How do you get over embarrassment/anxiety about people reading your writing? I’m SO nervous about that! It’s almost as if, if I ever got a book published, I *wouldn’t* want people to read it because I’d be too shy and embarrassed for people to read it! Hav
Oh, yes. This is a very real thing and I have experienced it.
A few years ago, I saw an author’s tweet that went along the lines of this:
Me: Hey everyone, my book is finally out in the world! Yay!
Family member/friends: Oh, that’s awesome! I’m going to pick it up and read it tonight!
Me: WAIT WHAT NOOOO DO NOT READ MY BOOK *goes and crawls into a hole until next summer while friends and family reads book*
I remember reading this tweet and laughing, because I totally related. Publishing a book, or putting anything that you create out there for public consumption, is rewarding but it’s also very tough.
My debut year was hard. It was hard because I was very anxious and nervous for people to read my novel. I remember the first negative review I ever saw about TQR. I felt crushed by it initially. But then I started getting messages from readers who told me my book had helped them get through dark times. That my book had gotten them out of reading slumps, had encouraged them to start writing their own story. That my book and my characters meant something beyond words to them.
I still get these messages, and I am always humbled by them. It reminds me why I write, why I want to share my stories with the public. Because there are always going to be readers who do not like or connect with your work. But then there will be readers who do, and it means everything to an author.
Creating something requires bravery. Even more so when you share it publicly.
It will be a process to overcome the nerves of what other people are going to think about your writing. But just take it in small steps. Submit a short story to a writing competition. Publish poetry on your blog. Find a fellow writer and become critique partners.
In reality, the more you let your work go, the more you will begin to see your work outside of yourself. So when people have opinions about it…you know those opinions are not about you. Because you know who you are, and you still dream of the next story, and you keep writing and putting the work in to hone and better your craft.
xx
