5 Mistakes I Made During My Writing Career

If I could back in time, here are some things I would tell my naive younger self:

1. Don’t Go For ‘Perfect Copy’ in Your First Draft

Your first draft is to dump all your ideas in one place. Let it all flow — follow your stream of consciousness. Let it be rough, bad, wrong, and full of errors. You can always come back and edit it later.

2. Don’t Mimic Others — Find Your Voice & Style

I confused inspiration with mimicking. Every time I read something that inspired me, I took that as a standard and copied it into my words. No doubt it helped me kick start my journey, but I blurred the line when I needed to write it in my style — find my voice.

3. Document Your Every Work — Create Your Gold Mine

Document everything you write. No matter how bad you think it is. Save it. Draft it. But never delete it. You never know what idea might inspire your next big hit.

4. Experiment, But Find Your Niche

I followed the advice of experimenting with niches religiously. I didn’t narrow it down — maybe also because I couldn’t figure out what’s best suitable for me. But narrowing down your niche, and practicing your style for that market will put you ahead of your competitors.

5. Market Yourself and Your Work Proudly

Don’t shy away from marketing yourself. I know it feels embarrassing to ‘showcase’ your work. But deal with it for a while, you’ll thank yourself later.