71: Knowing These 5 Tips Will Help You Tell If Your Writing Is Good Enough

Today I am talking about 5 ways to reassure yourself that your writing is good enough. As nurses, we are stuck in the mindset of “I’m a nurse, not a writer” and today, I’m busting that myth!

How to Tell If Your Writing is Good Enough

So, let’s dive right in!

The first point I want to cover is to let others read your work. It can be anyone in your family, and you want them to read it, especially if it’s for the lay audience. If your writing for something that you need that patient experience to know if your writing is clear and understandable.

I have done this multiple times for different things with my Dad. And my Dad is a great writer even though he works in IT, and he also has not taken up an English major. But he’s good at writing and editing, so he has read my stuff in the past and I’ll buy him a cup of coffee or something. You know very cheap. A great way to make sure that your writing is good enough is if you know anybody who’s just willing to read over a piece for you.

And you’ll understand that a lot of people have the skill for editing and not writing. If you listen to Episode with Daphne Gray, she talks about how people are better at editing more than writing. So, it’s not hard for you to find someone to read your work. Like if your content is for other nurses, why not have a co-worker or a good friend read it over for you and see if they have any edits to add themselves. And again, you’ll see a lot of people do well at editing, but they have a hard time writing.

Another way to ensure that your writing is good is to learn from your mistakes. If you have editors or content directors send your piece back with multiple edits. Understand why they are fixing your sentence structure, grammar, and any part of your work.

For example, every assignment that I assign to the Savvy Scribe Insiders. We always have somebody else edit them. Because editing personally is not my strong suit, writing is. So when I get pieces back, I do “light” editing at the end even after the editor does it. But truly, the editor does the majority of the edits. I have the Insiders read over those edits and resolve them because it’s a learning experience to develops you as a writer. Don’t get upset and think that your editor is out to get you, they are your saving grace before having the final piece.

Another tip to know if your writing is good is to use some tools. Grammarly is my favorite, it’s not perfect, and sometimes you need to reread it out loud to hear how it sounds. You might want to add a comma here and there. That is one bonus tip I’ll give. It is a great tool, and there are many other ones out there like Hemmingway Editor. Also, there are free editing tools, but if you want to invest a little bit in your business, Grammarly is one of those things that are worth it.

Another great way to ensure that your writing is good is to add some affirmation.

It’s those things that change our thought patterns and mindset. Instead of saying “I’m a nurse, not a writer” start saying “I’m a writer, an editor, and also a nurse.” You’ll be surprised how positive affirmations can change your mindset for writing and skills for yourself.

If you feel like your bad at writing, then you’ll show it in your work. Go out there, be confident, and strong-minded, you’ll see your work shine!

The last tip I have for you is to join our Insiders group. It’s a private group, but you can into it if you’ll start writing for me as a subcontractor.

How do you get to do that? You have to join the PLAN, CREATE, LAUNCH, LAND, AND GROW COURSE. Once you’ve gone through it, as part of your graduation you’ll get to be part of our team.

You don’t have to find and get a client, I’ll giving you assignments and client work that you get paid for. Within this team, you’ve had a lot of writers who have done this for a while, you can always ask them to look at your work as well. So that’s all I have for you guys today. Come on over to our group, The Savvy Scribe Collective, which is our free group for anybody who’s starting.