Writers and Imposter Syndrome

Image “Mistakes…” by John Hain from Pixabay

Many authors have a problem with Imposter Syndrome, that gnawing, persistent inability to believe your success is deserved.

This condition isn’t limited to newly-minted authors. Many longtime authors can have that awful feeling that makes you anxious all the time and scared that you’ll be revealed as a fraud.

What a terrible way to live your life. This seems to be a side effect of feeling you have to be perfect, write the perfect book, live in a perfect home, have perfect children, etc.

It’s exhausting and emotionally damaging to you and those close to you. If the person I’ve described is you, chances are you’re also a procrastinator, afraid of tackling something new for fear you can’t do it perfectly. Afraid to publish the book you’ve written for fear it isn’t good enough even though you’ve had it edited and proofed.

If you’ve published books and get bad reviews, you tell yourself, “They’re right. I can’t write. I’m a fraud.” along with a whole bunch of self-defeating, negative crap.

NEED RESCUING?

Yes, there are professionals who deal with those who suffer from Imposter Syndrome with a plethora of solutions as expensive and complicated as psychotherapy, group therapy, and cognitive therapy.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

If you’ve read me for very long, you know I’m a proponent of self-help books, keeping a journal, working on your self-talk, and trying new things even though they may scare you to death.

The only difference between a comfort zone and a grave are the dimensions.

TIP FOR WRITERS

Writers are like ordinary people with one exception. Because they create something from their emotions and their thoughts, they’re extraordinarily sensitive about what they do when they first start writing.

They fear being laughed at or embarrassed because no one has heard of them before. Sharing what they created—a piece of writing—is akin to tearing out a piece of the soul and saying, “Look at this.”

Writers can take the advice I mentioned in Rescuing, but there’s also something else they can do. I’ve written about this before. It’s a simple thing guaranteed to make the writer feel silly in the beginning, but it’s a very powerful tool.

Practice talking about your book.

That’s it—talk about it so you can describe your book in a couple of sentences. Yes, rehearse and rehearse some more. Do it in front of a mirror. Create a mock interview set in your den and have your kids interview you as if you were appearing on a talk show. Get comfortable talking about your book.

Work on a pitch of 2-3 sentences so when someone asks what’s your book about, you can tell them intelligently instead of babbling for several minutes with “uh…like…uh” muttered far too often.

When someone at a party asks, “What do you do?” Know exactly how to describe what you do. Say it confidently and be proud of it.

In addition to claiming your identity as a writer, be professional and tell whoever engages you in conversation that they can look you up on Amazon or your website—if you’re at the stage where you have one or both. 

Don’t be surprised if people are fascinated by you, The Author. You may have to get used to that.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Authors are amazing people. Remember, many people talk about writing a book, but very few actually write one to the very end and publish it. Be proud of what you’ve done. You’re awesome!

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Joan Reeves aka SlingWords: The Word Slinging Adventures of Joan Reeves