The Gap Between Talent and Taste.
Thoughts on improving and growing when you are your own boss.
Greetings from the other side of Debby. It has been a wild week and yesterday was my first time leaving my house/property since Monday.
This storm was pretty scary. I am still new(ish) to Charleston as well as home ownership and can find myself in an extremely anxious spiral when these big storms hit. The worst is over (now it’s just wet and rainy.. though the sun came out for a bit yesterday afternoon) and I just feel SO GRATEFUL that I didn’t have any damage or flooding.
Today’s letter is about something I’d call the taste/talent gap.
This letter is a little bit work-y, so I hope you aren’t bored. It’s something that has been on my mind a lot; hopefully it’s relevant for your world too. The inspiration came came from this conversation between James Nord and . (If you are a Substack creator, it’s worth listening to. Substack still feels like the wild west so I gobble up any kind of instructional help I can find.)
The point of their conversation that really struck me was what creators can lose in working themself. The lack of a boss, the lack of an editor. How does one improve and grow without that external force to challenge, push, and better the self?
An example I have from my own life that I can share is that back in 2020, I wrote an article for Cosmopolitan. This isn’t something I typically do, but the magazine asked me to write about my experience as an influencer during the very beginning of the pandemic. It was fun and an honor and I’m proud of the finished result (though: I hate the title, it is icky… I didn’t have a say!). Writing for another outlet (and being edited!) was an amazing experience.
I wrote the article, felt good about it, sent it to a few friends who helped me fine tune it (James was one of those people, actually!). After a few revisions, I submitted it to my editor. My editor (in the nicest possible way) ripped the initial essay to shreds. She asked that we switch up the structure, had me add and/or elaborate on concepts I hadn’t thought to talk about, asked that I delete full paragraphs, etc. I’d never had this sort of experience. Honestly? It was wonderful. I loved it! Sure, it was a little bit humbling but I learned so much from her comments, and I wish I had someone doing that for everything I write (blog posts, instagram captions, substack letters, etc.)!
I am a pretty okay writer but I’d like to be a better writer. I’d also like to be a better photographer, better at video… better at everything I do, really.
This brings us to the taste/talent gap that James brought up. I think I have pretty good taste. I know great writing. I know a beautiful video or photo. But when I am actually creating my own stuff, the finished product is often just not where I want it to be. Even trying my hardest. There is a gap between talent and taste, if you will.
I think back especially on my early reels where I was trying so hard but did not have the skill set or the on-camera presence to execute. It was both crushing (I like to put out good work; why did everyone else’s reels feel so effortless?!) and terrifying (it felt like my industry had totally changed and none of my skills were relevant). For the past year or so my team and I have been working really hard to improve my reels, get creative, and even (amazingly) actually have some fun making them. I have learned from this case is that the only thing you can do is practice. Plan in advance, be super discerning about which clips make the final video, redo it if you aren’t happy, etc. Again and again and again. The first thing you make will be sh*t, the second might be slightly less sh*tty, and you just have to do it again and again (for years maybe!) until it’s passable and then good and then maybe even great. Practice. Every day. As James Clear would say, 1% better every day. Little by little.
(Of course, the irony here is that once you improve, it might not really matter. I finally got to a place where I was finally happy with the photos I was posting; just in time for video to take over. But it’s okay. Pendulums swing, and improving for the sake of improving is also good!).
Some things I do that help:
I write my content as far in advance as possible so that I can be my own editor.
When I write my content ahead of time (I am talking everything from captions to blog posts and Substack letters)… when I give myself a couple days between writing something and actually posting it… the end result is so much better. If you try to edit yourself just after you write, you’re too close to it. You need fresh eyes! In a perfect world I read and re-read every Substack letter again multiple times… editing it a bit each time.
Working with people who have a similar “improvement” mindset. (Also: work with young people!)
I love that my photographer (hi !) constantly is taking workshops and classes to improve her skills. Carly, Faith (my videographer), and I are in an ongoing conversation about how to improve with reels. Everyone I work with is constantly trying to improve and I really value that because SAME.
And with the young people part, it keeps content fresh and relevant. Just being around them inspires me. Their energy, their personal style, the way they see the world.
Knowledge-sharing with my peers.
I have a few different group texts with influencer friends and am a member of a knowledge-sharing Substack Geneva channel that a girlfriend recently started. It is so helpful to have people to bounce ideas around, vent, share information, etc.
Scaling back on content (a little bit) to focus on quality over quantity.
The problem with this job is that I keep adding things and not taking anything away. Instagram is constantly adding new things. Substack is its own (wonderful) little beast. And then there is the blog. I have cut back on how many times I post to my blog each week (from six to five and now down to four) so that I can be more thoughtful about what I am posting. There will always be times when it’s a “better done than perfect” sort of situation but a big personal goal of mine right now is to work slower. This goes hand in hand with #1. When I’m rushed, when I’m trying to do too much, it shows!
Dedicating time each day to seeking inspiration and/or personal betterment.
Spend the time looking! For outfit inspiration, for great writing, for photography and reels inspiration. This can be any variety of things. Maybe it is scrolling Pinterest or magazines for fall outfit inspiration. Maybe it’s reading a critically acclaimed book (The NYT list comes to mind) or watching an old movie (I get so much inspiration watching old Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock films). Or listening, (really listening, closing your eyes and listening!) to great music.
There is inspiration everywhere. I want to spend more time finding it. (As opposed to you know… rotting my brain reading click-baity articles and/or endless social media scrolling.) Maybe this sounds trite and whatever, that’s fine… but every day I ask myself: how am I improving?
Is this something you think about too? Whether you are self-employed or not, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
On The Stripe (my blog!) this week.
We started the week with a big round-up of everything I bought and loved from Amazon last month. It is a bit of a random mix but all very good things!
A fun outfit inspiration post with four different outfits, each built around styling summer’s best layering pieces.
My favorite kind of shopping roundup. Stripes on stripes on stripes!
And in case you missed it, on Tuesday I shared a big outfit roundup and some thoughts.
This Week in Reading:
Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. I finished this on Friday and absolutely loved it. I had put off reading it as the plot surrounds a global pandemic (sometimes it’s still just too soon!) but I’m glad I did as the writing & storytelling is incredible. Top notch. The way she weaves all the different micro stories together is just exquisite!
The Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley. I loved this thriller. I have read nearly all of Lucy Foley’s books and this one might have been my favorite? It had a supernatural vibe throughout, a highly unlikeable goop-y main character, a longstanding grudge, an old diary… set at an upscale resort for rich people in the woods. All the fixings for something I found to be very unputdownable.
I am now finishing up Karen McManus’s latest.. Such Charming Liars. I am about halfway through and tearing through it! This may be her best. It is a departure from the One of us is Lying franchise, this time — about a mother and daughter where the mother is a jewel thief (with a heart of gold, trying to get out). The daughter accompanies her on the latest heist and finds herself in hot water.
I loved this Grace and completely relate to so many things you mentioned. For what it is worth, I'm constantly inspired by your consistency and dedication to creating content for your community. You always show up and answer the call even when it's maybe not clear what we are asking for. You are a trusted resource in this space for me and I admire the way that you work! AND your reels are KILLING ITTTT lately!
I had so many different bullet points written down (hahaha, can Substack add a way to highlight and make notes that aren't restacked?) that I wanted to comment on and add to the conversation. I texted you because this was the type of essay I read twice and I needed you to know I loved it. But when it came time to comment, I realized I just wanted to tell you what an incredible job you're doing. You're always someone I look to as an example of the content you create. But even just reading this, the fact that I was physically writing down bullet points and trying to figure out a way to print it out, goes to show that you're creating content that resonates and inspires so many people - regardless of a tight edit. Thank you ❤️❤️❤️