Authority Without Doubt
What, in your writing practice, makes you feel most inexperienced?
I started my Podcast, The Reluctant Book Marketer, in January of 2022. My one-year anniversary is just 69 days away—please hold the obvious jokes.
I’m going to finish the month of October with more downloads in these 31 days than I had over my first 6 months combined. I feel good about that. My effort and energy are paying off.
But when I acknowledge the distance I have yet to go, the sense of overwhelm is palpable. My heart rate leaps; my breath grows thin and shallow; the air about me feels thicker.
Will You Permit Me to Tell the Truth?
When I joined Twitter in March of 2022, I wasn’t prepared for the absolute flood of positivity and encouragement that awaited me. In my first 25 Days I packed on 2,000 engaged, quality followers.
But behind the success, I felt lost and afraid. People threw around terms like “WIP” and “Beta Readers”. I had to Google those terms. Trying to be a voice of authority in the writing community while trying to get my feet planted on some kind of foundation rocked me.
Authority Is Collaborative
All of that has got me thinking this week, as I kick my book launch into high gear, and as I put the finishing touches on a business plan that will radically alter my family’s life, I can’t be the only one who feels the crushing weight of inexperience but yet also feels the assurance that what I have to offer today is enough to make the writing community a better place. Right‽
I think there comes a point where you have enough experience to regard yourself as an authority, as long as you don't make the mistake of comparing what you know with what other people supposedly know. From my own experience, too much thinking, researching, waiting for the right moment can be pretty counterproductive. Perhaps the best yardstick is not whether you have enough experience or authority per se, but whether it's enough to help the intended readership. You just need to be somewhat ahead of them, not ahead of everybody. (I am using the word 'you' as a synonym for 'one.)
Congratulations on the upcoming milestone. Your success is as inspirational as your passion, and the optimism enshrouding your core message is infectious.
As for the relationship between experience and authority, I believe you can have one without the other. However, it depends on how you define experience.
To talk about a topic, you must know something about it.
Suppose I read a book on motivational speaking, I could probably authoritatively explain the highlights of the material, and to somebody with little to no knowledge in the field, I might even sound adept. Though I’ve never given a lecture or taken a course, I’m familiar with the subject and arguably have some experience.
So—can knowledge alone be considered experience? I feel like most people would say no, and depending on what time of day you asked me, so would I.
I mean, I wouldn't want to learn how to fight fires from a guy who’s never been in a burning building and only studied fire science, regardless of how authoritative his language, but on a different matter, say architecture, I might take the word of someone who’s never drawn a blueprint yet knows every nuance and angle of how to do it.
These aren’t the best examples, though I think they illustrate my point.
Lastly, I think your authority in the podcast comes from your experiences as much as your confidence and that you visibly and audibly believe in what you say.