Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as an Author
Even masters of their craft deal with imposter syndrome. Poet laureate Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “I have written 11 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.”
Two of my areas of expertise as an editor are non-fiction and memoir. I think these hold a special corner on fostering imposter syndrome:
Authors putting their thought leadership into non-fiction books are at risk of criticism. What if I don’t sound very smart? What if I don’t offer anything new under the moon?
Authors documenting intimate life details are at risk of ridicule and rejection. What if I reveal too much about myself? What if my friends or loved ones look at me differently once they know my story?
These are valid questions, and when I coach authors before starting their books, we explore these elephants in the room. I ask questions like: “What do you not want to come across in your book?” Here are some related tips to overcoming the imposter syndrome that may be paralyzing or stalling your writing.
Address your biggest fears. What’s the worst possible outcome? Put it out there. Maybe you’d lose your job or insult your mother-in-law.
Now describe the best-case scenario. What’s the best that could happen to you—and your readers—as a result of this book? By the way, what actually happens, which also applies to life in general, is usually somewhere between the best and worst case scenarios.
Decide what you don’t want to write about. In a memoir, this might be an intimate or embarrassing detail or something that would hurt someone else. My college fiction professor gave us this exercise and then told us to throw away the paper with our answer. (Unfortunately I didn’t, and someone later accidentally found it in my journal—whoops!) This can be a hard one to decide on, since some of those intimate details make for a good story. An editor can help you strike this balance. I always tell authors to include whatever they want in their first draft, and I’ll guide them in what is “safe” and helpful to publish versus what should stay in the vault. (And sometimes I advise getting an attorney if their material implicates others negatively.) You can’t unsay something you’ve published, so give this some thought.
Decide how you don’t want to come across. In my non-fiction author questionnaires, I almost always hear something like, “I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all, or someone with nothing new to add.” In memoirs, I hear, “I don’t want to depress or bore people.” Guess what? As your editor, I don’t want those things for you either!
Do a web search for other books on your topic. Did you find any names you hadn’t heard of? Do any of their books have decent reviews? That could be you. Most authors aren’t household names, and many of them are still successful.
Focus on this word: momentum. You won’t be delivered to the peak of Mount Everest after one day of training. But after climbing many hills and then mountains, you might summit Mount Shasta, then Ranier, then…If you don’t start somewhere, you won’t end up anywhere. Why not start now? Build momentum, and see where it takes you. (This was the word-of-the-year my husband and I chose for 2024.)
Define your why, and realize others may need to hear what you have to offer. Why are you writing this book? I recommend crafting a “personal” and “professional” why. The personal why is what you intend to get from it (catharsis, platform building). The professional why is what you want your readers to learn and do differently. How will you change their lives and maybe even the world? When you get excited about your why, it’s much easier to lose track of your own insecurities and just get busy.
What would you add? If you want help sorting through these questions and more, just reach out.
Happy writing!
