Sharing your writing with others is one of the best things you can do for your writing life.

Now, if you’ve shared your work with a friend, family member, or teacher who told you you’d be better off keeping your writing to yourself, you might disagree. But I’m going to show you how to turn what was meant for evil into good! More on that later.

First, let’s talk about why I think you should share your writing.

Constructive criticism culminates creativity. Sorry. I have a thing for alliteration. Not all criticism is bad. Your writing will not be perfect  — especially your first draft. And that’s okay. As Octavia Butler once said, “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

One way to get better is to get feedback. That’s why, each month, the See Jane Write Collective hosts a critique session that lets you get feedback on your work from fellow writers. You can find out if your plot makes sense or if your characters feel nuanced and realistic. Does the rhythm of your poem help propel the reader through the piece? Is your memoir filled with too much summary and not enough scenes? Is your blog post both informative and interesting and is it search engine optimized without reading like it’s AI-generated? These are the kinds of questions a good critique circle can help you answer.

Compliments on your writing can keep you writing. Let’s not assume all the feedback on your writing will be bad! Maybe you’ll share your work with your writing group and they’ll gush over your use of imagery and metaphor or the rhythm of your words. Maybe you will share your work and see that your words are funny enough to make people laugh out loud, powerful enough to make them cry or so insightful that they can’t stop thinking about what you had to say. And your community will help you shake off discouragement from naysayers and show you how to use those haters as fuel for your fire!

Sharing your writing increases its impact. Anyone who knows me knows that journaling is my thing. So of course, I believe that writing just for yourself is a worthy use of your time. Putting your thoughts on paper can change your life. But if you also want to help change the lives of others, they’ve got to read your words too. No, you don’t have to share everything you write. But if you want to make a difference, you’ll have to share something.

6 Ways to Share Your Writing

You don’t have to wait until you publish your first or next book to share your writing with the world. Here are six ways you can start putting yourself out there!

Critique Group. Getting feedback on your work from a group of fellow writers is a great way to dip your toe in the waters of sharing your writing. Plus, you’ll get tips on how to make your work even better and encouragement to keep going.

    Social Media. I know, I know. I’m sick of social media too. I hate thinking about “the algorithm” when all I want to do is write. But sharing snippets of your work as a caption or carousel on Instagram or Facebook, or reading an excerpt in a TikTok video or Reel, is another way to get feedback and encouragement. And don’t forget that you’re a writer, not a content creator. So it’s okay if you create not to be seen but to better see yourself.    

    Open Mic. I’ve always believed that our work as writers is stronger when we live life beyond the laptop. So try sharing your work IRL at an open mic night. This is a great way to find community too.

    Submit your work. Seek out literary journals and other online and print publications looking for submissions and shoot your shot! You could win a contest, be published in an anthology or even land a book deal!

    Revive your blog or Substack. Blogging is back, baby! And that means you don’t need to wait on someone else to publish your work. Share your short essay or other work on your blog or Substack to start your writing out loud journey.

    Pitch your book idea. If you are ready to birth a book baby and you want to opt for traditional publishing, writing out loud for you might look like working on your query letter or book proposal.

    November Writing Challenge

    Every November, I host some type of writing challenge in the See Jane Write Network Facebook group. Usually, the challenge is designed to get you to write daily. But this year, I decided to do something different. This year I’m hosting the Write Out Loud Challenge. The challenge is to share your work with others in some way this month. You can do this by participating in critique sessions, reading at an open mic, submitting work to a literary journal or media outlet, publishing on your blog or Substack, or pitching your book idea to a publisher or agent. In the Facebook group, I’ll be sharing publishing and pitching opportunities throughout the month.

    The person who is the most active in the group in the month of November will win a free 1:1 session with me, during which I will give you feedback on a piece of writing up to 1,000 words.

    Let’s go!