Inexperience Isn’t A Permanent Problem
I read a blog post by Richard Smith of Simply Syndicated yesterday in which he discussed some of the things holding podcasting back from becoming mainstream (original post available here). On first reading I agreed with most of what he said, and after a short Twitter conversation with Smith I found the only bit I had questions about was due to my own misunderstanding.
One of the problems Smith identifies is “normal people who fancy a go at it.” At first I was afraid this meant “someone who’s just starting out,” but this turned out to be incorrect – instead, I now think he means people who produce rubbish shows and just don’t care – the podcasting equivalent of putting your home videos on television.
My first reaction got me thinking, though. I can’t emphasize enough that this wasn’t what Richard Smith was saying, but what I thought he meant is something I’ve seen or heard explicitly in a few different places and contexts. The gist of the complaint is, “our medium would have mainstream respect if it weren’t for all these amateurs glutting the market and keeping the public from finding the good stuff.”
I’ve heard this applied to webcomics, books, web series, art, music, even community theatre. What’s funny is that it’s usually coming from someone who thinks he/she would be more successful if the “amateurs” weren’t getting all the attention. To that person, I’d point out that people like what they like. Your competition isn’t preventing potential audiences from reaching you, which means you’re the only obstacle to your own success.
The flipside of the coin is that there’s only one way to gain experience, and that by necessity requires starting from inexperience. When a writer, musician, artist, or anyone else is just starting out the quality will be less than after they have a few years of experience. The key is using your experience, combined with role models, mentors, and other learning experiences to develop and grow in your art.
Have you ever heard a successful writer talk about his first book few books? I mean an author who’s been writing for 20, 30, 40, or more years. Most of the time, these experienced authors will say it’s painful reading their first book, even if it is a fan-favorite. This is because they’ve been growing as a writer continually for decades, and now they see their own early works as “amateur.”
What’s the takeaway from that? Don’t worry about making your first work perfect. It won’t be. Just do something now, make it as good as you can, and put it out there. Then get feedback, find ways to improve, learn from the experience, and do it again – but better. Before long, your quality will be up to a respectable level.
And maybe 40 years down the road you’ll be able to look back and say, “that wasn’t my best, but I’m glad I did it.”