Worthy of an Edward Gorey Illustration. Get ready for the full list of absurd fears I've unearthed as we count down to book pub day. Total eye-rollers here.
Lord save me from #5. I rarely throw parties because I am convinced NO ONE WILL COME. I feel the same way about book signings, etc., which is hilarious, as I as yet have NO BOOK TO SIGN. (Apparently my fears like to get a much bigger running start than do yours, Caroline.) Breathe. It's all gonna be fine.
Awww, thanks! I find this is a classic move of the inner critic’s- as soon as you appear to have one phase of the writing process in hand, start firebombing fears about the next unknown stage. I suspect your book is coming along well if you’re scared about empty book signings. That critic must be terrified you’ll actually finish the book- well done! 🥰 And thank you, lots of breathing happening. It does help a lot.
Congrats on the new book, Caroline! Long time no talk (I was out running errands). May I add a couple of fears I've felt, and which I suspect are universal? The fear of...
16. Not leading with our best material (ie "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression"). We only get so many bites at the apple, and we only only have so much goodwill to spend.
17. Other people knowing more about the topic of our writing; we thought we'd familiarized ourselves with the canon, but somehow missed something crucial (a recurring nightmare).
Hahahaha. That’s a lot of errands! So happy to hear from you, Stephen. Agreed- these absolutely feel universal. And not leading with our best material and worrying about making the best impression — that one can keep
us tied up in knots for YEARS. Thank you for sharing that one. I know there are many people who will relate to it.
And the expertise one- I absolutely have had that one. I had an idea for a novel a
few years ago that required me
to rewrite history around a VERY well-known historical figure and, while I still like the idea, I ultimately decided I didn’t want to commit to the amount of research I’d have to do to be comfortable writing it. I’m holding onto the idea still as I suspect I can approach it differently so I can make it work… stay tuned!
Re #16, this is why I've been squatting on my Substack w/o publishing anything in my drafts folder. It's not a fear of writing (that's the fun part, the easy part); it's the fear of undermining my content's chance of success through poor decisionmaking. (I regret some decisions I've made with my prior writing, and wish I had the ability to give older works a better life. I should not have published them where I did, when I did.)
Re #17, 100% hard agree! I've got a non-fiction piece I've been working on for years which I think approaches a common topic from a unique, previously-unexplored POV. The problem? No matter how much research I conduct or evidence I gather, I'll always been seen as "nothing more than a hobbyist" since it lies outside my field of expertise, and there will always be PhD's who specialize in this field writing on the same subject. As you wrote above, it's a universal fear.
#18: Fear of poor timing, eg "It's the wrong decade/century, I should've published this years ago... or next year... or last season... or next season... the world isn't ready... there's a glut of these stories right now... my topic is no longer topical, I waited too long or wrote too slow... there's a right/wrong time, etc." This is major, and has heavily influenced both my music "career" (heavy use of quotes), and why I've abandoned so many writing projects that once held promise.
PS. Thank you for sharing the stories behind your tattoos-- that's a terrific piece : )
Stephen, I TRIPLE DOG DARE you to publish something on that drafts folder! The lovely thing about publishing on Substack, I find, is that the attention scales. In other words, the things I wrote very early on here barely got any attention because no one had found me yet. Then you can work your way up to more intimidating posts over time and get comfortable with your readers along the way.
Thank you for your thoughts on the tattoo piece- I definitely wouldn’t have started with that one on here, but after over a year writing and connecting with the community, it felt right.
I totally relate to 1-5, 7, and 9 when sending out my newsletter and submitting to magazines. And sometimes even when posting to social media. Another fear I have is that the technology I'm using will fail just as I am hitting "post" or "send." But you've got this, Caroline! :)
OMG I just had a tech fail of exactly this nature as I was about to hit send on this comment. What are the odds? I so feel you on this issue, especially with social media. I mean, we bother to put a post or reel together and then the internet eats it? NOT COOL. I am getting through this phase with the help of all this encouragement. Thank you!
I also have a book coming out on May 23rd and I also have a fairly similar list. Right now - today, at this minute (it will change a zillion times between now and the 23rd) #1 and #2 are battling for the title of Supreme Fear. *head desk*.
it's okay. We absolutely have got this and hey, we wrote books...how cool is that?
BOOK TWINS! I'm thrilled your book has the same birthday as mine. We will prevail over the weird fears #1 and #2. I am now picturing them like Dr. Suess's Thing 1 and Thing 2, and it's helping a little. Does that help you at all? xx
I know, right? Even that's a measure of comfort...mine won't be the only new kid that day in the big scary book world. And yes, Thing 1 and Thing 2...perfect! xo
Oh my I just got all of these just thinking about entering a competition. I've paid the entry fee, so now I have to do it, but I'll still put it off till tomorrow.
You can do it! And I think those fears show up when something matters. I keep telling myself that this means I really care about the book, hence the paper bag breathing moments. Good luck with the contest! Let us know when you hit send. ✨
Oh god- everything has been done before, and better is so intense. And weirdly also its opposite: no one has done this yet because IT WILL BE A DISASTER. Infuriating, the lack of logic! 🤪🤣😂
Lord save me from #5. I rarely throw parties because I am convinced NO ONE WILL COME. I feel the same way about book signings, etc., which is hilarious, as I as yet have NO BOOK TO SIGN. (Apparently my fears like to get a much bigger running start than do yours, Caroline.) Breathe. It's all gonna be fine.
Awww, thanks! I find this is a classic move of the inner critic’s- as soon as you appear to have one phase of the writing process in hand, start firebombing fears about the next unknown stage. I suspect your book is coming along well if you’re scared about empty book signings. That critic must be terrified you’ll actually finish the book- well done! 🥰 And thank you, lots of breathing happening. It does help a lot.
Congrats on the new book, Caroline! Long time no talk (I was out running errands). May I add a couple of fears I've felt, and which I suspect are universal? The fear of...
16. Not leading with our best material (ie "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression"). We only get so many bites at the apple, and we only only have so much goodwill to spend.
17. Other people knowing more about the topic of our writing; we thought we'd familiarized ourselves with the canon, but somehow missed something crucial (a recurring nightmare).
Hahahaha. That’s a lot of errands! So happy to hear from you, Stephen. Agreed- these absolutely feel universal. And not leading with our best material and worrying about making the best impression — that one can keep
us tied up in knots for YEARS. Thank you for sharing that one. I know there are many people who will relate to it.
And the expertise one- I absolutely have had that one. I had an idea for a novel a
few years ago that required me
to rewrite history around a VERY well-known historical figure and, while I still like the idea, I ultimately decided I didn’t want to commit to the amount of research I’d have to do to be comfortable writing it. I’m holding onto the idea still as I suspect I can approach it differently so I can make it work… stay tuned!
Re #16, this is why I've been squatting on my Substack w/o publishing anything in my drafts folder. It's not a fear of writing (that's the fun part, the easy part); it's the fear of undermining my content's chance of success through poor decisionmaking. (I regret some decisions I've made with my prior writing, and wish I had the ability to give older works a better life. I should not have published them where I did, when I did.)
Re #17, 100% hard agree! I've got a non-fiction piece I've been working on for years which I think approaches a common topic from a unique, previously-unexplored POV. The problem? No matter how much research I conduct or evidence I gather, I'll always been seen as "nothing more than a hobbyist" since it lies outside my field of expertise, and there will always be PhD's who specialize in this field writing on the same subject. As you wrote above, it's a universal fear.
#18: Fear of poor timing, eg "It's the wrong decade/century, I should've published this years ago... or next year... or last season... or next season... the world isn't ready... there's a glut of these stories right now... my topic is no longer topical, I waited too long or wrote too slow... there's a right/wrong time, etc." This is major, and has heavily influenced both my music "career" (heavy use of quotes), and why I've abandoned so many writing projects that once held promise.
PS. Thank you for sharing the stories behind your tattoos-- that's a terrific piece : )
Stephen, I TRIPLE DOG DARE you to publish something on that drafts folder! The lovely thing about publishing on Substack, I find, is that the attention scales. In other words, the things I wrote very early on here barely got any attention because no one had found me yet. Then you can work your way up to more intimidating posts over time and get comfortable with your readers along the way.
Thank you for your thoughts on the tattoo piece- I definitely wouldn’t have started with that one on here, but after over a year writing and connecting with the community, it felt right.
Keep me posted!
*IN that drafts folder
I totally relate to 1-5, 7, and 9 when sending out my newsletter and submitting to magazines. And sometimes even when posting to social media. Another fear I have is that the technology I'm using will fail just as I am hitting "post" or "send." But you've got this, Caroline! :)
OMG I just had a tech fail of exactly this nature as I was about to hit send on this comment. What are the odds? I so feel you on this issue, especially with social media. I mean, we bother to put a post or reel together and then the internet eats it? NOT COOL. I am getting through this phase with the help of all this encouragement. Thank you!
Ahhhh all of them all the time?! 😂
Sending hugs your way! Keep breathing... this too shall pass, promise.
I also have a book coming out on May 23rd and I also have a fairly similar list. Right now - today, at this minute (it will change a zillion times between now and the 23rd) #1 and #2 are battling for the title of Supreme Fear. *head desk*.
it's okay. We absolutely have got this and hey, we wrote books...how cool is that?
BOOK TWINS! I'm thrilled your book has the same birthday as mine. We will prevail over the weird fears #1 and #2. I am now picturing them like Dr. Suess's Thing 1 and Thing 2, and it's helping a little. Does that help you at all? xx
I know, right? Even that's a measure of comfort...mine won't be the only new kid that day in the big scary book world. And yes, Thing 1 and Thing 2...perfect! xo
Oh my I just got all of these just thinking about entering a competition. I've paid the entry fee, so now I have to do it, but I'll still put it off till tomorrow.
You can do it! And I think those fears show up when something matters. I keep telling myself that this means I really care about the book, hence the paper bag breathing moments. Good luck with the contest! Let us know when you hit send. ✨
1-5 and 12 for me most definitely. But also not quite that people will hate it, more that no one will care because everything has been done before.
Oh god- everything has been done before, and better is so intense. And weirdly also its opposite: no one has done this yet because IT WILL BE A DISASTER. Infuriating, the lack of logic! 🤪🤣😂