Ten Ways to Torture Yourself as a Writer
By Guest | May 19, 2013 |
Today’s guest is Marybeth Whalen. Marybeth’s novels include THE MAILBOX, SHE MAKES IT LOOK EASY, THE GUEST BOOK, and THE WISHING TREE, and she is the founder of the website, She Reads. Marybeth says,
I’m passionate about sharing the ups and downs of the writing life with other writers and believe that building a community of fellow writers is beneficial to an otherwise isolated profession.
Follow Marybeth on Twitter and Facebook.
Without further ado, take it away, Marybeth!
Ten Ways to Torture Yourself as a Writer
1. Check your Amazon rankings. Then check the rankings for other writers.
2. If you’re feeling especially cruel, look at the rankings for some writer you’ve always envied because he/she is 1) much cuter/thinner/prettier/more fashionable than you 2) has better covers for his/her books 3) has that publisher, agent, editor you always dreamed of having or 4) all of the above.
3. Read your reviews on any bookseller site.
4. Go to various literary event websites and find the cool things that you have not been invited to.
5. Read the hip writer-type sites that you’ve never been asked to contribute to.
6. Compare your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other social media followers with those of other writers.
7. Read the bios for some of your favorite authors and compare what they do for fun, where they live, and their accolades with your own insignificant, mundane bio.
8. Read the blog posts of successful writers, taking in how insightful and witty they are. Then read your own missives about your last grocery trip or that spellbinding recipe for barbecue chicken.
9. Spend some time on Twitter watching the cool writers talk to each other. Take note of the inside jokes you are not a part of and, let’s face it, most likely will never be.
10. Go to group book signings and watch the readers flock to the Big Name Writers’ tables while your pile of books stays conspicuously the same size.
Not that I’ve ever done any of these things, mind you. I’ve just heard about other writers doing them. Ahem.
But seriously. Instead of torturing ourselves in the many ways possible (thanks to the wonders of social media), let’s resolve to stop wasting time doing those things and spend that time instead writing some really great stuff!
The best part is, we can all be included! Who’s in??
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Brilliant list of things not to do! Am at the stage of realising that checking my Amazon ranking (not brave enough to admit to how regularly I am doing this) is akin to self harming (which I never do in any of its other forms).
In near ‘despair’ I watch my debut novel, Water’s Edge, slide down the list, wondering why other people’s novels rise up it.
Anyway, I feel better now for having read this. I even smiled!
Jane Riddell
Author of Water’s Edge, available on Kindle from Amazon (yes, some shameless self promoting. Haven’t given up yet!)
You nailed it, Marybeth! It’s sooooo easy to get drawn into these
distractions without even realizing it.
Count me in, Marybeth. We need to set our priorities as writers and not lose sight of our primary goals. Well done.
I admit to doing most, if not all of the above. The Internet is a siren’s song and makes it so easy to waste time.
Huge time suck. Yes!
Here’s another one: check out how many more page views/visitors colleagues’ websites get and then wonder what they’re doing right and you’re doing wrong!
Yep. Writers are very good at self-sabotage. We give critics too much power; we let numbers determine success; we spend way too much time at the computer NOT writing. We see the madness in it but still succumb.
Amusing post. Thank you!
Great stuff, and painfully accurate.
Fortunately I’m only guilty of a few of these transgressions. Maybe only seven or eight of them at the most.
Well, probably more like nine. But definitely not all ten.
Well, okay – maybe all ten, but that doesn’t mean I have a problem or anything. I can stop any time. Honest!
What Keith said. 8-)
Thanks for reminding us to behave ourselves!
Thanks guys– glad y’all “got it.” I admit to doing most of these at times, though I know better. So glad we can all smile about it and collectively agree to try not to anymore! Thanks for letting me share today.
Guilty as charged. You’ve both comforted me in realizing I’m not alone and provided a good reminder of how unhealthy this is.
I’m in for shifting that energy to better stuff! Thanks for the wake-up!
No 5, the “hip writer-type sites that you’ve never been asked to contribute to” includes staging-writerunboxed.kinsta.cloud
Guilty of the Amazon-checking thing…
I am so glad not to be alone in my looniness. Those Amazon ranks were made to kill writers, I’m quite sure of it. And people can say they don’t matter, which I think is code for: look at them more often than you would ever dream possible.
Love these… here is another “Read the list of DO’s and Don’ts for something or other than an author needs to know” and of course realize that you that you DO all of the DON’TS! here is a DO: Love your life as a writer (and don’t listen to me).
So true! I love this! I am shari g it!
I don’t do very many of them because they are such self-esteem bashers, but I’m glad to know that they affect other writers the same way they affect me.
I appreciate your honesty. I still enjoy re-reading your FOR THE WRITE REASON book for real encouragement! That’s a good antidote for me. 8-)
Guilty of No. 6 especially. Social media is great but I’ve found it tends to intimidate and discourage the emerging/unknown writer if used too much or taken too seriously. You’re totally right – I need to focus on writing something good rather than pleasing anybody.
OMG ~ I needed this today. You’re so right!!! It’s like high school all over again–doing all of these things and to what end; right? Are we looking for the secret formula to success? Or, validation of some kind…please somebody like/love me… geez.
Stopping. Now.
Thank you.
This is wonderful. thanks.
Not that you’ve ever done that… right… lol. But seriously, I think once you are in it because you believe you have a great story to tell and just want to immortalize it, then all those things shouldn’t matter. Just keep writing those great stories you love, and readers will come.
Great points, Marybeth! And how interesting that nearly all of these deal in some way or another with comparing ourselves to others?
There’s this quote that I recently saw on Twitter that seems to apply in this case: “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”
[…] those witty and insightful writers and their legion of Twitter […]
Great post, MBW! Great story trumps all. Congrats on The Wishing Tree. Just bought it and eager to read. Judy Christie
Love this post, Marybeth. I agree with what my friend Natalia says: It’s all about comparison. If we can just get a grip on that, we will be able to focus on what really matters. Then again, it’s not as easy as it sounds!
My worst experience is at the top of my list: I did a book signing in the county that I worked as a Home Health Nurse. I arrived 10 minutes early and was thrilled to see people lined up, waiting to get in. At 10 am the doors were opened, and I quickly set up. I was unaware that it another author would be signing books also. That line and every other person who showed up was for the other author.
Talk about let down! He sold books to everyone that came in while the only one I sold was to him. I bought a copy of his to give to my grandson.
I liked this post. At least I know I’m not alone.