Tuesday Pil asked Shannon Messenger:

How do you get over an author's extreme and crippling self-doubt of "what-if-nobody-likes-my-books-or-thinks-I-ripped-it-off-from-another-series"?

Shannon Messenger I wish I had some magic trick I could tell you. But it really comes down to finding a way to love the things you create and being proud of them--while also being realistic and understanding that there will be some people who don't like what you wrote (NO book is beloved by everyone). Art is subjective, so you WILL be criticized--but not by everyone. And that's what you have to learn to focus on.

As for the 'thinks-i-ripped-it-off-from-another-series' part of your question, again, you'll have to be he one to find your comfort zone with that. There are no new ideas, so there will always be something someone will claim you took from something else. For me personally, I try to decide what I think someone does and doesn't "own." For instance, I knew there were other books where the kids go to a 'special school'. But I also didn't think that any author could claim that they invented that idea. Going to school is a universal childhood experience, and of course kids with different talents and abilities would go to a different kind of school. And I tried to focus on building my school to suit my characters particular needs and hopefully differentiate it from other fictional schools.

Are there some who still see similarities between my school and other schools? Probably. Like I said, there will always be some who don't appreciate what you create. But there will be plenty who do, and that's what you focus on. Give the fans your time and ignore the haters. :)

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