Like most writers, my initial foray into writing was not with the immediate success I’d hoped it to be. As rejection letters piled up my confidence lessened, and the nagging thought of not being good enough plagued my subconscious and stunted my progress.
With a history of mental health issues amongst the women in my family, I’ve witnessed firsthand the damaging effects of unfulfilled lifetime goals. Writing helped me to make sense of the world, severing this cycle of anxiety and depression. It was only when I went to Japan and discovered ikigai (or your life’s purpose) that I began to really understand the importance of pursuing your passions. This new discovery helped me to embark in a new direction and made me determined to overcome my insecurities.
Table of Contents
Dealing with Self-doubt
When you start to realise that only you are preventing yourself from sending out those proposals, or contacting editors with query letters, you begin to stop wasting so much energy on worrying if you are good enough and let the experts decide.
Eventually, I came to learn that constructive criticism does not need to be career-ending but is in fact useful advice that I could carry with me throughout my career.
The rejection letters I received ranged from the usual ‘your title does not fit with our list’ to the more encouraging ‘your story is intriguing but not for us at this time’. I kept every single one, and I used each of them to improve my skills as a writer and fuel my progress.
If writing is your passion, don’t let your dream die because of self-doubt. Start off small by writing short guest posts and build up to feature articles. This will help you to develop not only your portfolio but also your confidence.
In time, the buzz of seeing your work in print will be enough to deal with any rejections or ignored emails.
Ignoring Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome is a common feeling amongst creatives and thought to be slightly more common amongst women. It can seriously prevent you from moving forward, so being mindful of its presence is fundamental in learning to overcome it.
When I began writing, the weight of imposter syndrome took hold sinking its tendrils into my skin. How could I be as competent as others believed me to be? Feeling afraid I would be exposed as a fraud; my writing came to a halt.
However, failing to produce any work also prevented me from being discovered. This double-edged sword was perhaps the hardest for me to overcome. I knew if I didn’t push myself forward, nothing would ever change.
So how did I overcome this obstacle? I tried not to listen to the negative voices inside my head. I started with small goals such as writing 100 words a day and gradually built on this until I had something that nearly resembled a chapter.
I read genres that I wanted to eventually publish, and learnt from them. Every book I read I noted down the publishing house and researched their submission process for when I was ready to send my manuscript.
This process allowed me to focus on the positive rather than being consumed by thoughts that I wasn’t good enough.
Overcoming Anxiety
If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably spend your time worrying about the worst possible outcome, ignoring any positive eventualities. Know you’re not alone.
Fixating on the end project can be overwhelming and take away much of the joy from the process. It’s a tough road but taking each step at a time will help you to stay present in your work and prevent you from focussing on any doom and gloom.
There will always be bad days, where the writing just isn’t happening as you’d hoped. The last thing you should be doing is beating yourself up about it. Don’t get caught in a negative loop playing through foreboding outcomes. Instead, step away from the computer and do something different. I find my best ideas come to me when I am out walking in nature or swimming.
Feeling worried that your work is not good enough? Start by asking yourself a few questions, such as:
-Am I focussing too much on the negative? Write down 5 things that you like about the piece you are working on, 5 things you don’t like, and 5 neutral. Is it more or less equal, or are you heavily leaning towards one?
-Look at other writers in a similar genre. What is it you like about their voice?
-If I were to send this piece to an editor or publisher and they reject it – What is the worst that could happen? Am I the only one this has happened to?
A Few Tools That I’ve Used To Help Me On My Writing Journey:
1 Hemingway Editor app: This is a great app if you are just starting out and are unsure of your ability as a writer. It can help make your words more concise and highlights common errors.
2 Freelancer: With lockdown restrictions in place, we are unable to travel as we used to. I recently hired a Tokyo local to photograph a location for me as I couldn’t get there in person but needed the image for the feature I was writing.
3 Jerico Writers: This is a great resource for writers with great templates for pitching to editors to a literary agent search engine.
4 Canva: Whether you are writing a book or blogging, Canva is an invaluable tool to create social media campaigns. With so many templates to choose from, this app makes it easy to look professional without the help of a graphic designer.
About the Author
Carla Francis is the internationally recognised author behind the 5th edition guidebook and blog, ‘Travelling with Pets’. Carla’s work has been extensively featured in the UK, across Australia, on SBS radio. Carla has made significant contributions to the Japan Times, as a staff writer for major pet food companies, and travel magazines. She is also the in-house pet travel expert for PetsForever app, and her latest book, a travel memoir, is soon to be featured in The Reader’s Digest.