There are many things you should worry about when you write for a living one of these should not be the content you have already published.
Apart from a quick scan of my stats after sending my work, I don't return to it. There is nothing I can do to change how my work is received, so why worry?
As Epictetus says, "We cannot control the external events around us, but we can control our reactions to them." So, there is no point in stressing, and there is nothing worse for your mental health than constantly checking how an article is being received.
There are, however, several things you can do before you publish, and for these, I came up with a publishing checklist that I work my way through for every article:
1. Read the article a day after writing it, if possible.
2. Put the article through Hemingway Editor to look for complicated sentence formation. Follow all the advice where possible. I don't need to do this because I have paid for Grammarly, but Hemingway will do what the free version of Grammarly doesn't
3. Put the article through Grammarly to check for grammatical areas. Again, use caution with some of the suggestions.
4. Spend ten minutes crafting some headlines. Run these through CoSchedule. Change some aspects to score higher if possible. Then, use Title case to get the format right.
5. Format the post with quotes, sub-headings, images etc.
6. Listen through the article, read it aloud or have Siri do it.
7. Check you have used appropriate SEO
8. Select appropriate tags
9. Publish
10. Share links to this post on all my social media.
Step 11: Play with your kids, or have a cup of coffee and chill with a good book. Most of your articles will do okay, some will bomb completely, and the odd one may go viral. You can't control this, so why worry?
If you enjoy this email, please share it so more readers can find it.
Until next week, stay safe
Sam 😊
Weekly Three
Three recommendations to check out to make you a better creative.
The Last Word, Elly Griffiths - When I first met the characters in The PostScript Murders, I knew I wasn't finished with them: the lovable Edwin, the sensitive Benedict and the fearless Natalka. I was not disappointed. This is a brilliant crime story that you will not want to put down. Having read Elly Griffiths's books, I think this is one of the best.
Stephen Fry Substack - For those that don't know, Stephen Fry is a British comedian, TV personality and national treasure. He has just launched a Substack, which is brilliant reading material. The story I share with you has a beautiful story about the late Queen and a new television.
The Daily Stoic - This is a newsletter that I have subscribed to for years. Ryan Holiday was the first person who introduced me to Stoicism, and since then, I have devoured his books and others on the subject. The Daily Stoic provides one piece of stoic wisdom daily to your email. Holiday's stories have also inspired some of my articles so it is a good resource.
Quote of the week
You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. - Marcus Aurelius
Short-Story of the week
Articles this week
Who is your inspiration?** - When I thought of the true definition of inspiration: 'a feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something that gives you new and creative ideas', I realised that my inspiration is very close to home.