Writing is like standing on a stage naked

“Writing for me is like standing on a stage naked”…

This unexpected comment was made by a fellow entrepreneur on Friday lunchtime just after I told her what I did.

And I understand her response.

When you share something in writing, you may be revealing an intimate part of your soul that has been hidden up until now. Stripped of the chance to respond or clarify.

Although this can apply to any writing, like a blog or social media post, there’s something more powerful when you share your ideas in a book. Because there’s nowhere to hide. You can’t press delete, edit it easily or change what you’ve said.

Whether you are sharing your story or talking about your area of expertise, you are putting yourself out there, raising your head above the parapet for everyone to see.

And it’s simple maths.

The more people who know you exist, the more likely you are to meet people who don’t like what you have to say or criticise you.

But equally, you’re more likely to come across people who take solace in your message. Especially when you’re courageous enough to share your innermost thoughts, such as the lessons you’ve learnt, the mistakes you’ve made, or even the successes you’ve achieved.

Take this blog for example. You might be reading this and be thinking… No this doesn’t resonate with me and I don’t understand what you mean. And that’s fine.

As I know that you might be one of those people who get it. It may resonate with you, but you are also aware that you can only change lives if you’re willing to step up and be vulnerable. As much as it may feel scary.

And feeling scared is a good thing. Because you’re likely to be sharing something that’s important.

It’s not worth being vanilla and regurgitating something that has already been done to death. I firmly believe that if you have something to say, you should say it.

As you can’t stand out or make an impact if you say or do the same as everyone else.

But when you know what you’re writing and why you’re writing it, then you’re likely to be articulate in what you have to say.

We’ve all got a version of standing on the stage naked. It might not be writing, it may be speaking or doing a Facebook live. But the most important thing is that you take a deep breath, be brave and share what you really want to say.

Are you ready to write your book?

Are you ready to write your book? Click here to book a free 45-minute Book Focus call to sanity check your ideas, explore the outline of your book and ensure you feel confident, inspired and focused to get going. And if we feel we can help you, we can explore the options.