What Writers Need to Know About Their Value
In a world where your worth is defined by what you have done, having a career as a writer doesn’t seem to amount to much unless you’re a J.K. Rowling or Stephen King.
It’s a lot of hard work for a long-term reward whose road is riddled with pot-holes of self-doubt. Questions arise which cause your self-assurance to waver—to wonder whether what you are doing will be worth anything in the end or if it’s futile.
Since you are still interested in writing (you did choose to read this blogpost), than I guess you have stood your ground in why writing is so important to you. But until your work is recognized, will you be enough to stop the hungry mouths from casting doubt on your value as a person and writer in the world?
I grew up with the impression my worth came from my work ethic and the followed results. But just recently I’ve discovered the truth—we have worth already.
Below we’ll be addressing three prominent lies that cause detriment to ourselves and how we view our writing, and then we’ll counter each lie with the truth.
Let’s get started.
3 Esteem-Sucking Lies
In our journey as writers and humans, we stumble upon esteem-sucking lies. The 3 lies we’ll be discussing today all try to discredit our self-worth.
Lie 1: Our worth is weighed by what we accomplish.
Lie 2: Any work less than pristine isn’t good enough.
Lie 3: If we struggle we are less capable than those who don’t.
These three lies disguise themselves as truth so masterfully it’s hard to recognize their true nature, but that is just what we will be doing. It’s time to debunk the lies and grab hold of the truth.
Truth 1: Your Worth is Not in Your Accomplishments
Whether intentional or not, we connect much of our worth to what we have accomplished.
What kind of accomplishments?
For writers, how many novels we’ve written, how many stories we’ve published, the awards won or praise given in the comment sections or book reviews.
But your value is not measured by the number of subscribers on your email list or claps on Medium.
Your value comes from being you—being a person.
You are of no more value for writing a bestseller than for keeping your manuscript in your desk drawer. Your value is in being you.
It is not accomplishments that give us worth. If our view of self-worth is based on what we accomplish, than we will never be happy, because someone else will always seem more accomplished.
No. We all have value.
No matter what you have done or not, you have worth just for being you. Anyone who truly loves you, will know this to be true.
Most importantly, you need to believe this truth.
If you don’t believe in your worth, no one telling you your valuable will mean much.
You are worthy to me even if you never get that novel out or decide to not write another word. What you do isn’t where your worth is, it’s in being a person.
Once you believe that, than life is freer, happier, and you discover what it truly means to write from love and not for praise.
[bctt tweet=”Write from love, not for praise. — S.J. Siedenburg” username=””]
Truth 2: It’s Perfect Already
For centuries perfection has been the standard to strive for. Anything less than perfection is considered ‘not good enough.’
When working on your craft, how many times have you been troubled over if your writing was ‘good enough?’ Does this story idea fly? or Is this sentence just right? can drive you crazy wondering how to make your writing perfect.
We’ve come to accept ideas like ‘perfect isn’t possible,’ but what if it was, and we just don’t see it?
Jeff Goins has some insightful thoughts on art and perfection in his post, “How to Make your Writing Absolutely Perfect Every Time,” that I highly recommend reading.
For now, here is a quote from the aforementioned blogpost:
“Something does not have to be pristine for it to be perfect. It doesn’t have to have nice rounded corners and perfect edges and total resolution.
Jeff Goins
“So when you make something, don’t strive to make it perfect. Realize that it already is perfect. It just has to be what it is. And that realization will make your work better. I promise.”
‘Perfect’ isn’t ‘pristine,’ it is something whole. The writing you complete is perfect for being there, being written—being whole.
Don’t obsess on what is pristine, but see your writing as being perfect already for just existing. Then you can stop chasing a standard and instead focus on creating something whole.
Truth 3: You Are Okay as You Are
Struggling can be judged as a sign of weakness.
You can’t sit down and write without five hours of procrastinating first? You’re not a good writer.
You can’t manage to keep up your social media pages for your blog? You failed again to do a simple task.
That nagging voice in your head gets discouraging when your best doesn’t seem to be enough or even show up for work.
Struggling with things you know you can do but can’t seem able to bring yourself to start can make you wonder what’s wrong with you. Why can’t you manage your writing when other writers seem to be working just fine?
In times of consistent failure you can begin wondering if you’re somehow less capable to write than others. If you’re in some way too broken to function well.
I believed this for myself once. I believed what made me struggle to get my blogposts published or write my novel meant I was in someway broken…unable to do things others seemed to do easily.
While I do struggle in unique areas, I’ve learned that struggling more than the person next to you doesn’t mean you’re any less of a writer.
It doesn’t mean you’re more incapable or somehow broken.
All it means is you have an extra fight, and an extra perspective to add into your stories.
Nothing is so wrong in you that you need to feel ashamed or guilty. You are okay just as you are. You are no less of a writer, no less strong or capable.
To be okay with yourself as you are lightens the black cloud of guilt hovering above your head. Being proud of all you are allows you to face your struggles with strength and without shame.
Allows you to bring another facet of human nature and wisdom into your stories.
[bctt tweet=”Struggling is not a sign of weakness. — S.J. Siedenburg” username=””]
Valuable, Perfect, and Okay
Who you are and the sum of your work has worth. It’s hard to see worth in yourself and your writing at times, but that’s why I’m here—to remind you of your value.
Now, it’s time for you to believe the truth. Lies only carry you forward so far before switching to self-destruct.
Standing tall in the truth of yourself and your writing will carry you to the finish.
Featured photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
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S.J. Siedenburg is a thriller & fantasy novelist, an editor, and a bibliophile with a passion for stories and helping writers finish their novels. She’s the author of the guidebooks Character Presentation, Before the First Draft, and the How to Write a Novel online course. Six of her short stories have been published through writing contests. Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5