Yesterday, @EnvatoWP invited others to apply to begin writing for WPTuts+, the Envato WordPress site.

For sometime now, I’ve been contributing articles to the site and it’s something that I really enjoy. For someone who regularly writes (for both them and this site) and who is active in the WordPress community, I wanted to share a few thoughts about writing for them:

  • Writing is just like any other hobby – it takes practice. You may not feel that you have what it takes to write for a blog (especially one with such high traffic), but that shouldn’t be a deterrent. Over time, your writing will naturally get better.
  • Putting yourself out there can be intimidating. Know that you will get negative feedback. It’s part of blogging. Heck, I’ve had someone even slam a comment I left on someone else’s post after already acknowledging that I had missed read it. Toughen up, shake it off, and don’t feed the trolls.
  • You up your own skill level. You should already be taking your work seriously, but when you realize that thousands of people are going to be reading and learning from what you’re doing, you’re going to feel a little bit of pressure. That’s normal, and it’s good for you – it keeps you honest. If you’re not comfortable writing about a topic, learn all you can about it, write sample code, get it working, then blog about it. You help others while helping yourself.
  • Money is not the motivation. It’s a perk. If you’re primary reason for wanting to get paid to blog, then don’t – you’ll be contributing waste and no body wants that. But if your motivation – or motivations – is writing and helping others, then please consider it.

The WordPress Community is bustling right now that it’s very easy to connect with others via blogs and Twitter that it almost seems like it’s saturated. It’s not, though – it’s active – and that’s a very good thing.

One key point is that there are always going to be critics – this is true of nearly every industry – so don’t let that deter you from participating. In fact, if every critic contributed at least one post, then I believe there’d actually be less to critique. But that’s a whole other issue.

Bottom line: If you’re into WordPress, writing, and helping others, then consider writing for WPTuts+, the Envato WordPress site.

And if you’ve got any questions or comments about it, then leave me comments. I’m all for chatting about it.