OK, I’ll admit it. I’m jealous of Emma Gannon who writes The Hyphen newsletter on Substack.
She has thousands of followers, enough paying subscribers to make a six-figure income and even though she suffered a bad burnout in October 2022, she recovered and is now going from strength to strength.
It’s not fair, I whine to myself. I went through a bad burnout too but I haven’t recovered my energy and I’ve not finished my novel, been interviewed in cool places or significantly grown my subscriber base.
Are there writers who make you jealous?
Is it the quality of their prose, the number of books they publish or how much money they’re making that brings out your green-eyed monster?
For me, I’m jealous of people who are “out there” running workshops, doing speaking gigs and writing frequently. I’d love to be doing this but my energy struggles, thanks to long covid, have prevented me from taking on this kind of activity. When I started this Substack two years ago, all of that was in my plan and I was starting to make some headway with it.
Tips to cope with writer jealousy
1) It might be down to their output
When you see someone else sell a huge amount of books or gather up a lot of subscribers, how does their output and activity stack up to yours? Are they publishing more than you and doing lots of promotion? If so, that is probably why they are more visible.
Is there something you can learn from them? Could you be more focussed and productive with your own efforts?
In my moments of Emma Gannon envy, I realise that she publishes twice a week plus every other Sunday. Currently I’m only publishing three times a month. My results are going to be different. When I was publishing weekly and actively promoting Gentle Creative, I attracted more new subscribers.
2) Comparison with others can be a false reality
The downside of comparing ourselves to others is that we tend to compare the best of other people’s lives to the worst of ourselves. Just because a writer has more visible output doesn’t mean that their life is better than yours. Over the last couple of years I’ve noticed a lot of writers talking about burnout, depression and some are completely rejecting the hustle culture they once embraced.
3) How do you compare against yourself?
The best thing is to evaluate your efforts with yourself.
Are you doing the most amount of writing that is realistic for your life?
Are there areas in your craft that you could improve upon? Perhaps you need to get better at dialogue or story structure.
Is it time to bite the bullet and undertake more marketing activity?
Can you see an improvement in the quality of your writing and the honing of your voice compared to a year ago or five years ago?
4) Do you enjoy your writing?
Do you enjoy your writing in your current routine? Perhaps writing an hour in the mornings before going about the rest of your day is perfect for you. Would you really want all the work that goes with putting out several books a year and running a publishing business? Yes, you might enjoy those results but are you really cut out for the process and dedication it would require of you?
I am currently reading a series of books set in Cornwall by Cressida McLaughlin. She publishes two books a year which means she has a relentless schedule working several hours a day, most days of the week. Even if I was physically fit, I wouldn’t want to write at that pace. It doesn’t suit my creative rhythm.
5) Can you remove yourself from your source of envy?
Last year I went through a phase of being jealous of other writers I followed on Twitter. It seemed like every one was getting a book deal or winning an award. At the time, because of my health, I’d had to severely reduce the amount of time I could spend writing. My solution to this envy was just to stop looking at Twitter. It wasn’t creating value for me!
6) You can only be yourself
In my current envy I have to remember that I’m not Emma Gannon. I’m me, Cali Bird.
My life is different to hers. For a start she is over twenty years younger than me and she has been a literary superstar for some time. She worked as a professional writer in print media as well as running a Webby nominated podcast for seven years.
I don’t have that pedigree. I worked in Finance and IT for thirty five years, I’ve published two books and I’ve spent the last eighteen months coming to terms with a horrible health problem.
But here’s the thing – I don’t have to be Emma Gannon. I have to be me – and offer what only I can offer.
My speciality has always been encouraging people to scratch their creative itches alongside their other responsibilities such as their day job and caring for members of their family. And I have been an expert in that for many years. Now I’m building expertise in being kind and loving to myself and figuring out a healthier way to work within my physical capabilities.
The best way to cure writer jealousy is to write
Write something today. Even twenty minutes spent on your current project will make you feel better about your progress.
Remember, when you spend time reading and mulling about other people’s achievements, you are burning valuable energy that you could be utilising for your own work.
Put your blinkers on. Stay in your lane. Keep doing the writing work to the best of your ability and circumstances. And then be proud of those efforts.
You might also find these articles useful:
Are You Tortured Because You Are A Slow Writer
How To Be Content With Your Writing Pace
Is Writer Envy Killing Your Writing?
Keep plodding gently
Cali x
P.S. If you found this article useful please share it with other writers. It might be just the thing which a frustrated writer needs to read. Thank you.
P.P.S. Did you like the image for this post? I created it by getting ChatGPT to write me a prompt for a green-eyed monster which I then gave to Dall-E to create the image.
"You can only be yourself" - the best words ever in regard to writing - and - not comparing ourselves to others.
I’m really learning that when I have a strong feeling, I need to spend a little time with it and learn what it’s really telling me. Questions like, “what am I missing right now in my life that makes me envious of that situation?”, and “is there something in my own path that I’d rather avoid by wishing I had a different life path?” Might be helpful. The envy really never seems to be about the obvious. I do like something our sangha leader said a couple weeks ago. she said “what practice is available to me right now.” That’s a good question for anything, including writing. It’s what you said above, turning the focus back to what practice is available to you right now. I always love reading what Karla McLaren has to say about emotions too. Here’s a link to her posts about envy.: https://karlamclaren.com/tag/envy/