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You must also consider that most people do not have the kind of talent for writing that you and patio11 possess. Hats off to you guys for pulling it off and sho

by rushabh 14y ago

You must also consider that most people do not have the kind of talent for writing that you and patio11 possess. Hats off to you guys for pulling it off and showing the way and inspiring other people. For most normal folk, it will take years of effort to reach this level in writing skills where they can build an audience on that strength. On a slightly different note, there are SAAS products like SalesForce, Quickbooks and the lot that are going to get the market by the brute force of their marketing budget. On the other extreme are people like you and patio11 and 37signals who take the effort to nurture an audience and generally pro-bootstrap. I think both strategies should work if executed well.

ryanwaggoner 14y ago
most people do not have the kind of talent for writing that you and patio11 possess Maybe most people don't, but many (maybe most) here on HN do. Just look at the comments here. And even if you don't have the writing skills on day 1, you can improve via advice, feedback, various courses and books, and practice.
ahoyhere 14y ago
"You must also consider that most people do not have the kind of talent for writing that you and patio11 possess" I always find this kind of statement interesting. Where do you think we got our "talent"? Writing our butts off. It's true -- for people willing to put in the effort to be good, being good pays dividends. If you're not willing to put in the work, you don't get the dividends. But nobody is a "born writer." As bdunn said in my virtual earshot earlier today, "Compare my first blog and my latest." He provided a lesson for my class recently and I made him rewrite it 3 times before it was in acceptable shape for editing. I'm sure the process was kinda sucky for him on the one hand, on the other hand, he grew hugely as a teacher. Yep, being willing to exercise a skill pays off.
- alexknowshtml 14y ago
  +1 to the writing as a practice. I look back at things I wrote a year ago - sometimes as much as 6 years ago - and wonder if they were really written by me. Writing every day and being willing to do it even if it's just for throwaway is the only way to develop the talent. You know, just like every other talent, ever.

by rushabh 14y ago

ryanwaggoner 14y ago

most people do not have the kind of talent for writing that you and patio11 possess Maybe most people don't, but many (maybe most) here on HN do. Just look at the comments here. And even if you don't have the writing skills on day 1, you can improve via advice, feedback, various courses and books, and practice.

ahoyhere 14y ago

"You must also consider that most people do not have the kind of talent for writing that you and patio11 possess" I always find this kind of statement interesting. Where do you think we got our "talent"? Writing our butts off. It's true -- for people willing to put in the effort to be good, being good pays dividends. If you're not willing to put in the work, you don't get the dividends. But nobody is a "born writer." As bdunn said in my virtual earshot earlier today, "Compare my first blog and my latest." He provided a lesson for my class recently and I made him rewrite it 3 times before it was in acceptable shape for editing. I'm sure the process was kinda sucky for him on the one hand, on the other hand, he grew hugely as a teacher. Yep, being willing to exercise a skill pays off.

alexknowshtml 14y ago
+1 to the writing as a practice. I look back at things I wrote a year ago - sometimes as much as 6 years ago - and wonder if they were really written by me. Writing every day and being willing to do it even if it's just for throwaway is the only way to develop the talent. You know, just like every other talent, ever.