đ´đťââď¸ The other morning I was happily riding my stationary bike to the Peloton instructor when she said something that made me sit up straighter and take notice. Lean into your weakness. In the reference she was speaking about athletic strengths and weaknesses. In other words, instead of wussing out when you feel like youâre not strong enough or fit enough to follow along, keep up or climb a hill, you should lean in to that weakness and keep pushing forward. Gee, where have we heard that lean in thing before?
Anyway, when I heard it, I was reminded more of leaning into work weaknesses. Yes, we all have them. A few weeks back, I spoke about tone and getting the right one for your clients. Maybe you consider tone a weakness. Or maybe you consider one of a half dozen other qualities needed in our industry a work weakness.
đĄ When you consider everything that goes into our writing workâideas, creativity, persistence, thick skin, follow through, writing quality, writing style, tone, syntax, structure, word choice, grammar, out-of-the-box thinking, avoidance of clichĂŠs, bad habits we fall into, not to mention all those admin duties like invoicing and record keeping, accounting and organization skills, whew, who doesnât have a few work weaknesses?
When I think about my own, Iâm reminded recently of an editor who chastised me for reading a study incorrectly. Iâm still not really sure I did that, I disagreed with what she thought the study said but she couldnât prove I was incorrect. We both interpreted it differently. That said, can I lean in to my study reading weakness a little more? A thousand percent.
đ I also can suck at the proverbial follow up. For some reason, I follow up better on pitches and ideas I actually want to write about, no problem, but when it comes to the dozens and dozens of marketing materials like LOIs (letter of introductions) and client reach-outs sent out regularly, I tend to let follow ups languish though I know that the pièce de rĂŠsistance is in the follow up. Though you may not land new clients on first reach out or by sending a single LOI, oftentimes, a future follow up hits the client at the apropos moment and is the trick to landing work. Yet why do I still avoid, procrastinate or downright neglect LOI follow ups? Good question. One that means I essentially need to lean into my weakness a bit better, not feel like Iâm bugging someone or begging for workâ and get over myself.
Maybe youâd consider your weakness organization or structuring a piece of content or article. Maybe working on outlines can help you lean into it. Or maybe persistence or a thicker skin is one of your weaknesses. I still know writers who cringe at any form of rejection and donât take it well even years into their career. I admit, developing a thick skin has taken time and that perhaps some personalities are more apt to find it easier.
Very early on in my career, a well-established writer I was acquainted with said, if she didnât get three rejections before breakfast she wasnât working hard enough. I took that advice to heart so taking rejection well has never been one of my weaknesses. But thatâs okay, I have enough others, thanks.
What I really want to say about a little thing called leaning in to our weakness, is instead of ignoring them, suss out where you come up short, what you can improve upon and consciously decide to lean a little more into. Think about it, work on it, and read up on getting better at that particular issue. Ask some writers you know if theyâre good at structure, or tone or syntax, or what you want to work on, and how they think you can get better.
đ Read stories that have those qualities in spades, read writers who make those qualities you want to improve seem effortless. Hang out with writers who exhibit the qualities or practices you want to incorporate. There are as many ways to lean in as there are to ignore our weakness and pretend they donât exist or donât matter. But if you want to grow and change, get better at craft or business or your study reading skills or persistence, then make a point to notice how you do in your weak area on your stories, pitches and content this week. Evaluate yourself objectively with kindness and make a plan to lean into your weakness instead of avoiding them.
What weakness could you lean into next week?
Who/What/Where to Watch?
Looking for writerly wisdom and ways to improve? Hereâs seven books you should read for a literary career.
The ultimate book thief. Talk about a harrowing book stealing scheme at the Carnegie Library.
Can Barnes & Nobles survive pandemic times? Jane Friedman takes a look.
Whereâs your favorite reading spot at home? Take a peak at these cozy home reading nooks.
Seen on Twitter
Take a Virtual Mastermind with Me!
Six Figure Freelance Mastermind Magic #6FFMM
* sessions are limited to six participants.
Come scale up with us.
Whether youâre looking to make more money, land more clients, add niches, offer a new value proposition or just go in a different direction, and want to mastermind your writing business ideas or problems, a virtual mastermind can be very valuable.
Virtual mastermind groups meet via video conference weekly for 6 weeks.
Each week a different member of the group is in the hot seat and the power of group-think will help them with their business pain points and problems.
Plus, every week you get a chance to roundtable with other writers, and throw out your own conundrumsâsomething sorely missing from our usual week to week.
Masterminds are a great way to scale up, reach higher and give your business a needed boost. All levels and types of writers welcome.
Cost: $250 for six week Mastermind.
Contact me at jennifer@byjennifernelson.com to sign up.
The power of mastermind lies in group think when everyone comes together to make your business better. It really is like magic!
Stay healthy and safe!
See you next week,
Jennifer