Get Personal the Right Way

It's not actually about you when it's about you

Writers often get the wrong impression about personal essays. They think they’re navel gazing. Self-obsessed. Or too “easy”.

Personal essays done well are actually not about the writer.

They’re using the writer’s experience—yes.

BUT that’s just a lens to look at something bigger.

Our experience gives the readers’ experience a voice. They see themselves in our story.

Maybe they haven’t been able to find the words for how they feel until now, reading your story.

• A story about your difficult friendship can be a story about how hard adult friendships are.

• Sharing your brush with death can be a lens to talk about our wider fear of death in general.

• A cute tale of how you met your partner can help others remember what new love feels like and how we can be afraid to take a risk at love sometimes.

The specifics of one person’s story leads us to a bigger picture—the universal truths we all face.

Personal essays done well also sell well.

This month for Christmas I’ve lowered my Intro to Personal Essays self-paced course price down from $139 to $34.75. (that’s 75% off).

I want to see more writers understanding what they’re doing when they write personal essays because, in a world full of fakeness, we need people sharing their true stories even more now than ever.

Check it out here. (Scroll down and you’ll see the price change.)

Enjoy and happy holidays.

xx