Nobody Wants to Read How Great You Are

They want to read a great freaking story                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more [Nobody Wants to Read How Great You Are]( They want to read a great freaking story [Ash Ambirge]( Dec 15   [READ IN APP](   Yesterday I went live on Zoom & my wifi worked & my Christmas tree was cute & we talked about how to get your work featured in magazines so you don’t have to live a very sad, depressing, shitty, weird, but stable life (VSDSWSL). [Watch Replay Now]( What is a very sad, depressing, shitty, weird, but stable life? - Cheese doodle dinners - Piss-poor finances - Trying to sell your work by doing the most torturous things (craft fairs, dancing on TikTok, writing emails nobody reads, forcing yourself to network with people you don’t even like) - Not being able to travel when you want - Wanting more for yourself but not having the confidence to try - Feeling intimidated at putting yourself out there - Spinning your wheels because you lack direction - Hating that other people have more energy than you to do all the bullshit required to be “seen” - Feeling resentful because you secretly think you’re above a lot of this nonsense - Waiting to be “discovered,” rather than begging for attention, as a matter of pride - Not wanting to be discovered bc that’s tiring??????? - Also I’m just kidding, cheese doodles are delicious A BIG takeaway from the workshop that totally gave me a seven-minute O-face was this idea: The only difference between a person whose work is getting attention and you is simple: they’re pitching, and you’re not. [Susie]( our resident magazine pitch expert, made this really, really clear: you don’t have to be a celebrity to get your work + story featured in magazines and on TV and online and in your mother’s scrapbook. You don’t have to be internet famous. You don’t have to have a perfect Instagram feed. You don’t have to have a fancy website. You don’t even need to know which jeans are in style this month. (Am I the only muppet who looks like a pregnant lady in mom jeans???) All you need to do is learn how to write one damn good headline. That’s the pitch. And when you learn how to do this, your work will get featured. When you do not do this, you won’t. THIS IS SUCH A SIMPLE TRUTH. Action is how you create attraction. If you take the right actions, you will get the right results. Most of us, however, are so clouded by our imposter syndrome, that we tell ourselves we aren’t ready; that we aren’t important enough; that we don’t deserve the spotlight; that we are nobodies; that we have nothing to say; that we’ll be laughed at; that we are small peanuts. 🥜 Yet, one of my favorite parts of our discussion yesterday was this OTHER simple, profound truth: Nobody wants to read about how great you are. They want to read a great freaking story. Ugh, stories are SO UNDERRATED. In fact, most people are like, “who would want to hear my story?!” or “My story isn’t that fascinating.” Um, YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED. This is what the internet is: people reading about other people’s lives. But we discount our own stories, and we try to be big cheeses instead, but nobody cares about the random lady with the awkward IG full of weird pie charts. They want to read about the baker working out of her garage. They want to read about the lawyer who gave up her job to become a nature photographer. They want to read about the mom who was at wit’s end…until she came up with this cool parenting hack. Case in point: Martinus Evans. I LOVE THIS GUY. He started off posting on socials to share his running journey as “a guy with man boobs”, with little to no traction. But then, he took [Susie’s magazine pitch class]( and next thing you know? BOOM. This magician is everywhere. He’s just gotten a book deal with Penguin Random House and—get this—an official partnership with Adidas. REAL PEOPLE, DOING REAL THINGS. THAT IS WHAT THE WORLD WANTS TO READ ABOUT. You, surely, are a real person. You, surely, are doing real things. The trick, of course, is finding the right angle to present whatever it is you’re doing. That is the difference between getting the world to clamor over you, and going unnoticed. One headline. One headline can change everything. You might think you’re not doing anything special, but guess what? You can make anything interesting if you know how. Let’s say I wanted to pitch a story about me over here, renovating [this Pennsylvania farmhouse]( like a total noob. To the naked eye, there’s nothing “special” about that, right? I’m just a girl, in a house, that I bought, like millions of other people. Wrong answer! 😂 Here are a few different stories I could totally pitch: - “I Moved from a World-Class Tropical Paradise to a No-Name Town in Pennsylvania—Here’s the Surprising Reason Why” - “I Used to Want Chanel, Now I Want a Chainsaw: How Moving to the Countryside Changed Everything” - “6 Things Every Woman Should Know Before Buying an Old House” - “I Work Remotely from an 1873 Farmhouse in the Woods: Here Are My Top Tips for Working with Spotty Wifi” - “Costa Rica Was Just Named ‘Travel Destination of the Year’—But, I’m Proof It’s Not for Everybody” - “How to Love Where You Live, Even if There Are No Wine Bars: My Adventures Living in Rural America” - “I’ve Never Picked Up a Hammer & Now I’m Renovating an 1873 Farmhouse: Here Are 5 Hard Lessons I Learned by Accident” - “My Friends Are All Contractors—Here Are the Top 10 Things They See DIYers Like Me Doing Wrong” You could see any one of these stories in places like Travel + Leisure, This Old House, Apartment Therapy, Dwell, or even newsletters for remote work, or for travel, or for lifestyle + living. The key is not being the most interesting person in the room. The key is figuring out how to take a story and make it interesting to other people. And, anyone can do that. With any story. You just need to work on finding your angles. That’s what Susie’s helping us do this week—and right in time for the new year, so you can roll out with a bang. 💥 (And, hint: getting featured in magazines = free marketing for you. No ad budget or awkward videos online required.) Watch the limited-time replay of our discussion allllll about how to do this—available this week only through Sunday. It’s the best way to market your work in 2024, the easy + fun way. ✨ (Hell, maybe I’ll even pitch some of those stories. Lookout, world! FARMHOUSE GIRL WITH OLIVE GREEN HARDWARE STORE MUCK BOOTS ON THE LOOSE!!!!!) [Watch Limited-Time Replay]( ***As a Middle Finger Project reader are also entitled to a massive 83% discount through Sunday if you decide to buy Susie’s full magazine pitch course at the end, so make sure you check it out before then!*** In the meantime, I’ll be over here trying like hell to decide if I should paint the kitchen blue or cream. Sh*t. (Thank god for [this interior design app]( saving me from ordering things that absolutely do not work since 2022.) See you in your inbox soon, HAPPY FRIDAY! Ash The Middle Finger Project with Ash Ambirge is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. [Upgrade to paid]( You’re currently a free subscriber to The Middle Finger Project with Ash Ambirge. To get ALL posts + access the archives, upgrade your subscription now. 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