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However, I have a confession to make: I sometimes find myself too scared to write! Several weeks ago, I applied for a writing job on a website that pays premium rates to its writers. I found myself paralyzed with fear. I couldn't write a single word. Then, I found out that they only hire writers who live in the UK, so the joke's on me!
I've been a professional writer for more than two years. I have gotten glowing feedback from my clients in UK, the US, and Australia. So why the heck did I get scared?
The Truth About Writers
I just found out that it is normal for writers to get scared sometimes. Even pros get the jitters. This isn't just true for writers. Judy Garland was a child actress. My grandfather adored her. She was the legendary star of the Wizard of Oz. Yet, her stage fright was also legendary! She had to battle with stage fright throughout her career.
We writers are a scared lot, but we are also a courageous group of people! Every writing assignment presents an opportunity to be courageous because a writer faces the risk of having his or her work criticized and rejected. We may lose our clients if they don't like our work. However, because we write for a living, we do what we have to do no matter how scared we are. Nobody could have defined courage better than one of my favorite writers, Mark Twain: "Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it."
Is Rejection Really that Bad?
Writers who can take rejections and criticisms in stride are destined for greatness. William Golding, Jack London, and J.K. Rowling are no strangers to rejection. In fact, there is a blog called "One Hundred Famous Rejections" dedicated to great writers who had to suffer the blows of rejection before soaring to great literary heights.
Rejections should not be taken personally. A professional writer, whose name escapes my memory, once said, "Sometimes, your work gets rejected because the editor is in a foul mood." She went on to say that sometimes a writer's work gets rejected, not because his or her work is necessarily bad, but because it simply does not fit the criteria that publishing companies impose.
Rejection may also mean that you are not good enough yet. (Read: yet.) There is room for you to improve. I've had my share of rejections. I submitted my articles to Constant Content. I didn't just get rejected. My articles were harshly criticized by the editors. They dinged me for awkward wording and for being wordy among other things.
Here's an excerpt from one of the rejection emails that I received from Constant Content:
"This article contains spelling errors or typos. Spell checking programs do not find all spelling errors and typos in a document, so it is important that you review your article carefully for errors.
Article exhibits problems with awkward wording. Awkward wording can include awkward word order, unclear/wordy phrasing, and phrasing that does not sound natural to a native English speaker's ear. Please try to make your point in a concise, grammatically correct manner.
This article is wordy to the point that there are a few paragraphs that could probably be removed. Be careful to say things as clearly and concisely as possible. "
(This is the gentlest criticism I've ever received. I deleted the harsh ones.)
I must admit that my heart bled a little every time my work got rejected, but I have learned a lot from my rejections. I wouldn't have known where I needed to improve as far as writing is concerned. (And oh, my articles don't get rejected anymore!)
Dealing with Fear of Rejection
Fear is an emotion that is meant to protect us from danger. In my case, my fear was protecting me from the danger of rejection. To some extent, fear is a healthy emotion. Writers who have a healthy degree of fear mind their grammar, spelling, and punctuation to avoid being rejected. Fear becomes unhealthy when it paralyzes, when it protects you from something by making you do nothing. So how do you, as a writer, overcome the fear of writing?
First, talk to your fear. Ask it what it tries to protect you from. Writers don't just suffer from the fear of rejection. They may also suffer from the fear of not being good enough and, believe it or not, the fear of success. They fear that success may be too much for them to handle. When it tells you what it wants to protect you from, you can now take measures to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
Then, imagine the worst case scenario. If your work gets rejected, would it hurt so bad that the pain could kill you? Would your life go to the dogs? Would your writing career be over before it starts?
Don't I sound silly? Yes, because the worst case scenarios that I just described are preposterous.You won't die when your work gets rejected. It won't hurt that much. Your life won't be over. When you get rejected, you will join the company of illustrious writers who have quite a number of rejections chalked up to their names.
If you think that the worst that can happen is that you will get a note saying ,"Your work is crappy," try to vividly imagine the scenario now. If it happens, it won't be as bad because you have already experienced it in your mind. Remember, worst case scenarios often do not happen.
Dealing with the Fear of Inadequacy
The fear of inadequacy is closely related to the fear of rejection. We fear rejection because we're afraid to see ourselves as inadequate. The fear of inadequacy is actually a fear of the unknown. You don't really know whether you're good enough or not. To deal with the fear of inadequacy, you first need an honest assessment of your writing ability. However, you will never find out how good you are until you put your work out there. I wouldn't have gotten honest opinions from the editors at Constant Content if I hadn't submitted my articles there.
If you are not good enough, it's okay because that doesn't mean you can never be good enough in the future. You can always work toward improving your craft. What separates great writers from good writers is that great writers are willing to be bad writers. Then, they keep honing their writing skills to perfection, learning from every mistake that they make.
Building your competence as a writer is another antidote to the fear of inadequacy. Invest in a good mentorship program or a writing course. This investment will go a long way in building your self confidence as a writer.
Some questions for you:
- For experienced writers: Have you been rejected by a potential client or a publisher? If so, how did you deal with it?
- For newbie writers: What are your fears?
Share your thoughts below!
P.S. I have another e-book to share with my subscribers. I got this a year ago and it has changed the way I see writing. Writing can be fun and it doesn't have to hard. This e-book is being sold in an Internet marketing forum, but I have the right to give it away. If you haven't subscribed yet, enter your name and email address in my opt-in form above. You'll get goodies and updates just for signing up.
