Write Authentically for You (Why "Write for Your Audience" is Bullshit)

Box Cutter Co. Free Issue #65

The Creator Economy is growing rapidly — along with this common adage of “know your audience” and “write to your audience.” Yet, much of this is Bullshit.

(It also runs opposite and against many folks advising, at the same time, to “be authentic”)

Here’s why…

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Communicating for an Audience

How many emails, text messages, or various ‘reports’ or ‘projects’ have you written in your lifetime?

Think back through school years, work years, and personal life. Hundreds? Thousands maybe?

For me, it’s thousands and thousands and thousands… (and growing).

• Twelve years of primary and secondary school (writing what I was told to),

• Over ten years of higher education (writing to pass and ‘earn good grades’),

• Decades of work (including a decade in the public sector)… and…

• I continue to be part-time faculty for university-level online Communications courses, an educational consultant, and a Ghostwriter.

What is the purpose of the vast majority of those messages and writing?

• Prepare and deliver messages to an audience (e.g., “writing for an audience” and “knowing them” too…). Writing for someone else.

In many cases, these writing compositions are a form of two-way communication — especially in a series of email exchanges, or multiple drafts of a report. Sometimes, in delivering grades and feedback to learners. And, definitely in the case of developing educational materials and Ghostwriting.

However, when it comes to the writing (creating) I have been doing for over two years — in the digital realm.

In “The Creator Economy” (here on Substack, on Medium, in LinkedIn and X posts, and other platforms) — I don’t know WTF the audience is (“W” in this case stands for Who).

Nor… am I really all that concerned about it. (No offence intended to you fine folks currently reading).

I’ve spent much of my life ‘writing’ to some perceived audience (real, actual, or imaginary). A teacher, an instructor, a grading matrix, a colleague, an employee I ‘manage’, a superior, a student, a client, a prospective client, a friend, a family member, and so on and so on.

In almost all those cases… yes, ‘knowing your audience’ carries some meaning and value. Communicating with them — with some consideration of their needs — can be important.

For example, considering age, language (s) spoken, geography, rules of the workplace or education system, norms, societal expectations, etc. Yet, let’s keep in mind the amount of inauthenticity in much of that writing.

• The padded CV and bullshit in a cover letter.

• The HR-speak of writing up a performance management plan for an underperforming employee. (Even the term ‘human resources’ is utterly dehumanizing and inauthentic).

• The horseshit 5-year Strategic Plan (Look no further than pondering the question: How many organizations changed - e.g., updated - their Strategic Plan after suffering the wrath of the COVID pandemic?).

Writing for some audiences can enact deeper wounds to self and authenticity.

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Accumulating (and recovering from) “The Shards of Experience”

In James Hollis’ most recent book: A Life of Meaning — Relocating your center of Spiritual Gravity (2023) he talks about our egos being assembled (beginning in childhood) through “the accretion of shards of experience”.

It’s a powerful metaphor, and one I illustrated earlier today.

• What are some of the Shards of Experience you have accumulated - and how might this impact your writing and creating?

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Writing About What Has Meaning for Me (Pulling out the Shards)

… when it comes to writing stories to be published on Medium, writing issues here for Box Cutter Co. and The Soulpreneur Series, and almost daily social media posts…

… I intend to write authentically — and to write about things that carry meaning for me. To write with Intentionality.

Selfish bastard that I can be… ;)

Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis has a great quote related to this:

“Living authentically is not selfish but a way to ultimately serve oneself and others genuinely.”

Hollis has also talked about - in previous books and on podcasts - that “writing is just something that wishes to express itself through me” and he advocates for an approach where writing is a calling that should not be ignored.

I agree.

There are many, many perspectives, thoughts, and opinions on issues such as rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) and so on.

Similarly, there are just as many perspectives on The Creator Economy.

And, yet, one of the most basic technologies that drive both of these?

• Language. Writing.

It is one of the most powerful technologies humans have ever created.

So why be part of producing so much more inauthentic, drivel-laced, corporate gobbeldy-gook, bullshit-fed, PR, HR, bureaucratese?

At least, that’s how I approach — or intend to approach this business… this business of writing (and creating).

• How about you?

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Authentically You — Authentically Me

The roots of the word authentic — along with the roots of the word author add deeper meaning and intention here.

• Authentic comes from combining autos "self" + hentes "doer, being"

• Author comes from Old French auctor, acteor “author, originator, creator, instigator”

Thus, being an authentic author is really about being an original creator and instigator of your Self as it do’s and be’s…

• As it is “Doing” and “Being”…

Pandering to algorithms and (perceived) audiences is rarely authentic and moves people further from matters of personal meaning and authenticity. (Not always, but to the most part).

Writing for authentic meaning rather than approval can be a liberating and transformative practice. This becomes more about connecting deeply with our own truths and expressing them boldly and intentionally — regardless of external validation.

That exhausting chase for followers, subscribers, likes, and other largely ego-satisfying metrics.

As highlighted in the last Free Box Cutter Co. issue:

• How to Build Life-Centric Digital Businesses (Not Business-Centric Lives)? - Box Cutter Co. Free Issue #64

…quoting gold medal-winning and world record-holding Swedish speedskater Nils van der Poel (in relation to his unique training habits and approaches):

…it was my voluntary choice endured at my own conditions.”

Sure, in some cases, digital writing for business reasons requires writing for the same reasons as I pointed out above — for an outside audience, for a client, for a learner — but this does not mean all of one’s writing must be external-focussed.

And, in fact, this can become detrimental to one’s health and well-being — and, especially detrimental to the psyche (the Soul).

In The Creator Economy, there is a frequent push to cater to an audience, to measure success based on external metrics, and to “know one’s audience”. It’s a strong push.

However, staying true to oneself, or spending time writing in ways in which your inner spirit and soul can express themselves through you — can, in turn, lead to more genuine and impactful content.

Impactful to one’s Self and impactful for others — especially considering that this is a voluntary choice.

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Practical Tips for Writing Authentically (and to find meaning)

These are a few things that have stood out for me over the past couple of years of experimenting, learning, trying, failing, and so on. They may not be relevant for everyone (and some will probably take issue with these).

1. Write for Your Self First

• Before considering your audience, write what you want to, or need to, express. Hone in on what feels true, accurate and meaningful to you. This will infuse your writing with authenticity and passion.

2. Lean Into and Use Your Unique Voice

• Don’t try to mimic popular trends or other successful creators. Your unique voice is your greatest asset. Don’t worry about ‘finding it’ (another common BS social media writing adage) — as it’s already there.

3. Reflect and Be Real

• Reflect on your thoughts and feelings before you write, as you write, and after you write. Learning Journals can be excellent tools to support this.

• Getting real and being real with what’s happening internally (rather than following guru advice) will assist you in authoring authentically and resonating with your Self and with readers.

  • Try shifting the language from ‘audience’ to ‘readers’ — and in an algorithm-driven digital world — it’s difficult to predict who those readers are or might be.

4. Engage Readers

• While writing for your Self is vital, engaging readers can create more meaningful dialogue and open more 2-way communication. Respond to comments, ask for feedback, and consider readers’ perspectives without compromising your authenticity.

  • No, the reader, the customer, the audience — is not always right. They are not living your life with your experiences and your views on the world ;)

5. Avoid Over-Editing

• Over-editing can strip your writing of its natural voice and spontaneity. Aim for clarity and coherence, but don’t polish out the authentic quirks that make your writing uniquely yours.

• Don’t fret the “short form” versus “long form” debates. This idea that people’s attention spans are shortening is also Bullshit. With over 5 billion people accessing social media, I’m confident there’s much variety among invidual readers.

6. Focus on Meaning (for you), Not Metrics

• It’s too easy to get caught up in likes, shares, and follower counts (I’ve been there and waver in and out of there from time to time). Instead, focus on the impact and meaning of your work. Sure, when folks engage, ask them why it impacted them. In the meantime:

  • Do you feel like you are learning more about your Self as you write and publish?

  • Does it hold significance for you?

  • Do you find personal meaning in writing? Why?

7. Trust the Process, Be Patient

• Yes, this has become a bullshit cliché on social media and in The Creator Economy, however, lean into figuring out what it means for you. Our ego wants control, clarity, and certainty. However, our souls tend to maneuver in ambivalence, ambiguity and instigating vulnerability. It can be scary. But remember, excitement and fear often exist side-by-side and instigate similar body responses.

• Writing authentically and discovering personal meaning are lifelong journeys. We have this brief time between two great mysteries (birth and death) — and the only person that is there 24/7 the entire way is your Self. So, why not be the authentic author — the instigator, the creator, the originator.

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Tomorrow?

In The Creator Economy, there is constant pressure and directives to cater to an audience and chasing metrics can be overwhelming, but remember the most powerful and impactful writing comes from within.

Writing (and creating) authentically, plus prioritizing your own meaning over external approval, you honor your true inner self and create work that can resonate deeply (or shallowly) with others.

Think about — what is my soul trying to express through me.

Write about it. (Or sketch it). I do quite a bit of both and thoroughly enjoy it.

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That’s it for this Free Issue. The next Free issue of The Soulpreneurship Series will be out shortly.

• Enjoyed this (or disagreed with this) — always appreciate the comments, the private messages and questions, the re-posts, and the pressing of that ❤️ button.

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