I’ve said rejections are proof a writer is writing.
Unless you are content with journaling and leaving manuscripts and essays in a secret drawer to be found after you have met with an unfortunate event, you are going to have to take a risk.
Don’t let my run-on sentence stop you from reading about the second fear in writing.
Success.
Many people in all walks and rolls of life are afraid of success. For a writer, well, you may have to show up, hair brushed, fully dressed and touch people who want to buy your book. You could end up in a Chat Room with faceless strangers with the letter G after their names asking questions you aren’t prepared to answer.
And what comes next? Can you possibly turn out another book, novel or short story anywhere near as successful as the one before? How do you one-up yourself time after time?
The final fear may be the fear of mediocrity. What if you simply aren’t as good at the art and craft as you think you are? What if it is true and you are an incredibly average writer? What if the rejections are actually earned and success is a set up for humiliation?
All of the things we fear, not just as writers, but as people, may be true. Then again, if you don’t face those demons and own their bad-ass-ary you will never know.
Don’t leave your writing in a secret drawer for your family or land-lord to discover. Walk or roll right up to that fear, grab it by the naughty bits and see what happens.
Do not be a Fearful Writer. Be bold. Take a chance. Flaunt those rejections and at your first book signing bring your laptop so you honestly say you are working on your next book, novel or short story.
Those rejections… frame them.. you can use them in interviews as a back story about your path to publication.