Of course I would never read it out loud. Why set myself up for that humiliation?

I do, however, occasionally go back and read my work with new eyes, taking advantage of that moment to tweak and change it a bit. I would be lying if I said I never fangirled over my own stories/characters.

I have read poetry and fiction in public. It's a mixed blessing. At best, your offering is loved, people want to touch you as if you are spreading inspiration, and they buy your books. The worst part is mustering the calm to assert yourself. On an occasion when I received a standing ovation, my husband and son were in the audience. They wet their pants.

If you are called upon to read in public, be aware it is only a blip in time. Whatever happens is merely a learning experience. Good luck!

I might read it aloud in public, but only if someone asked, haha. I tend to keep it on the down low 'till someone asks, so then they're blown away but I'm not being annoying and shoving it in their face. They approach me of their own will and like what they see. Always turns out better!

Plus, my work doesn't have much swearing or questionable content in it. Just some big words sometimes!

I do also read my work sometimes. I'm my own biggest fan, haha. I enjoy reading old diary entries and poems and ideas from years ago. Kind of feels like I'm reading another writer's work, but they're writing everything I want to hear!

There are a couple i would read in public, if no one knew that i had actually written them, i'm incredibly shy about my writing but some of the messages i have in them i feel are important such as abuse or addiction.

I go back and read them often, since they're online people are always reading them so if i find any mistakes or am working on a sequel i go back and fix parts, look at grammar, change words if i feel it could be repetitive at all and i like to see how it's developed or changes from one book to another with both the topic and as i write more.

I read my own work, sometimes years after having written it (I still have remnants of my first attempt at being a novelist), and either cringe or rework it so that I'm happy, and maybe I'll send it to a writer friend to pick apart. I would definitely read my work aloud, and frequently make those around me listen to my poetry (not all of it getting a good reaction, lol). I'm not scared to share my work with others, because I have confidence in my abilities that only comes from being almost pathological in my focus on writing, and years of just doing it.