My fear of publishing

Here’s a funny story: I have around 70 unpublished articles in various stages of evolution — from only an outline and a title all the way to fully fledged articles. I also have four book ideas out of which two are almost done, five or so courses that are fully outlined as well as a host of product ideas. Now, I’m not saying all of them are good. I’m not the first or the last person with a highly active brain.

So, why am I telling you this?

Because I’m sure many are in the same situation, struggling with consistency, or the lack thereof. People who fall short when it comes to putting themselves on display.

My plan is to defeat this feeling. Not sure if it’s fear, ignorance or a bit of both, but it happens like this:

1. I get the idea for an article.
2. I start writing the article. I use dictation on my phone, or directly on the keyboard of my laptop or tablet. Side note: I actually bought an iPad because I thought it will help me with writing — bad idea.
3. I start editing and trimming and re-arranging everything.
4. I go off on a tangent with an explanation I want to expand on.
5. I realise I went far from the initial topic into the topic of another article.
6. I start writing the new article.
7. I realise I don’t have enough to write the second article so I drop the idea.
8. I plan to publish the first article soon.
9. Weeks go by and when I finally decide to publish it I realise it’s not that relevant or important.
10. I never publish it.
11. REPEAT.

How do I plan on solving this? With consistency as my primary goal! I must publish at least an article every other week.

If you found yourself in a similar situation I’d love to hear more about how you handle things. I’m really looking forward to other people’s advice and to learn more about their struggles as writers, course authors, and ultimately as content creators.

Image credits Fear — Jesper Sehested — pluslexia.com