Ah, what a glorious life becoming a novelist, gleefully crafting thousands of words daily. A seemingly endless flow of creative ideas keeps bubbling to the surface. Fanciful dreams take flight—New York Times Best Seller, Oprah’s Book Club, movie rights.
You probably guessed where I’m going with this.
The life of a writer is mostly hard work. There are moments when everyone in this business asks, “What made me think I could ever do this?”
Even after we’ve published multiple novels, the question lingers: “Am I as good as those other ‘famous’ authors?”
Self-doubts are a natural part of life, but writers are particularly prone to this disorder. One bad review opens up a whole can of worms for any author, even though most will tell you they don’t read the reviews on their books.
As an author, I try to block out all the negativity and concentrate on the pleasure of simply writing. I write for many reasons, but the primary one is the feeling of accomplishment I receive.
If my writing makes you smile or feel sympathetic toward my characters, that’s another reward. For those of you who don’t know me, I spent many years of my career writing marketing copy for corporations. Now, I get to do it for you—and for myself. I much rather be doing this.
Enjoy your day.
John
The above art is AI-generated. No, it is not an image of me.