What to do if you suck at singing

There's a discussion on the web site, Blogging Muses about "what to do if you suck at singing." I added the comment below:

I was one of the people who was told, play the guitar, but whatever you do don't get near the mike. About 5 years ago, I decided to learn how to sing. For one main reason, to get my songs heard!

I started in group classes where I could hide my voice in a crowd. The instructor, Julie Davis, started the class with "everyone can sing, no one is tone deaf. You just need to learn how." Great advice, yet I had my doubts! After about a year, I started private lessons and am still continuing once a week with Ben Senterfit. I went through 5 or 6 teachers before I started working with Ben.

What I found out was by learning to sing, I improved my songwriting. My melodies were limited because of the limited range of my voice. With more confidence, I can play my voice like my guitar (I should say like a beginning guitar student). I also have confidence to sing in front of a crowd and my songs are getting heard.

Am I an excellent singer, no! But at least I don't sound like fingernails on the blackboard. Check out my songs, at jeffsongwriting.com.