Do you ever wonder if you should be writing at all? Maybe:

• You secretly think you’re not really any good at writing
• You doubt anyone will ever pay you for what you write
• You’re afraid of receiving rejections or negative feedback
• You feel guilty about spending time writing because it seems “self-indulgent”

All of these are problems faced by many, many writers. In fact, I think every writer I know has struggled with at least one of the above worries! For years, I believed that the main problem most writers face is having enough time to write. And while I agree that time is a big issue (particularly now I’m a parent to two small children!), it’s very tied up with confidence. After all, if you feel like your writing’s no good … and you worry you’re never going to make any money from it … and you’re convinced that people will leave you nasty comments or reviews if you do publish … and anyway, you think you’re being self-indulgent just by writing in the first place… … then it’s not exactly a surprise that you find it hard to make time to write! This Thursday (27^th), I’m running a webinar titled The Confident Writer: Ditching Guilt, Beating Fears, and Making Time to Write. It’ll cover:

• Guilt about writing … and guilt about not writing!
• The underlying problem that “I don’t have time to write” might be masking
• How to carry on despite common writing fears
• Practical ways to boost both your confidence AND your time to write
• Ways to focus when you’re writing (instead of worrying about everything else)
• Getting support and encouragement with your writing

Date: Thursday 27^th April Time: 8pm – 9pm UK (3pm – 4pm EST; 12 noon – 1pm PST) Register: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7985567517154892802

First Time at a Webinar?

 (If you HAVE been to a webinar before, or maybe a dozen of them, and you’re feeling sort of burned out, skip down to “Been to a Webinar Before…”) How it Works: A webinar is a live seminar. You login on your computer or mobile device (recommended), or call in from your phone if you prefer. You’ll be able to hear me and see the PowerPoint slides for the webinar. No-one can hear you – so don’t worry if you have the telly on, kids in the background, etc. Attending the Webinar: Once you register for the webinar, you’ll be added to the email list for the webinar. You’ll get an automatic email reminder a day before and an hour before the webinar begins. When you click the link to join the webinar, you’ll need to download a small piece of software, called Citrix, to join the webinar. I suggest arriving five minutes early to allow plenty of time for this. If you’re logging in (not calling in) from your phone or tablet, you’ll need to download the “GoToWebinar” app: you can do this in advance of the webinar. Asking Questions You can type questions into a chat box at any time during the webinar. My lovely assistant Nick will respond to any technical problems or quick queries, and he’ll save questions related to the webinar content for me to answer in the Q&A at the end. Webinar Recording and Slides I’ll make a recording of the webinar, and the slide pack, available to everyone who signs up. So if you know you won’t be able to make it on Thursday, sign up anyway, you won’t miss out!

Been to a Webinar Before … and Not Sure You Want to Do It Again?

If you’ve attended one webinar (or maybe quite a few) in your time, please be assured that my webinar is not an extended sales pitch! In my experience of webinars, this is how it all too often goes:

• You login to a webinar. The speaker introduces themselves at some length.
• The speaker then spends ten minutes asking everyone to type into the chat box where they’re from. (This is to give stragglers time to login, and to get people used to typing in the chat box, but it’s a bit annoying if you’re just sitting there waiting to get going.)
• The speaker then gives you some useful information (hurrah) for a bit.
• The speaker segues neatly or not-so-neatly into a loooong spiel about their latest course or website.
• They then tell you the cost. It’s … pricy. But wait, they have a super special fast action bonus for you, if you sign up right now.
• There’s, finally, a chance to ask the question that you’ve been hanging around to ask, except they don’t actually have time to get to yours, because everyone else is asking questions about the super-pricy course instead.

The Confident Writer webinar won’t be like that! As a rather reserved Brit, the very thought makes me shudder. 😉 I will be talking briefly about Writers’ Huddle on the webinar, for no more than five minutes. (You’re welcome to pop off and make a cuppa during that bit!) All the rest of the webinar, though, will be me giving you lots of ideas, tips and encouragement, and tackling your questions. Here’s the registration link again: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7985567517154892802 If you have any problems registering, or if you want to ask anything about the webinar, just pop a comment below or drop me an email (ali@aliventures.com) .