put (one's) toe in the water

To begin or become involved in a new experience or activity in a partial and tentative manner. Likened to gently placing one's toe into water to test its temperature. I'm terrified that people won't like my writing, but I've been putting my toe in the water at a local writer's club to get a sense of what others think. I've always preferred to dive right into new experiences rather than just putting a toe in the water, but everyone is different, I suppose.