Struggling to Hit "Post"? 8 Simple Tips Based On 30 Years of Publishing Content

You have things to say that the world wants to hear. These 8 mental shifts will help you get over the fear of posting.

I’ve written, edited, and published . . . thousands of pieces of content since 1994.

It’s been my job.

I started as an editorial intern for a trade association magazine (inform and AIIM) in February 1994. Since then, writing and sharing content has either been my job, part of my job, or something I’ve just done to get a job.

It’s only recently sunk in how atypical that is for many folks — even established professionals (even though I should know better).

I’ve been in a few online courses over the last year, trying to learn how to position and sell myself better (better at it for others than for myself!). While I’m still improving there, one thing I’ve never had trouble with is hitting the send or publish button.

I guess after having a college professor my freshman year write on a paper half way through, “I can’t read this anymore. Come see me.” (that’s a near-exact quote and there was a LOT of red ink leading up to that) there’s no critique I can imagine worse than that.

So for anyone out there struggling with hitting the “post” button, a few thoughts.

1. Everyone has a story and something to say. Go ahead and say it because no one else will. Everyone has unique takes. Maybe it’s yours that’ll get through and help someone on the other end of the screen.

2. There will always be mistakes — grammar, spelling, whatever. Who cares.

3. Someone will disagree with you. Fine. Debate — legit and honest debate — is good. Maybe they’ll teach you. Maybe you’ll teach them.

4. It’s the Web. You can correct mistakes AFTER YOU PUBLISH! It’s not like we’re on a manual typewriter using Liquid Paper or something. Note: I had to edit this immediately after I hit “post” as I thought of an 8th point as I was writing and published this with “7” in the first line.

5. Let it go. You’ll never know if your work is hated, tolerated, or loved until you let it out into the wild.

6. Perfection and research is often procrastination in disguise. You’ll never know it all. Now, if you’re an engineer designing an airplane or something; PLEASE be perfect. I’d like to stay in the air without an unscheduled descent. Most of our work doesn’t require that level of perfection. Does yours? If not, let it go.

7. But someone might not like my writing. I guarantee you some folks won’t. Stephen King is a brilliant writer. There are people who can’t stand his work. No matter how awesome you are, some people won’t think so. You shouldn’t care.

8. Sharing something someone found useful or helpful just feels good. The best compliment I ever got was when a reader told me he used one of my articles to get a project going — literally put it on his boss’s desk, said this is what I’ve been saying, and got approval. It’s been over 20 years and I still smile when I think about that. It’s worth the fear of being wrong now and then because there’s no better feeling than when you get it right.

Anyway. Hope these quick thoughts are helpful and/or interesting to anyone out there struggling with sharing their work.

And if you want some help crafting killer content or figuring out your next move, feel free to reach out ( duhonius@gmail.com). Sometimes, the best way to move forward is to have a partner in the process.