I have been writing on and off all of my life. Of course, when I was in school it was mostly for assignments, and things of that nature. But in my early 30s, I caught the writing bug and never looked back. I am what people call an indie writer because I am self-published. And I have learned so many things on this journey, which is not over. I have many ideas that I want to work on.

One of the biggest things I can tell other writers, especially those in the beginning of their writing career, is this. 

1. Do not compare yourself to anyone, and I mean anyone. People will tell you all sorts of things to make themselves look better than they are. They will tell you they wrote 10,000 words today, or they wrote 100,000 thousand words this month. They will tell you all of these things and more. Maybe they did write that much, and if they did, good for them, but do not try to measure yourself against this. I am lucky if I write 1,000 words a week! 

2. Do not compare your first draft to anything. It is a first draft, and you will rewrite and edit many times before getting it right.  

3. Take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt. What works for one might not work for someone else. 

4. Do not try to be everything. As indie writers, we have to be many things, writers, artists, editors, marketers, and so on. No one is expecting you to be great at all of these things. I for one suck at marketing, but I am learning. The more I work at it the better I get. But do not get down about yourself when you struggle with it. There are others out there that can help. I for one always hire and editor. 

Overall, do this for yourself. There are many writers out there, but you are the only you. We want to hear your story. So don’t get discouraged, just be yourself.