Impostor Syndrome
Lately I find myself dwelling on Impostor Syndrome, wondering if I might be walking down that road.
Normally I am a very confident person, especially, when it comes to the area of teaching. I have multiple degrees and licenses, not to mention twelve years of experience to back me up! But I feel a little different about my writing.
Of my seven books, I feel really good and proud of three of them. One sits on the fence in the middle, and three kind of hang out in a limbo phase – where my pride waffles back and forth between “I love the concept” and “I know now that these could be a lot, lot better.” It’s hard to promote books you waffle about.
I worry… what if people judge my current author persona and credentials by work my amateur self created five years ago?
I haven’t won any awards. I don’t even have a degree in writing! I am still learning. But I guess… we all are. Right? We are all in a constant state of evolution. I’m good with that, usually.
But recently I was offered a REALLY BIG opportunity – one I am confident I can do well – but it just had me thinking… just for a minute – that maybe I wasn’t all they thought I was. And you know what? Maybe I’m not. Yet. But one day I will be, and this opportunity will be just one of many that help me get there.
For anyone who is interested… the opportunity I mentioned above was leading the opening writing workshop for the Untitled Town Book Festival in Green Bay, Wisconsin. My workshop will precede the Kids’ Keynote Speaker of the festival. The speaker, still publicly unannounced, is a middle grade writing rockstar. A household name known by generations. A person who has written over 300 books and sold more than 400 million copies. This experience is essentially akin to being the opening band at a rock concert. I am THRILLED and HONORED to be invited to facilitate this workshop, and I can’t wait to share more details as the festival draws near.