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21 Comments

Do you speak English?

I've noticed a pattern recently.

@dvassallo [1], @arvidkahl [2], and I [3] wrote books in English but we're not native English speakers.

Some may see this as a weakness. I see this as a strength.

It doesn't matter where you are from. Don't be afraid to share knowledge.

[1] - $17K sales in the first 2 days
[2] - 1000+ Books Sold in 7 Days
[3] - $3,954.32 in 48 hours with my first e-book

  1. 5

    This post speaks directly to me, I've been struggling with confidence issues regarding my English skills. I've learned it while playing games and browsing the internet, so It's not as polished, and I have little speaking experience.

    This has limited me a lot as a maker, since I'm always scared of ideas that would require holding conversations, meetings, etc over voice.

    Last week I finally started addressing this issue by paying 1-1 conversations on Preply. was quite surprised when the instructor said I've got a good enough English already because whenever I had to hold a conversation over voice It was always a struggle. Thanks for this post!

    1. 2

      You're not alone 😬 I plan to start using Italki to improve my English speaking skills.

      1. 2

        Didn't know about Italki, cool to know.

        Having 1-on-1 is worth every penny imo, after the second class I was already feeling much more comfortable. Just do it, friend!

  2. 4

    Hi Zeno, I once posted here how I write as a non-native English speaker.

    There are many advantages like

    • Use of short sentences
    • Simpler words
    • Images to illustrate thoughts

    I’m way more confident now then when I started writing some time ago. Repetition is key to improve the writing process.

    1. 1

      I love all actionable those tips are. Thanks for sharing @Leo!

  3. 2

    I come from an opposite background: I grew up speaking English, living in Iowa, my mom was an English professor before I was born, my Uncle and Grandfather are writers by profession. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a massive advantage. My next best language is Spanish, which is conversational but I'd never want to publish in it. Massive respect to everyone who publishes in a second or further language.

    Still, people asked me about writing as a non-native speaker, so I asked my friends who speak English as a second language and compiled this list of advice: https://twitter.com/philip_kiely/status/1263910913717002241

    1. 1

      This is a great Twitter thread. I like how you mention Grammarly, that's such an important tool, but it's definitely not bulletproof. At the end of the day, practicing is what solves any problem.

  4. 1

    Yes! Writing in English when you're not a native speaker is a definitely a challenge, but it's also a great opportunity. I started to practice by writing blog posts, using grammarly and hemingway app to improve and detect my mistakes.
    I also read a lot and discuss with native speaker proofreaders, to learn new expressions, to detect more complex mistakes or nuances.
    One month ago I decided to move to the next level and I'm writing The Engineering Manager's Survival Guide (already 10 pre-orders! 🔥🔥🔥).
    The challenge for me is to organize and articulate a largest content, to craft smooth transitions between the parts, but the exercise of writing blog posts gave me strong foundations.

  5. 1

    Those are great examples. I'm also not a native English speaker but I'm pushing myself to the max. Writing blog posts, course (singular so far), and even in process of recording video podcast (!)

    Leaving comfort zone means progress!

    1. 1

      That's amazing @brunor, keep rocking!

  6. 1

    Those are impressive numbers. As of me, I launched an ebook in English about two years ago and I'm not a native English speaker. Congrats on your results! Those are awesome!

    1. 1

      That's amazing. Congrats to you too @slb!

  7. 1

    I also wrote my book in English 😋 It's a wonderful language (every language is wonderful).
    [4] - Sold 13 copies prelaunch

    1. 1

      That's great @nscode! I didn't know you were behind Open Startup List. Congrats!

      1. 1

        Thanks Zeno 😊
        Your success with Dracula pro and now with the book is really impressive!

  8. 1

    Yes. It is possible to learn English on the bus when going to function. It is possible to learn English while walking or exercising. It is possible to learn English while purchasing. It is possible to learn English while sitting in a coffee shop.

  9. 1

    Agreed! I'm not a native speaker either, but it doesn't stop me to write in english and to write a book 📙

    I see that as a strength too: our lack of knowledge can make our style more direct, less "fancy".

    1. 1

      That's totally true. I just checked your book... what a fascinating topic. Mouseless development is a great idea. Congrats on launching it!

      1. 1

        Thanks! But I didn't launch it yet 😁

  10. 1

    This comment was deleted 4 months ago.

    1. 1

      Thank you so much for the encouragement @alinasava!

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