What I Learned from My Biggest Mistake as a Writer
In a digital age, you must build a “character.” Being true to yourself is no longer enough.
My biggest mistake as a writer?
I concealed parts of my life and focused on the things I thought the crowd wanted to hear.
We are often tempted to write about topics and issues that we imagine our audience will want to read. We come to believe that our own lives are not interesting enough to appeal to a broad audience.
I am a lawyer for a large technology firm and a professor teaching business law and technology. But I used to worry that this was not enough.
So, I hid the parts of “me” that I was sure my audience would not be interested in. Who wants to hear the thoughts of a middle-aged lawyer and law professor?
I substituted my “credentials” with more generic words: business expert, innovator, content creator. I avoided direct references to my work and life in my stories. I concealed what I do and who I am.
In hindsight, this strategy was a mistake. It wasn’t sustainable.
Individual stories were successful, but — over time — it became more challenging to find topics. Writing became harder and a lot less fun.
