Fear...

Fear can be a great motivator for an author. It can also be the greatest foe one can face.

It can motivate one because once you have that first sale under your belt, you may fear never having another, so you work twice as hard at your craft.

On the other hand, it can also be the greatest foe one will face:
Fear of putting your work out there for your peers to critique.
Fear of entering a contest because judging is so subjective.
Fear of never finding the right agent/editor.
Fear that once you’ve written one really good book you’ll never be able to duplicate that feat.
Fear that you’ll never be good enough.

Where do these fears come from and why do we, as writers, give in to them?

Even if all we do is tell our story our way, haven’t we accomplished something? Aren’t we then worthy of praise and admiration – even if we never sell a book?

When I tell people I’m a writer, they usually respond with, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.” My response is always, “so what’s stopping you?”

ANYONE can write a book – not everyone can write a GOOD book. Not everyone can write a book well enough to get it published. Some people will always write for their own pleasure, others will write for the pleasure of the rest of us…and we ALL face our fears every time we sit down in front of the computer and put our hands on the keyboard.