Hello, friends, and welcome to another meeting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Do you feel insecure about your writing? Are you looking for support? Then this might be the right group for you! Click here to learn more!
Each month, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers an optional question, something to help get these I.W.S.G. posts started. This month’s question has to do with secrets. What secrets do we writers have that our readers would never know based on our work?
At the moment, my biggest secret is that I’m suffering from a bad case of imposter syndrome. My first book is coming out pretty soon. In fact, it comes out tomorrow. I worked really hard on it, and… well, I just hope people like it.
But what if they don’t!?! Oh no! People will think I’m a hack writer, a fraud, or something equally reprehensible!!!
A lot of my friends, both online and in real life, have been congratulating me and telling me how excited I must feel. And yes, I do feel excited. But I’m feeling other emotions as well. There’s a cyborg character in my book who can select which emotions he wants to experience and which emotions he does not. He can turn his emotions on and off with the flick of a switch.
I wish I could do that. I’d leave my excitement running and switch everything else off. But I’m no cyborg. I’m only human, and being human is not so easy. The best I can do is set those other emotions aside with the promise that I will deal with them later. In the meantime, I need to keep blogging. I need to keep marketing my work. And above all else, I need to keep writing, because this book that comes out tomorrow—that book is just the beginning.
P.S.: For those of you who may be interested, my book is a novella-length Sci-Fi adventure story entitled The Medusa Effect. It’s the first in a series of novella-length Sci-Fi stories about a journalist who travels through time, covering the galaxy’s biggest news stories before they happen. Click here to buy the book on Amazon, or you can read it for free with Kindle Unlimited.
Planet Pailly 
I’d say… try not to check on the book hourly, but I know how hard it is to resist.
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How about ever other hour? That seems like a reasonable thing to do, right?
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Sure – not obsessive at all 😉
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Amazing! What an accomplishment. I know it’s hard to put yourself and your work out there. But, you published. That’s more than a lot of other people. Know that I am impressed 😃
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Thanks, friend! I really appreciate that!
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There’s always someone who doesn’t like a book, but you need to ignore them and listen to the ones who love it. I can’t wait to read it and I’m really excited for you!
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Absolutely true. I’ve read that the occasional bad review adds credibility to your stats, so as long as they don’t call you fat &ugly, it’s all good.
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Ha! They can call me fat and ugly all they want! But what will people think of the book? That’s the part I care about.
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Thanks, friend! And you’re right. Some people will like what I’m doing, and some people won’t. My brain knows this. I’m sure my heart will figure it out sooner or later too.
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Try not to read bad reviews. You will learn nothing useful from them. Seriously, nothing. Those people are just wrong 🙂
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I will keep that in mind!
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Hooray for you, looking forward to reading it!
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Thank you! I’m really glad to hear that!
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I’d second what Jennifer said. Most people I know who put out a book get a nasty review early on. There appear to be people who live to do that kind of thing. If you get one, don’t let it get you down.
One thing that gives me comfort is knowing that just about everyone suffers from imposter syndrome. I’ve suffered it in everything I do my entire life. You write well and are not an imposter!
Looking forward to reading the book!
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Thanks for the encouragement! Imposter syndrome seems to be pretty common. In a way, it’s nice knowing that I’m not the only one, and talking about it (or blogging about it) does help.
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I think that day is coming. I hear they’re working on electronic eyes (at the ISS maybe?). I wouldn’t mind one of those (she says as her left eye is going bad).
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Sorry to hear about your eye. I have some issues with my left eye as well. It’s a birth defect in my iris. It’s not a big problem, it’s just kind of annoying sometimes. If there’s ever a technological fix for that, I would absolutely take it.
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Everything you’re feeling is normal. Try to bask in your success. Worry about the rest later. 🙂
Congrats again.
Anna from elements of emaginette
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Thank you, friend! You’re right, I’m sure all of this is very normal. It’s just so very new to me.
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Congratulations!
You have to experience the whole thing. It will be worth it.
Cyborg drawing is really cool.
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Thank you. I’m sure you’re right, that this whole experience is worth it. And I know you’re speaking from experience too, so that means a lot to me.
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The illustration of your cyborg is really neat. The plot to The Medusa Effect also sounds interesting.
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Why thank you! On both counts!
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Ooo, I have Kindle Unlimited and I like cyborgs. I have also occasionally wished I could turn my pesky emotions off – while in public anyway. Then, later (maybe much later) face those pesky emotions in private where no one mean can see you cry. Too bad it doesn’t work that way. I will have to look into this time traveling cyborg book. That’s two boxes checked for me.
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Awesome, thanks so much! Yeah, I have those moments too when I wish I could just postpone feeling emotions until a more appropriate time. Being human can be tough.
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