People are scared to write about a topic that aren't a hands down expert on…they expect their readers will detect their ignorance.
As my wife says to me all the time…”GET OVER YOURSELF!”
Now, I'm not saying you can put out garbage and win people over…but its not hard to either:
A.) Research a topic before writing about it.
B.) Hire someone to do it for you.
Certainly, it doesn’t take much to be a published author these days, but being an acknowledged authority is an entirely different thing. Or being a writer, for that matter.
There’s a difference between positioning yourself as an authority and writing like an authority.
The former, of course, takes longer and is driven by a different purpose, but both deal with perception.
If you want to learn to write like an authority, your work must bear the following traits:
Practicality. Your content should apply in the real world — unless you’re writing fantasy, in which case, you create a whole different reality within your work. However, even in some forms of fantasy, concrete and deep knowledge of esoterica is still needed.
Particularity. Your content is able to provide specific facts and examples. Anybody can pen generalizations. When you provide specifics, your credibility as an authority is boosted.
Believability. Your content must hold itself possible. It must be limited by certain epistemological perimeters for it to stand solid upon exploration. It all boils down to the foremost point: being convincing.
An authoritative voice is a result of both effort and flair. It is a fine mix of acquired knowledge – plenty of it – and the capacity to serve up this knowledge with ease of mastery. With such fusion, your writing becomes a powerful tool.
