Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Writing is full of triumphs and pitfalls, and in most cases, you are the one holding yourself back. In fact, things like impostor syndrome keep a lot of talented authors from publishing their books. So, how do you go about avoiding those elements and becoming successful?
At the end of the day, you are in command of your destiny as an author. From learning how to write better to getting your name out in the public eye, it falls on your shoulders.
In the beginning, I often held myself back from finding more private clients. And if I had as much faith in myself in 2013 as I do today, there’s no doubt in my mind I would be far more successful, easily making six figures.
Who knows? I might have become a best-selling author by now. But, it’s best not to dwell on what could have happened.
It wasn’t until recently that I decided to take myself and my writing more seriously. Since that moment, things have been piecing together rather quickly.
9 Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
I’ve talked about plenty of these elements in the past. And they are perhaps the most influential elements that I had to overcome to get to where I am today.
Now, don’t think that you’re going to be able to flip a switch and change your behaviors and mannerisms. Some things might take weeks, months, or even years to overcome. But I promise, it’s worth the effort in the long run.
Never give up on yourself.
1. Assuming Your Writing Sucks
One of the most prevalent pitfalls is that of thinking your writing is terrible. I see this almost every day on social media. And assuming that you’re a terrible writer feeds impostor syndrome to the point where you never take a chance.
The way I overcame this one was by convincing myself that it was awfully arrogant of me to think that I knew what someone would or would not like. I’m not a mind reader.
Granted, not everyone is going to like your storytelling style. However, you might become someone’s favorite author. It’s all up to the reader whether they like or hate your story. So, don’t assume it’s terrible before anyone gets a chance to read it.
2. A Lack of General Self-Confidence
Confidence is a cornerstone of success. It can do everything from providing new opportunities to how you’re perceived in public, both are somewhat important for an author.
Building self-confidence can take a great deal of time, depending on how you view yourself. This is one of those things that took me a few years to improve, and I’m still not 100% in myself. However, I’m a far cry from where I used to be as a writer.
What I’ve found is that building confidence as a successful freelance writer has impacted more areas of my life. I am more interactive in public, I am less timid in front of certain opportunities, and come from a place of authority when I speak.
3. Delusions of Grandeur
I have seen so many people think they can jump in blind to write a book and expect to produce a best-selling novel. They have some weird belief that their first book is the road to riches and they can just publish books for the rest of their life.
And yes, I personally know a couple of people who had rude awakenings.
Truth be told, about 90% of self-published authors will sell fewer than 100 copies of their books. There are a lot of reasons why it’s so difficult to make a living as an indie author. Everything from the story itself to the design of your cover can prevent sales.
My point is that you can’t go into being an author thinking you’re instantly going to sell enough copies to quit your regular job. Doing so is essentially setting yourself up for failure, which can lead to frustration and a lack of effort going forward.
In other words, a lot of people quit being authors because they don’t make as much money as Stephen King or Nora Roberts.
4. Not Giving Yourself Enough Time
As I said earlier, it’s highly unlikely you’re going to be an overnight sensation for your genre. In fact, your first book is undoubtedly going to perform the worst. That’s because you’ll get better with every story you write.
Being an author, especially one that is self-publishing, isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires a great deal of time and effort on your part to produce the best story you can deliver. And trying to rush the process could lead to a plethora of problems.
Don’t get sucked into instant gratification. It can take years to really gain momentum.
5. Not Enough Education
I’ve seen a lot of writers ultimately fail because of one very important aspect – they didn’t know what they were doing. Without proper knowledge of a task, the quality is subpar. And when you’re trying to make money whether you’re a freelancer, blogger, or aspiring author, quality is vital.
When I started my career as a freelancer, I spent more than a year Googling everything possible about AP Style English and SEO tactics. As an author, I spent a great deal of time learning to structure the manuscript. Taking the Reedsy masterclass for How to Write a Novel was exceptionally helpful.
One of the worst sayings that I’ve come across over my career is “Fake it until you make it.” I prefer to learn all I can so I’m not faking anything, especially as a paid professional. In other words, I didn’t want clients or readers to think that I was incompetent because I lacked actual knowledge.
Whether you’re going to college or spending time researching on Google, any education is going to be an improvement in your abilities. The quality increases, and you start to feel better about yourself as a whole.
Yes, continuous learning of your craft will improve your self-confidence.
6. A Lack of Editorial Input
The Internet is saturated with indie authors. Unfortunately, a lot of them believe they can publish books without having proper editing. I’ve read some that felt like the author didn’t even use spellcheck.
Arrogance in oneself is among the worst pitfalls for writing, especially if you’re trying to make money at it.
Now, I’m not saying that most authors publish books on Amazon without giving the manuscript a good once-over. However, a lot of them do, which leads to a much poorer quality than what they could have produced.
Take Kingmaker, for example. Even though I spent a lot of time tweaking and fixing the manuscript, I can see the stark difference between it and Shadows of Atlantic City.
There are all kinds of options to help you polish up the manuscript. If you don’t have thousands of dollars to hire an editor, at least consider using Grammarly or AutoCrit. Either of these tools can show you all kinds of structural errors in your book.
7. Being Too Sensitive
One of the most soul-crushing writing pitfalls is that of being too sensitive as an artist. You’re not going to please 100% of the people 100% of the time. Some are going to hate for the sake of hating, and you can’t let those people hold you back.
I know several people who took the slightest criticism and quit writing entirely. One quit because Textbroker rated him an average writer and another because she got a one-star review on Amazon.
It’s going to happen…and you need to develop a thick skin if you want to publish books.
Recently, I’ve seen readers give a book a one-star review because the book had a line that said something like “Made with Vellum” on the copyright page and they assumed it was AI. Vellum is a formatting tool, not generative AI.
So, you see, you’ll collect negative feedback from the uneducated, confused, and downright goofy. The trick is to focus on the people who enjoyed your book.
8. Not Enough Proper Marketing
I would have to say that a lack of marketing is the number one reason why a lot of authors, writers, and bloggers don’t make enough to replace a full-time income. No one is going to read it if they don’t know it exists.
How do you make yourself stand out in a market that is incredibly saturated with writers of all kinds, especially on platforms like Amazon?
This is actually one of the hardest elements that I’m currently trying to decipher. In fact, as soon as I get a moment to work on it, I plan on diving into a lot of marketing tactics to see which ones work the best. Then, I will share the results.
In any case, you need to do more than just post links to your content on social media. Social platforms tend to bury posts that have external links because they want people to stay on their apps.
Regardless, proper marking is one of the biggest pitfalls of writing, and you need to figure out what methods work best if you want to generate a meaningful amount of money.
9. Being a Hermit
A lot of authors live a hermit lifestyle while still being popular enough to make sales. However, it’s much easier for a social butterfly to engage and build a fan base. A lot of people buy books because the author is more recognizable, social, and interactive.
It wasn’t until recently that I started attending events. And I’ve sold far more books in person than I do trying to market them online. Not to mention the fact that I’ve met some awesome people, both readers and authors, during these events.
I was actually incredibly timid in the beginning. It wasn’t until I started going to WordCamps on behalf of GreenGeeks that I started to loosen up. Now, I’m constantly looking for author events that I can attend.
Well, when I have more time, anyway. That’s a completely different set of pitfalls when it comes to writing: time management techniques.
My point is that it’s much easier for an author to sell books being social, both on and offline. While you may do relatively well hiding in your home, there is something to be said about being in person at various events.
Always Make Time to Practice
I’m a firm believer that if you want to become the best writer you can be, you gotta practice. There’s a reason why the saying, “Practice makes perfect” exists in the first place. It’s all about developing skills that become second nature.
Everything you write will be better than the project before it, especially if you spend time learning and building on your skillset. This can be anything from typing speed to how you structure your stories.
That is as long as you put into practice things you learn.
Originally, I built this blog as a way to practice as a freelancer. It was all about putting everything I learned into practical use. One of the results was becoming successful enough to quit my job at the school district.
You don’t have to publish everything you write, either. In fact, I’ve got a ton of articles that I never published simply because I wanted to practice and hone my skills.
Not everything you write has to be a novel. Take some writing prompts and crank out a short story or two for the hell of it.
Confidence is Key to Success
Although I think a lack of marketing is one of the worst pitfalls to writing, a lack of confidence is an extremely close second. When you lack confidence, you’re more likely to turn down opportunities while not taking yourself seriously enough.
Unfortunately, a lack of confidence is also one of the hardest to overcome for a lot of people. I know it took me years to feel comfortable as a freelance writer and recognize my successes as they happened. And I’m currently working on confidence as an author.
You don’t have to walk around thinking you’re the best writer in existence. But embracing your accomplishments can do wonders for your frame of mind. The first step is to stop hating your work and yourself. If all you’re going to do is despise the story, why even write it?
I know, it’s not the easiest step to take. But if you want any modicum of success, you need to work on how you view yourself and your creations. You’re writing as much for you as you are for your audience.
Just bear in mind that there is a stark difference between confidence and conceit.
What’s the Worst Pitfall You Ran Into as an Author?
It took a long time to build up enough confidence to put myself out there like I do today. It wasn’t something I was able to fix overnight, and in a lot of ways, I’m still working on it. But I refuse to give up and have the mindset of turning myself into the best author I can be.
Aside from confidence, the lack of marketing is one of the major pitfalls I see in writing. Too many people complain about not making sales but haven’t put the money into things like ads or paying for booths at author events.
There’s only so much you can do for free.
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