E175: How to Press Publish on Your Writing Online

E175: How to Press Publish on Your Writing Online with Julia Rose

Julia Rose is the founder of Hello, Writer and a Writing Coach. She helps women press PUBLISH on personal essays so they can leave their mark on the world. If you've ever wondered..."am I a writer?" You are. Non-writers never ask themselves, “am I a writer?”

In Hello, Writer, you publish your ideas after sitting on them for years. You are scared and press publish anyways.If you’re here wondering if you’re a writer….that tells me you are.

Hello, Writer helps you actually feel like one…

[01:06] Valerie LaVigne: Julia! Welcome to the women's apparel podcast. I'm so excited to have you here. I feel like you are one of our more unique guests because you have a very different offering than some of the other guests that we've had on the show. so I'd love to dive in to you, and you explain a little bit more about what you do and to help.

Julia Rose: Cool Hi, thank you for having me. My name is Julia rose. And I'll tell you a little story. So I have always been writing. But there came a point in my career where I was always writing for other people, executive directors, politicians, bosses, and most of these people were men. No surprise there. And then in 2018, I got what I thought was my dream job at a tech company in downtown Toronto. And for reasons I still to this day, do not understand five weeks into that job I was abruptly terminated and sent away and it was winter.

And I was lost in life and just really feeling confused. And so that February I decided to press publish on my own writing on a platform called medium. And that is the reason that I'm here today because I continue to press publish over and over on my writing. And now I've published over 70 pieces on medium about life love writing relationships. and that all culminated in me creating a course called Hello writer so I can help women do the exact same thing.

VL: That's so incredible. I mean, how empowering was that moment when you press published for the first time?

JR: Yeah, it was awesome. It was really great because I think the when you're a smart, talented, educated woman and you spend your time working hard to communicate for other people, there's a little bit of tension because on the one hand, if those are your opinions, it's not your name underneath it. And on the flip side, if it's not your opinion, you're still writing you're still writing. So you're caught between this weird place where either you agree, but you get no recognition for it, or you disagree and you feel this internal conflict. So claiming your own name as a writer and not waiting for someone to pay you or ask to join Globe and Mail, which was always a dream of mine. It is empowering.

VL: And it's so great that you are helping people do this too. I mean, I know for myself starting this podcast was something that helped me discover my own voice so I can relate to that feeling of empowerment in a little bit of a different way. It's not necessarily writing; however, I know that a lot of people listening to the show would definitely be interested in learning how to write their opinions or write their voice out. So can you take us through a little bit about how the process goes or what this would look like from someone who wants to express themselves through writing?

[04:29] JR: Yes, so I think the number one place to start is to consider that your thoughts and opinions are valid.

And that is a long, confusing place to start because there's a lot wrapped up in our worst. And especially I work with women or people who identify as women, we've basically been conditioned to not have faith in our thoughts and opinions and that's not our fault. That just is the way the world has been. So I if people are wanting to become writers or express themselves through reading, you have to start with believing that what you have to say is valuable. And I like to consider that just like we're in a relationship with other people. We're in a relationship with our thoughts. And in a positive thought, self relationship, we might think something and to take it further to write about it. We have to think, Oh, that's interesting. I wonder about that. So if you have a thought, let's say cafes are where creativity is found. Let's take that thought. If I wanted to expand on that writing idea, I would have to explore it with curiosity. Okay, so why do I think that? how does that show up for me? What more could I ask about that? etc, etc. So you explore things instead of immediately shutting them down.

VL: I love that you're using questions to explore things. I love questions. I love investigating these different sides of us. And you make a really great point of starting with feeling that validation or knowing that our thoughts and our opinions and and our feelings are valid. I see this very often in my own practices. What are some other maybe mental or, or other blocks that might come up with people when they start writing or when they start getting the idea of wanting to write?

[06:40] JR: Yeah, it's hilarious the spectrum of fear and how it shows up. So on the one hand, we believe no one cares what I have to say. Absolutely not a single person. So why would I bother is kind of where that thought exists. And then on the other side, we think, oh my god, everyone's going to read what I have to say and they're gonna tell me that this shit.

So these things are not the same, but in our brains and I think what I can reassure people with is that every writer I have worked with over the past two years, has expressed both of those things at the same time. So, I mean, that, in one sense, is very reassuring, because we can hold these two things that don't make any sense and still we can decide to push through and press publish anyways. But that's where people get stuck. They get stuck in being on the scene. and seen at the same time. And so the nature of my course Hello writer is to do that in a group so that you can see that other people are also having those same struggles. and you can kind of separate that it's really not a huge issue. it's just fear.

VL: And that's so common i I know exactly what you mean, when you say that you feel seen and unseen and those and the fears that are coming up are those things because I feel like I'm being taken right back to when I first published on my podcast, and it was me thinking, what am I? What if no one listens to this podcast? Or what's the point of it? And then it works. Oh, my gosh, would have ever listened to my podcasts and sees how silly I am. But something that really helped me was that I actually started with I'm going to translate it into like this video version because basically I did Instagram lives for five weeks in a row and I made those I took the audio and I extracted that and I made those into my first five podcasts episode so it was almost like I did it in this way where maybe it's like free writing or more of that creative. Like, who cares what happens? I'm just gonna do it. And when I did these five episodes, I really felt like okay, people know that this is why they know that I'm you they see that I'm a little bit nervous. and that's okay. and it really was about building this momentum to bring us to this is going to be 175!

So, you're going from maybe and then again, trying to move this into more writing because well, I'll get to this in a minute, but moving from the podcast to writing, even if we just did five short pieces or five entries, or whatever that was. We only get better with practice. and I feel like everyone has a story to share or a story to tell. Then some of us are going to be a little bit stronger with that writing. So a couple questions come to mind. How can we know that we are writers?

JR: Thank you so much for this question.

I have a video that I recorded in the summer, which is on the Hello writer sales page. and the very first sentence in the video is if you're wondering if you're a writer, you are.

I have a video that I recorded in the summer, which is on the Hello writer sales page. And the very first sentence in the video is if you're wondering if you're a writer you are Because I'm sorry, but people that are not interested in something don't ask themselves the question. I wonder if I'm a writer. I wonder if like we could it's an odd comparison but I think we can compare it to sexual expression and identity in that if we start to wonder about something it's a pretty good sign that we're interested in it, right, so with writing it.

[10:50] VL: I think that's really powerful is that if you were thinking about it, then you probably are, or at least something worth exploring.

JR: I think that's really powerful is that if you were thinking about it, then you probably are, or at least something worth exploring at that point. Yeah, absolutely. And I think how we identify is a big sticking point for people. So I'm also a dancer and I've been trained as a dancer since I was four and I can really relate to the idea of when I take a break from dance for a year. at one point in my life. I didn't dance for two years straight. Am I still a dancer?

Where does that identity Do I Do I have the right to call myself and I know that for a lot of mentors, which is like there's no I don't have the right to identify as a writer because I'm not out there doing anything. Okay, well, I wouldn't I invite you to take a step towards that. And I think that's what a lot of women use my course to do is to really get out of their own way and take the step towards that because the transformation I can share is that people come into the course thinking there's no way I would ever call myself that and they leave the course putting writer in their Instagram bio and launching, various things that they confidently say as one of their pieces of their life is that they're a writer.

VL: That's really cool. So, when people are ready to take your course or as you are taking your course what are some things that what are some channels or mediums that people are publishing on Is it their own blogs is other people's blogs, are they writing books, is this something that would also fit into the category category of writing a book.

JR: So I'm shifting things a little bit this year, but in previous cohorts, the publishing platform of choice has been media. So I love media. That's where all of my work has been published because it's completely open source. It's anyone can make a profile and you can hit Publish today, with no money out of your pocket. It also has 60 million monthly readers. So the thing with a blog and when you start to get into the writing world you want the first question is Where am I going to put it? And that gets people super stuck because then there's all these layers of perfectionism. Well, what's my brain? What would my URL be? What were my colors, what is my statement, etc, etc. And medium removes all of that nonsense because it is already designed. It already has a font and it's just your name.medium.com So that's why I love it.

But specifically to answer your question about what kind of writing it is, what kind of writing is it? I like to call it personal essay writing? And that means that it's about you. It is your opinion, your life experience, your thoughts, as opposed to content writing, which is more about selling your product or service or positioning it. Most people in the course aspire to publish a book one day and that's also a part I find really interesting because I don't know if you relate but Writing a book is a goal for a lot of us.

And yet, we're not taking any baby steps towards using our voice. We just think that one day, we're going to have two years in the south of France with a butler serving us food or we're going to go on this romantic Italy writing retreat and the books just gonna pour out of us. And then we're gonna pitch it to a publisher and we're going to be signing books like Taylor Swift's all too well music video.

Like no, it's not it. We have to take some steps towards using our voice in like small risk free scenarios if we're ever going to be signing books in a Barnes and Noble.

[14:55] VL: This is so amazing. I literally just went right to the south of France and that's where I want it but it's not it's not happening today. I'm not writing today. Yeah, maybe tomorrow or maybe we're gonna manage to make it happen. I might create the butler and a writing retreat. I was just gonna say I hear a retreat in my ears right now.

Okay, I love this and I'm so glad that we're having a conversation because selfishly This is also for me. I have often thought about writing and writing a book and I obviously do a lot of content writing. However, I sometimes feel that the podcast is a little bit more about my opinion, or it's a space where other women can come and speak their own opinions and tell their own stories. So you know, part of me is getting very excited. I'm also a little bit nervous that I'm saying this out loud.

Yeah, I really would love to write a book someday. Also, I've had astrologers and psychic mediums and different types of people in that spiritual round say to me, that I'm going to write a book or that I need to be writing a book and quite frankly, why Yeah, I would love to do that. But I'm going to be honest with you, I have no idea where to start. And now that we're having this conversation, I feel like okay, this is definitely you're making some very valid points and you're definitely calling me for help because, no, I'm not practicing my writing at all. So, of course you have your course. Let's say we're still in this little bit of a limbo space. I think I want to be doing this, but I don't know if I want to connect to something in a group right now. What is this in between phases? What can I be doing this time, or is that, if that question doesn't sit well, how do I know that this is the right course for me?

JR: Yeah, to answer the first question I was gonna say, I don't think it will be possible to get out of your way without being in a community.

Because I think if you wanted to, if you had the skills and you had the perfect mindset that is necessary to just start, you probably would do that.

Let's take me for an example. I didn't take a course to start publishing my thoughts and opinions. I don't know why. I didn't need someone pushing me kicking me in the butt or holding my hand to do it. I just had the drive. And that doesn't mean I'm better than anyone. That's just my situation. and that's why I do this job is because there's something unique and special about what I have created in my head that inspires me to continually press publish, even when it's really terrifying to do so and it definitely is still for me scary to publish.

So, how do you know that the Hello, Writer course experience is right for you, you would have to be willing to actually do the work. You would have to be ready. So it comes at a time where you're so tired of your show.

And you're so tired of not doing the writing because this isn't a talking about writing course. So let's imagine that even someone who maybe studied communications. I have a couple people that are professional writers that have taken the course they're journalists, but they don't write for themselves. and it's a very different thing when you start to internalize the writing because someone else isn't giving you an assignment. And in the course I make a very specific, very specific point not to arbitrate whether someone's work is ready to go.

So we have a cut. we have one touch point at the beginning of the course where I look at people's work and give them some feedback. and after that i i remove myself and that's weird for people because we grew up in a society where everyone is grading your work, everyone is scrutinizing your work. You might even have a teacher who hurt your feelings about your writing. A lot of people that have taken the course have these horror stories that a teacher told them to their face. You're not a good writer.

And we have to come in and say I'm sorry, that's one person's opinion. You want to be here so let's be here. This is getting long winded. But how do people know that they're ready for the course you are ready to actually get out of your way and take some steps to doing the thing of pressing publish writing, building it into your life and not just thinking of a one day pipe dream.

[19:54] VL: Sounds like it really goes beyond just writing and I don't mean to disrespect it by saying just writing but it goes beyond the action of writing. And it goes into this incredible opportunity for as we talked about empowerment, but there's personal development and this building of self trust and confidence. I feel like anyone would really benefit from that whether they're an aspiring author of their own book, or whether they just want to move through their thoughts like I I, I want to say thinking of this makes me feel like going through these things would help me with all of the ideas that I have in my head or all the thoughts that are going on and all of the things that I want to say but don't always know how to put them into words and having this community and the support would be so powerful in that transformation that you're talking about. So this is really, really cool.

It also has me curious, Can you share, obviously what without giving too much away but can you share, like, what kind of topics people are writing about a little bit more specifically just what people have an idea about what they have also could be sharing and they're writing or speaking to underwriting?

JR: Yes, yes. So the course is set up to facilitate people pressing publish. That's why I created it. I probably could call it the course press publish at some point. That's like pressing publish is always in big bold letters in my head. So we have a session on Fridays called fired up Friday. The intention is that you come up with a potential topic idea that you want to write about for that week. And you get fired up about it. So what happens often is people will come with something they think they should write about. And we can all tell that they're not excited about it. That's why it's called fired up Friday and we can look at them and say, I don't really think you're excited about this idea. Is there some reason that you're bringing this topic when you're not feeling excited about it like what is actually here for you? So we help people throw out what is absolutely not firing them up. and find the topic ideas. So what people have published is everything and anything but what comes to my mind is a piece that got someone a lot of recognition and was really terrifying for them to publish. spoke about their invisible disabilities.

I wish I could remember the title of the top of my head but they shared it on Instagram and the Alberta like a nonprofit that represents people with disabilities in Alberta reached out to them and they went on a podcast and now they have launched a whole movement around this idea that disability is not a binary because this person who wrote this piece exists sort of in this gray area of disability they can sometimes come across as able bodied, sometimes not. So these are the kinds of pieces that people work towards. They don't come right out of the gate saying like, this is me, this is the most scary thing I could ever publish. They usually do it halfway through the course. Other things people have written about are there's someone who's quite passionate about environmentalism so they write about sustainable development goals. But people also write about being divorced in their 20s and what that looks like with their friendship group. They write about what they learn when they ask their daughter. What does being kind mean to you. I personally write about relationships. A lot and as a breakup column.

It's everything and anything which is really beautiful about it because again, the idea of the fired up. It changes every day. So we really teach and talk about how to trust what's present for you now, so you don't have to waste time writing about things you think you should write about or would make you look impressive, just because.

[24:19] VL: WOW. This is so cool. I can imagine that. This would be not only transformational and powerful, but maybe a little bit emotional for a lot of people in the group. I mean, I'm feeling some waves come up, just listening to the stories. And this as I'm learning more about myself every day and this type of feeling that I'm having from listening to you, really I feel like I'm leaning in closer to this computer and this microphone, right. And I also feel like I want to lean into more of what that is. And so I wanted to point that out because sometimes I find this too when I'm listening to podcasts and maybe the listener feels this way too. They're like, you know, turning up the volume a little bit more or kind of tapping back to like, Wait a second. What did they just say again, I want to it's this experience that is happening. And as you're talking about this, I really feel your excitement and your passion for helping people do this and even in your story. As kind of briefly and amazingly, however you summed that up, it also has that kind of emotional, transformative feeling to it too. and like I can feel that empowerment from you when you talk about your own publishing, and then how people are getting published for themselves to you and you're helping people at that. I mean this is huge. I just really need to acknowledge it.

JR: Thank you. Yeah, like it really changes people's lives and it's strange, it sounds I always feel a little bit strange to say that in eight weeks, I'll change your life. because I don't want to be some sort of weird tech tech bro guru guy that's like, take my course it'll change your life.

But what I see from people is it's really beautiful, and I love my job. So thank you and I'm glad that it's translating because because it's great and it's really fun for me to help people tap into who they are. And it's funny for you to say that it's very emotional because someone who's taken the course has called fired at Friday free therapy and I'm not a therapist, but I have a lot of experience with the therapy process. So it's an honor that people come to that session and share how they're feeling people cry. People, people get really fired up because we're passionate about changing things and I think people that are drawn to writing are passionate about more importantly leaving their mark on the world. We're here forever. And writing has a way of, of living on after we are gone.

[27:24] VL: So beautifully said and somebody said that. And I do have a question too. So every week, are you writing something new? Or is it taking you eight weeks to write the one essay? I'm assuming it's different for everybody?

JR: Yeah, that's a great question. So the entire purpose of setting up the course, for me initially, was that we press publish every week, except for week one because we come in and we have to kind of acclimatize to this experience.

So people have in a week's published seven pieces. It's super aggressive. And I recognize that so I'm going to, I'm going to step it back a little bit in this next cohort, and I'm going to ask that people publish five pieces. And the reason for that shift is because people are diving into bigger and more powerful topics than ever before. And I think giving people two weekends to sit and work on something like that will benefit them, but it is We set up a Hallo writer calendar and every Wednesday before you come to class, there's a little notification that says press Publish, and then you come to class, so the invitation is there if you want to go for seven. Be my guest.

VL: Amazing. I love that this is so deeply rooted in taking action. And I know that we talked about this before for the Women's Empowerment Podcast. I really, I really feel that magic happens when we are in action. So to be able to, you know, it's scary, but it's also very exciting to hit publish and to be able to to facilitate this and to support people through this with a community on top of your expertise and your compassion is just amazing. So again, super happy for that. Speaking of action, is there anything I know we've talked about that the listener can take action on today to get started with their writings?

JR: Yes. Over the break over the last holiday break, I thought long and hard about this and there's lots of free PDF downloads in the world that you can look at and kind of throw in your trash bin afterwards. But I wanted to make something free that actually brings people through the components of the Hello writer program without them having to join the course because it is an investment of time and money. So I have a free challenge that anyone listening can join, it's Hello writer.ca forward slash challenge. I basically took the word WRITE. And it's five days. Five letters in the word WRITE.

Write a five day challenge. So every day we break down what the acronym of WRITE is. And it's why not you? Inside ideas, template and execution. So inside the five day challenge is exercises that relate to each of those concepts. And I think if you commit to 20 minutes a day, going through those things for the five day challenge, just putting that writing habit in your brain is going to help you get started.

Instagram + Twitter | @juliarosewrites

Medium | https://juliarosewrites.medium.com

VL: That is incredible. And again, I will link to those in the show notes page. And I really want to encourage the listeners to hop into this five day challenge. I know that I'm going to be signing up for this because it sounds awesome. And we have one more section of the women's apartment podcast However, before we dive into the rapid fire round, I wanted to ask you, is there anything that hasn't been said that you really feel called to share?

JR: I would love to encourage you listening that there is so much possibility on the other side of pressing publish and that just getting through the first 12345 pieces under your name is not the end goal, it's actually just the means to the end which is whatever you want to do with your opinions and your life.

Maybe you want to be featured on podcasts. maybe you want to pitch your work to magazines and publications. Maybe you want to get a different job. maybe you want to start your own business, whatever it is that you want to do, you can't do that if you don't believe in your own ideas and opinions. So just get started and you will have all these new things that you can't imagine.

Rapid Fire Round

1. What are you currently reading? OR Favourite book?

I just picked up Everything is Fucked by Mark Manson

2. What does “empowerment” mean to you?

I think it means to me doing things without knowing for certain what they will look like or deliver and doing them anyways.

3. What is your longest standing habit?

Wow. My longest standing habit. Probably going back into dance classes, just going to drop in dance classes for ever in my life as an adult, taking a break from that but still going back, I went to a dance class last night, or just signing up for class, and going, love that too.

4. What are you currently working toward?

I'm working towards my own apartment. I'm working towards a space that is entirely mine that I can use as I want to create a community for art, it's really important to me, and I want to be able to have a space that's really supportive, that I can post people in.

VL: I love that too. Julia, thank you so much for this conversation. I feel so moved by what you shared and your passion and how fired up you are about your work and about people you help. So I want to acknowledge your course I want to acknowledge you I want to acknowledge your story of taking the lead and doing a thing and pressing publish and how important you and stories like the one that you shared today are for people to hear and for people to kind of connect with you on because you are making huge changes in the world and you are supporting people in really powerful ways. So thank you so much.

______

Well, if you couldn't already tell by that conversation I was thrilled to be speaking with Julia. And I actually hadn't met Julia before this interview, at least not officially. So what I thought was really cool was I was really easily and really quickly noticing my excitement and my curiosity for her program. So I joined Hello, Writer. So at the time of this recording, hello writer was being launched. However, it is now closed for enrollment and if you are someone who already follows Julia and her journey you'll know that we're not sure when Hello writer will come back around so well. However, I would still love for you to reach out to Julia let her know what you thought about the episode. If you feel called to be a writer or if you're interested in her Hello writer program.

You know, read some of her Medium posts, connect with her and follow her online and start the conversation because that's really how her and I got connected and that's really how I sort of understood the yes in my own body that yes, this is something that I want to do. Yes, for me. This is a step in the direction of a bigger goal. So this is that small step forward.

I'm really enjoying the group so far. We're about halfway through our course together and I've published I think four pieces already. I should check them out. But I'm going to link to everything that you need. In the show notes page. Remember at top Valerie living life.com forward slash Julia. Thanks so much for listening to this episode and I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did love it, please screenshot the episode and take Julia and I on Instagram and let us know what you thought. Or if you're writing if you're inspired to write in your writing pieces and publish them on medium. Let us know also so that we can clap for your piece and highlight some of the points that really stuck out to us. And yeah, I'm just I had to come on here after to say how inspired this conversation was and also how inspiring Julia is. And I'm really glad that I joined Hello writer and there's no affiliate link or anything to this program. I'm just really loving it.

Podcast Host

Valerie LaVigne

Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!