldn’t use the links I had planned.
So, I had to improvise. But it wasn’t any less embarrassing. I made things right and learned a valuable lesson. Go back and check your links!
Today, I thought I would share three of my writing mistakes. Because it is helpful to know we all make mistakes, and maybe you can learn from mine.
No.1 - Spreading myself too thin.
I am a starter by nature. I love to start new projects, even if it can be a detriment to my ongoing work. At least once a quarter, I find myself spread to think over the different projects I start. Many writers do this, and it isn’t a mistake that is limited to new writers.
Sometimes, I learn that I need to say no or shelf a project. Even if it might be a good idea. I need to look at my current projects and see if anything should end before beginning something new.
No.2 - Failure to maintain essential details.
I shared about this at the beginning. But it is a mistake that seems to pop up often. I don’t maintain links in my preset works or on my blog. Or, I move something and don’t update my links.
I'm learning that I need to keep track of these things better. Today’s incident reminded me that I need to keep a list of ongoing projects to maintain and then check them at least once a month.
No.3 - Forgetting the importance of connecting.
So often, people reach out, and I mean to get back to them, but I don’t for one reason or another. I make the mistake of not connecting, and then, later on, it can be too late. I have done this over and over again.
I am learning that I need to schedule some of these interactions better. Especially as they have started to happen more often, it’s important to me to connect with other writers, but I need to steward our connections.
Thank you for reading.
This is a behind-the-scenes look because it’s honest. I am admitting three mistakes I make as a writer, and I want others to know it is okay to make mistakes as long as we are looking for ways to learn from them.
Thank you for reading today’s newsletter. I hope you have a great weekend and if you are new to the newsletter or found this by chance, please subscribe!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and help writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack!
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