Imposter Syndrome and the soon to be Published Writer
You’ve written the book. You’ve edited it, wrestled with it, shaped it into something real. And now you’re publishing it, maybe for the first time, maybe not. Either way, it should feel like a triumph.
But instead, there’s this nagging uncomfortable voice creeping in.
“Who do you think you are?”
“Why would anyone care what you’ve written?”
“Someone else could’ve done it better.”
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. You’re just meeting a very persistent part of the creative process: imposter syndrome.
Maya Angelou once said, “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
If Maya felt like that, it’s safe to say this feeling has nothing to do with how real or qualified you are. It shows up because what you’re doing matters to you. And other people will see it. Your head is most definitely rising above the parapet!
Imposter syndrome often arrives at the point where your work becomes public. You’ve been in your own quiet bubble, writing, redrafting, trying to make this thing the best it can be. But now it’s out in the world, and with visibility comes vulnerability. Suddenly you wonder if you’re allowed to take up this space. If you deserve the title. If your book will hold up.
You start to compare yourself — to published authors, to award-winners, to writers with glossy hardbacks or celebrity blurbs. You tell yourself their words are better. But you forget one important thing and that is; you don’t see their self-doubt, their wastepaper basket or their sleepless nights, instead you only see their finished product.
But here’s the thing: publishing a book isn’t about being perfect. It’s about having the courage to finish something and share it. That alone is rare.
You can’t stop imposter syndrome being a passenger in your book’s journey, but you don’t have to let it drive.
Then look at what you’ve actually done. You wrote a book. You brought an idea from nothing into something. That’s not luck or accident. That’s persistence, effort and craft. That’s authorship.
Here are some tips on how to quieten the voice and NOT let it be a backseat driver. (In fact, pushing it out of the car is the better option but sometimes it’s not that easy.)
Start by naming it. Once you know it’s not truth, just fear dressed up in a fancy coat, you’ve already got some power back.
Talk to other writers. Ask them if they’ve ever felt this way. (Spoiler: they have.) Even Neil Gaiman once told a room full of professionals, “The trouble with fiction… is that it makes us all feel like frauds.”
But most importantly, keep writing.
I had the exact same conversation with myself when I had my book sitting on my hard drive for 5 years, so I get it! But it wasn’t until a friend of mine told me to get out of my own way and publish the damn thing… so I did. And my book is one of the best things I’ve done for my business.
Now I often tell writers this when I hear them getting cold feet about hitting publish; You’re doing your future readers a disservice if you keep your words to yourself.
Or, to put it another way:
Someone out there needs your words. Not someone else’s — yours. They need your way of seeing, your rhythm, your tone. They might not even know they’re waiting for it until your book lands in their hands.
So when that voice asks, “Who do you think you are?”
You can answer calmly, “I’m a writer. This is my book. And I’m allowed to be here.”
And you are.
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If you’ve got a book lurking on your hard drive get in touch! Let’s get that book published and doing the thing you want it to do…
Email me at alexa@thebookrefinery.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
Alexa Whitten is…
Authormaker at The Writers’ Refinery
Cohost of The Pen to Published Podcast
Get in touch Contact Alexa
