Silence the Critics

I

If you're going to enjoy your life as a writer, you're going to need to shut out certain voices and demolish certain long-held beliefs. That may include putting into check outside voices, voices of school teachers, your own voice and putting your long-held beliefs in check. 

Rules have changed. The threat to emerging writers is that those who've held professional positions with publishing houses, those who've been certified by editing organizations, those who've taught courses and been published themselves may think of themselves more highly than they ought to. They can easily intimidate new writers.

If you're an emerging writer, be wary of intimidation.  If you entrust your writing to an editor or have it critiqued, learn from their feedback, but don't let their advice stop you from pursuing your dream.

Marketers will tell you it's important to follow a set of rules that goes something like this: create a sales page, collect emails, offer a freebie, send out newsletters, pursue target customers, strive, don't give up. Those suggestions might work for some, but they may just as likely not work at all.  These may become projects that gobble up time with no return on the investment.

In the end, trust your judgment.  Take a risk.  Write something.  Publish it in a method of your choosing. Let it go.  See what happens next.