Transform your career with this skill.

Unlock the power of Writing: Why it is a Must-Have skill for every Pharmacist.

Welcome to the first of a series of newsletters about W.R.I.T.I.N.G!

I'm a writing addict (if you hadn't picked that up already!)

Writing is my go-to when I am sad, happy, frustrated, inspired, in all states of being.

Writing truly transformed my career in so many aspects:

• It opened me to collaborations and opportunities on an international scale

• It equipped me to express my thoughts on platforms and network with people whose ideas resonated with mine

• It opened me to international speaking opportunities

• It gave me the confidence to create digital content, online courses and this newsletter

• It opened me up to writing opportunities in pharmacy magazines (think income streams!).

Writing is the foundational skill of this decade - I can't emphasize this enough. It enables you to communicate and express your ideas in all situations and across platforms and mediums. And if you have a powerful way to express your ideas, teach others, to bring people along in your journey - you can achieve anything!

So before I delve any deeper....

In upcoming newsletters, I will focus on creating digital content, specifically digital writing for social media platforms, and sharing my tips and systems to nurture your digital writing skills.

I will not be talking about medical writing.

What's the difference, you ask?!

Digital writing and medical writing differ in their focus, purpose, and intended audience.

With digital writing, you create content for social media platforms, with the goal of communicating ideas, information, or stories to a broad audience. This type of writing often involves using elements like images, videos, and hyperlinks, to enhance the reader's experience.

On the other hand, medical writing involves creating written content for the medical, scientific or patient community, such as clinical research reports, regulatory documents, and scientific documents. This type of writing requires a high degree of precision and accuracy, as it often deals with complex scientific and medical concepts that need to be communicated clearly to a specialized audience.

Becoming a medical writer is beyond the scope of this newsletter, and although I am a medical writer, my journey was completely random, rather than intentional. I suggest if you want to become a medical writer, you join an online course that will teach you this. There are a few online courses available if you Google search 'medical writing course.'

What you must understand is...

Anyone can write, but not everyone can write engaging, relatable content - that is what you need to practice.

Surely if you've managed to get a degree, you can write right?!

Writing on social media is not like writing your thesis, medical writing for journals, high school essay or your CV - unlearn all those big wordy words that make you look smart (tell me that again - I'm the worst!)

Writing relatable content requires you to write in simple, conversational language, just the way you speak to a 10-year-old. It needs to be easy to consume and delivers an authentic message rather than sounding philosophical (ok, I couldn't find a less complex word for philosophical!).

The challenges you face...

I asked some colleagues about the challenges they face with writing and here is what they said:

• 'How can I transfer the same content from FB & other social media platforms to LinkedIn?'

• 'I keep saving things for inspiration but never really get to doing anything later on.'

• 'I genuinely want to share and help others but choosing what to pursue is a pain point.'

• 'I want to build a writing side gig but not sure how to start.'

These are all very common challenges for a budding digital writer and I had these challenges too.

The more I thought about these challenges, the more I held myself back from writing because I felt I will never be good enough and people will judge me (aka imposter syndrome).

What you must understand is:

Because when you get better at digital writing, your life takes a different trajectory:

• you speak better

• you think clearer

• you listen better

• you create better content

• you understand others better

• you get better at collaborating

• you express your thoughts better

• you open yourself to opportunities

• you position yourself as an 'authority' in your niche online

Overcome these two things and you'll be on track..

Firstly, understand that it's a marathon, not a sprint!

It will take time to get better, and the more you write, the better you get. But, that doesn't mean that you spend endless hours practising, that isn't how it works and you will end up hating it.

Secondly, procrastination will get the best of you - it is a silent killer to nurturing any hobby. It presents in the form of:

• Perfectionism - "This could be much better if I write more/less.." The truth is you have no idea what your readers want, so how can you make it perfect for them? What is 'perfect' anyway?

• Imposter Syndrome - "It will never be as good as X's post. I will never be good enough." Everyone is writing and posting, do you really think anyone will give a toss about what you're doing? They will either give it a thumbs up or move on. Focus on the value of what you are sharing with others and the long-term gains. Be kind to yourself, you're at the start of your writing journey!

• Over-editing - "I still need to edit this, it could be much better." Editing for spelling mistakes is one thing, and over-editing for 'tone' and 'content' is another. The former is important and straightforward (and can be automated!). The latter is a vicious cycle. It will take time to get better at the tone, sentence structure and content so just let go and get writing. You'll get better the more you write, trust me!

The cure to these two problems is to WRITE DAILY!

By writing, posting/publishing daily, and iterating to what is resonating with your audience, you will improve.

My first step to developing a writing habit..

Three years ago, I started journalling for 15 minutes every night before bed, here is what I journaled about:

• One win for that day and what made it a win.

• One frustration for that day and how I could have dealt with it better and what I can learn from it.

• One thing I am grateful for that day and how I can make it a regular occurrence.

Do this for 30 days and see how your writing develops.

My second step

I used my journal as the basis for what I shared online at the beginning of my writing journey.

It would help if you weren't too concerned about what your social media niche is at this stage (at least for the first month or two) because when you post regularly you will:

• Know what is resonating with others

• Know what obstacles they want to overcome from their reactions/comments

• Know who you are editing for and what tone you want to write with

• Know what is working and what isn't

I hope you can action one tip out of this newsletter to kick start your writing journey.

Coming up in next issues...

• Habits to good writing

• How to write engaging content

• Curating content ideas

• Building a side hustle with writing

• Writing tech tools

Your writing has the power to inspire, to heal, to create and to transform. Don't underestimate its impact. Start writing and sharing your experiences and let your words unleash their full potential.

- Katrina

P.S. Get early access to my content or get in touch for a chat:

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