Some authors have a lot of fears.
Here are a few of mine:
Interviews: These always cause anxiety. What us the reporter going to ask? How will my responses resonate? I take a deep breath and remind myself they are interviewing me about my writing. I love storytelling, so I focus on my tales and how they came to fruition.
Deadlines: I hate deadlines, yet I find I need them. These deadlines are a roadmap I use to gauge my progress.
Reader Reaction: The big dread all writers face us whether or not readers will like your book. We glow when the reviews are positive. We worry when there are no reviews. We cry or pout or have a temper tantrum when the critiques are negative. I, personally, love hearing reader reactions to my books. A balanced review is fantastic even if it results in a low ranking.
Writing: Most of the writers I know procrastinate. For some reason it is hard to get started every day. Some of us have to make certain everything is in order first. The correct cup of beverage, the right snack, a playlist that fits the story arc, etc. Soon hours have passed and not one single word has been written.
Editing: The book has to be perfect. We told the story so it must be the mightiest of all books ever written. Then the editing starts and you find thousands of crudely expressed prose. The writing is horrible and should never see the light of day. So you engage a few beta readers. A third say it’s good but don’t tell you what they thought was good or why. Another third say it’s okay but would be better if you….until you want to shoot yourself. In other words…they hated it. Finally, you get to the last third. Low and behold! They tell you they enjoyed the story and why. They explain what they liked, didn’t like, didn’t understand, and their favorite chapter or character.
Now you have a good reason to continue writing. There are people our there that enjoyed what you wrote. They make all of the above bearable. I once had several readers tell me how my book.Harley’s Redemption touched them personally and what they learned from it as a life lesson.
I write for myself and my readers. If just one person enjoyed reading my book and it somehow touched them personally, then I as a writer left a mark and it was worthwhile.
