As an author, or any other profession really, it is very easy to fall into the trap of Imposter Syndrome.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Oxford defines Imposter Syndrome as: “the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills.”
YIKES!
As an author it can be easy to find yourself thinking that you do not deserve the accolades you are receiving or even worse, you might think that nobody cares about your writing. This can be made worse by a bad review. When in fact, your writing might be impacting way more people then you realize and you might have a ton of people that can’t wait for your next release.
One of the first things to remember is reviews are NOT for the author for the most part. The audience for them is other readers. You should not look at your reviews unless you have the ability to not take it personally. This is easier said than done. However, if you cannot distance yourself from them, then don’t read them.
As far as your work being “good enough”; simply put, it is the best work you are able to create in the moment you are in. Guess what? You will get better with every word you write. Something I find myself telling my authors all the time is this; when you get to the end of a book you are writing and you begin reading it for edits, remember: The work in the beginning of the book is not as good as the work at the end. Just clean up what needs to be cleaned up and move on to the next thing you are going to write. Otherwise, you will be in a forever loop of editing. You will not get your work into the hands of those adoring fans.
STOP REWRITING!
In those moments when you are having self doubt about you as a writer and your work you need to remember:
- You are creating art because you have something to say.
- The words you are putting down will impact people regardless of if you ever hear how it has done that.
- You should not be writing to get a pat on the back or for someone to tell you how awesome you are.
- You should be writing because it is something you love to do.
And most importantly:
- YOU ARE AMAZING!!! You are writing which is a huge accomplishment and you should be proud.
Please refer back to this post any time you need a boost.
