The Idea-to-Paper Process I Followed to Publish 176 Articles in 13 Months

And reach 681,022 readers.

Eva Keiffenheim (Picture by Florentina Olareanu).

“So you want to be an author now?” my dad said when I told him I’d quit my teaching job to become a writer. He looked skeptical.

I felt empathy for his doubts. I doubted my plan as well as he did.

It was May 2020, and I had spent around 200 hours writing online, earning roughly $0.07 an hour. Yet, I took the leap.

A year later and I’m convinced this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Writing is one of the rare professions that give you a ticket to lifelong learning.

Here’s the exact idea-to-paper process I followed to publish 176 articles in 12 months and reach 681,022 readers.

This Mindset Helped Me Stay Consistent

Many new writers start with an illusion of superiority. They expect their first article to be a hit. And so did I.

Alongside all the other writers who start with overconfidence, I was on top of what social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger label the ‘Mount Stupid.’

Incompetent people overestimate their competence and, fail to grasp the discrepancy between their performance and what is desirable. They see no need to…