Writing
I’ve been writing consistently since December 2024. I write for the joy of writing itself and to develop my ideas. I’m constantly searching for good advice on how to write better. And yet the advice I find is often ChatGPT slop or a sales pitch disguised as an essay.
In an effort to scratch my own itch, I cold DM’ed some writers I look up to and did my own research to answer the question:
How do writers find other people who care about the same stuff you do?
Start with an Atomic Network
Being new to writing publicly, I’m starting with is what Andrew Chen, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, calls an Atomic Network. From his book The Cold Start Problem:1
“Every successful network starts with a small, densely connected group — an atomic network — that can sustain itself before it scales... [An atomic network] is the smallest possible network that can grow itself.”
Andrew Chen
When you build a small atomic network that resonates with your message, you can build another. Just replicate the same message for more similarly minded people.
He theorizes that the copy-and-pasting of that original atomic network compounds over time - reaching escape velocity he calls the “tipping point,” where continued exponential growth is inevitable until you hit your ceiling.
If you just started writing, write about the things you genuinely care about. With each published post, you’ll get a firmer grasp on where your genuine interests overlap with what other people care about too.
Do Remarkable Things, Write Remarkably
To quote Ben Franklin, who gave timeless advice on how to make a lasting impression in the world:
“Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing [about].”
Ben Franklin
Write something worth reading.
Do something worth writing about.
Better yet, do something remarkable - and write about it in a way worth reading.
In the words of the philosopher and WWF wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage: you’ll be the cream that rises to the top.
How do you write something worth reading? Read my essay on How To Write Well.
How do you do something worth writing about? Here’s a simple framework via Cal Newport on how to live a remarkable life:
Do something you love.
Have a flexible schedule you can control.
Earn recognition and good (enough) compensation.
Just Keep Writing
In a few cold DMs - with someone who has a remarkable story himself, from going abroad in Hong Kong to quitting his job at Business Insider to write full-time on Substack - I asked him for advice.
He said:
Just keep writing.
Post your work on LinkedIn consistently.
Had Dory from Finding Nemo been a writer - she’s sign off on this advice.
I’ve stuck to his first piece of advice - I kept writing. Albeit, some weeks more consistently than others.
Your Writing Is The Product
Steve Jobs had a fantastic take on why product quality can beat marketing, using Japanese-made goods as an example:
“Customers don’t form their opinions on quality from marketing. They form their own opinions on quality from their own experience with the product. Start improving your product. Go back to the basics and improve your product.”
Steve Jobs
To Jobs’ point, Japanese companies don’t obsess over promoting their quality. They just make great products.
Your writing is your product. Improve the quality and let your readers be the judge.
The foundation is the same:
Do things worthy of remark.
Write about them in a remarkable way.
—Grant Varner
While Andrew Chen originally founded this theory for networked software, like social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Tinder, there’s a lot of practical application for building an audience of readers as well.