The Most Important Thing You Need To Know As A New Writer

And it's a good reminder for the more seasoned among you

You’ve started writing. Maybe you have a short story or two under your belt. Maybe you are writing a novel. Perhaps you’ve started a newsletter.

It’s a very exciting time. You’ve found something that you love to do and you have high hopes for it.

However, after a few weeks or months, you start feeling stressed. There’s one thing you are desperate to know: are you any good at it?

You’ll be craving someone to say how much they loved your story, that you’re a genius and here’s a book deal.

There is something about validation from someone else, especially a professional, that makes us feel good.

But the trouble with being a writer, especially a new one, is that you seldom get that.

I touched on this in my last article, 10 Lessons From 25 Years Of Writing, and I thought it was worth expanding on.

Where can you get that validation?

Sure, you can send three chapters and a synopsis to a literary agent but the chances of them raving about your work is low.

Your friends and family can read your stuff too. They might say that they love it, though their opinion will be deeply biased because they love you. Or they might be critical of it which can be very wounding.

Some writers are only interested in traditional publishing rather than self-publishing because they want this official feeling that they are ‘good enough’. Traditional publishing could be the best way to go but equally, it might not be. Don’t let your fragile ego limit your options.

My book, Tales of the Countess, was self-published, so there were no gate keepers and it could have been rubbish. However, book bloggers, who didn’t know me, raved about it. It was nice to eventually get the feedback that it did provide entertaining escapism and it was well written. But for the years prior to that, I had to find the internal motivation and belief to keep going.

This need for validation never ends. Authors with multiple books still go through a lack of confidence on their tenth or twentieth book. So even if you land a traditional publishing deal, it won’t be the end of your worries.

You can’t make other people read your stuff and you can’t control what they think about it.

What’s the solution?

You must keep working. Keep learning. Keep putting work into the world. Eventually the validation of your own work will come from you.

I realised this after years of blogging. Yes, it’s lovely to get feedback from readers and comments on the blog. But the sheer happiness of writing had to come from me. I write about what feels pertinent to me or what my heart is desperate to express at that point in time. Sometimes my articles land well and get lots of engagement, other times they land into a sea of silence.

It was freeing not to care about external validation. All I had to do was keep working and keep producing. That was it.

It is foolish to base your self-esteem and creative lifeboat on something you can’t control.

The only thing you can control is the work you do and what you put into it. If you do this enough you will validate yourself as a writer.

This is a much stronger form of validation than you will ever get from anyone else.

I’d love you to develop that internal motivation now so that you keep writing and keep moving ahead with your project. Your writing matters.

Plodding gently

Cali

P.S. I’ve just looked up my book Tales of the Countess on Amazon UK and the paperback is 70% off. So that’s a paperback book for just £3!! It’s a romantic comedy featuring handbags that talk – think Sex in the City meets Toy Story.

“Hilarious, heart-warming, charming and just a little bit kooky, Tales of the Countess is the ultimate romantic escape that will have you looking at your handbag in a whole new light.” Bookish Jottings

“Original (with knobs on), kooky (understatement), heartfelt and laden with humour…” Tangents and Tissues

Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on Unsplash