Tips to Deal With Imposter Syndrome as an Author

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Transcript:

 Let's talk today about the big white elephant in the room when it comes to launching a book. And that is the, uh, big white elephant of imposter syndrome. I think all of us have felt it at one point or another, whether it's in just our job or our business. Uh, but when it comes to books, I think most authors feel like, who am I to be writing a book about this subject?

Uh, It all creeps up from time to time and the reality is there's always going to be someone who is smarter than you, who's more successful, who's more wealthy, who's written more books, who has more reviews than you, who's on a bigger bestseller list. Like there's always gonna be somebody who is further along in the process than you are.

And so it's very easy to compare yourself to somebody who might be further along in the process. And a book, for some reason, feels a little bit more final for people. So the imposter syndrome, I think, can creep up because there is this permanence in what you're putting out to the world. You can't take some of it back, right?

You put a book out into the world, it could show up at garage sales and used bookstores and library shelves and all that for years and years and years to come. And once it's out there, you can't change. Some of those things you can put out new additions, but that original edition is going to be out there as well.

So I am always Encouraged when I come across someone else who feels imposter syndrome Only because it gives me that validity that I'm not the only one who thinks this way And it also gives me a little bit of grace to say it's okay that you are feeling this But it is not okay to stay there Imposter syndrome is one of those things that we need to move past And it shows up in so many different ways.

But for the author, I think there's a lot of, you know, it creeps up all the time. One, it creeps up like before you even start working on it. And then it'll creep up and it'll halt your progress.

Even once a manuscript is done, I've, I've come across many authors who say they have a manuscript done sitting on a cloud drive that they have done nothing with.

Imposter syndrome is going to creep up. And one of the hardest things that you will do when it comes to marketing your book and to launching your book is to actually put it out there. So for me, imposter syndrome actually kind of goes hand in hand with fear. There was a lot of fear associated with like hitting publish on my first book.

And honestly, like telling the world that I was getting it out there was one of the best things that I had could do because then I felt some accountability that I need to do this. I need to put this book out there because I told people I was going to and my word is gold I Value following up with what I say, I'm gonna do so much That it was a driving force for me to actually finish my book was to get that accountability out there But it is scary and I don't want to discount the fear.

But how do you? bridge that gap or like get over the hump when it comes to imposter syndrome, when it comes to fear. All of these things can be so difficult to move forward. So just a few tips that have helped me as I have tried to move forward in the process. I mentioned the one, uh, just in terms of accountability.

You know, putting it out there to the world in a public forum, that you're doing this. And when I say public forum, I'm talking about people who know you. Telling people that you have it in the works, right? That just accountability, that you've done that, is gonna be huge. And for most people, it's gonna be enough of that, like getting over the hump to actually finish the process.

Now, one of the other things that I've done that's been helpful for me, is also, uh, just bringing the right people in the team. So, there's parts of the process that I can easily kind of get down in the dumps about.

One of the things that helps me as well is getting people on my team who are going to help move the process forward, who are not emotionally connected to the project. So, that might be a graphic designer, helping me with my book cover. That might be an editor. A proofreader, someone helping me with the publishing process, maybe a launch team manager.

Get some people in the mix who care about your success, but they also are not emotionally tied to the subject. They did not write the book, so they don't feel nearly as much emotional connection to the success or failure of the book as you do. Not that they don't want it to succeed, but they are not going to let the emotions and the fear hold them back, or hold you back, shall we say.

So get some other people in the mix. The other thing I like to do is surround myself with people who are also working towards similar goals. Whether it's, you know, launching a course, launching a book, building a business, um, going after their next promotion. Like, I like to surround myself with people who are out making audacious goals.

And then I can piggyback off of the accountability of just like, The proximity with these types of driven people helps drive me forward to work towards my goals even more. So, those are just a few things that I like to do to get past imposter syndrome. One of the other things that I do is I have a folder on my Google Drop, or my Google Drive and Dropbox called Brag Board.

And that is a spot where I drop my accolades, I drop screenshots of great work I've done. I have a spreadsheet that has a bunch of stats listed of things and success stories that I've done. Sometimes you need reminders of all of the good things that you've done, all the progress that you have made. And so going back to review what you have done over the years can be huge.

So if you're writing a book about marketing, Go revisit some of those things that you've done that you know you did well. Don't focus on the negative things that you've done. Instead, focus your attention on all of your wins. Get yourself in a mindset where you are focusing on the positive and the forward movement.

Don't let those negative thoughts creep in. Another thing that I also do is I will unfollow certain accounts that are not serving me in that time. And I don't say that with any sort of malice. Because I've actually unfollowed a lot of really great accounts, but at the time, they were distractions. They were distracting me from making my own content.

I was focusing so much on the things that they were doing, and seemingly doing well, because we all put our highlight reel on social media. And I, it just got to the point where instead of obsessing about what they were doing, why not snooze them or unfollow them and focus instead on creating my own thing, going after my own goal and focusing on me.

One of my favorite quotes is, uh, I don't even know who says it, but it's just this phrase of just You know, focus on your own paper. Look, watch your own paper. And, you know, we learned that in elementary school. The teacher's always saying, like, don't look at your neighbor's paper, like, focus on your work.

When it comes to imposter syndrome, I think this is really important. To focus your attention on what you have at hand, not what other people are doing. Stop wasting your time. The other big thing is a favorite quote of mine from my friend Brandon Berkmeyer. That says, uh, your perspective is your power. No other person has your unique vantage point on your subject matter like you do.

We all have unique perspectives and you have to remind yourself that your perspective, your experiences, your knowledge, all of that creates this perfect storm of your power. Because you are going to resonate with the people who are looking to go after the same kinds of things that you're doing. You're going, your vibe is going to attract your tribe, okay, and your perspective is going to attract people who are looking for someone who can help them from your perspective.

They want that, and that is powerful. Your unique experiences, your unique circumstances are going to help drive. The power of your unique service offering for people. Your unique offer and message in your book is going to come simply because of your unique perspective. It's hard. Imposter syndrome just creeps up all the time.

No matter how long you've been doing this. Whether you have a publisher or you're doing it on your own. Like, Imposter syndrome is gonna creep up all the time. You have to remind yourself of who you are, what you're doing, why it's important. The more you focus on the benefit that you are actually providing for your readers, the, the less imposter syndrome tends to be an important thing.

It tends to fade in the background when you focus on what you're bringing to the table and how it's gonna help other people.