Oh No, the Imposter Syndrome Caught up to Me After All

Here’s me trying to overcome it

Photo by Denys Argyriou on Unsplash

I did not think I was immune to imposter syndrome.

Okay, fine, I did. I have been writing my entire life and always had this ingrained surety that I would succeed. I have read about many cases of imposter syndrome and convinced myself that my self-belief would prevent me from having it.

Bad news: You cannot outrun it. I’m not one for exercising, so I don’t know why I thought I could.

In the beginning, it felt like a typical case of dissatisfaction. Like completing a second book and feeling like your first isn’t up to par or as amazing as you once thought because you’ve improved drastically since then.

But then came the overbearing weight of the anxiety and the gradual creeping thought of ‘I’m going to disappoint so many people with my incapability’.

How it happened

I received my manuscript back from my publisher yesterday. It’s been out of my hands since December, and it’s March now.

Between then (four months ago) and now, my self-confidence has shrunk disastrously.

By removing myself from my standpoint and putting myself in someone else’s shoes, I know logically that my book is great.