Unlock Success: The Surprising Writing Mistakes New Authors Never See Coming—and How to Avoid Them
Ever stared at a blank page and felt your confidence take a nosedive faster than a rookie trying to walk a tightrope? Yeah, me too. Writing—whether you’re just starting out or have been at it for a minute—can intimidate the heck out of you, especially when you’re juggling doubts about your skills, niche, or even where to find that first gig. Believe it or not, I kicked off my own writing journey in the dog niche—no vet degree, no fancy credentials—just sheer guts, some relentless research, and a hunger to get the job done. Funny thing is, sometimes clients don’t care if you’re perfect, they just want results. So, what if obsessing over learning the “writing craft” is actually the thing holding you back? Pull up a chair, because we’re diving into the sneaky mistakes almost every new writer trips over—and how you can dodge them like a pro.
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Writing can be quite intimidating, and every writer has once felt intimidated by numerous factors in one way or another
At the early stage of my writing career, the first paid writing gig that I completed was in the dog niche.
I wasn’t a vet or a professional dog trainer.
The only skill I had then was the ability to conduct research. I wasn’t perfect, though I had the balls to gather and articulate the necessary information.
I was fortunate enough to meet the client on LinkedIn. Even though the gig was low-paid, I was still glad to have worked with him, because I created a portfolio using those articles.
About a year later, I came across a job posting on Facebook, seeking a writer in the dog niche, which I applied for, and I used those same articles as samples.
Out of the 100+ writers who showed interest in the job, I was selected for the task, and the gig lasted for 6 months. A few weeks down the line, this same client reached out to me asking if I could work with her as a virtual assistant.
My job was assisting with writing product descriptions for her e-commerce store. As her virtual assistant, I was working 3 times a week. On each working day, I add 20 products to the store, each with a description.
That is roughly 20 product descriptions per day.
Then, there was nothing like generative AI that could seamlessly help in writing product descriptions without so much stress.
You see, all of that was happening when I only had a little knowledge of writing. And sometimes clients are only interested in knowing that you can get the job done.
So… without spending much time on the preamble, let’s take a peek at these mistakes new writers make.
Starting with the first one:
#1 Spending too much time learning the writing art
Many newbie writers make this mistake. Taking too much time to learn writing can hold you down for so long.
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