Beating Imposter Syndrome: Don’t let it hold you back

While preparing this week’s Top Picks Thursday blog post for The Author Chronicles site, I read Joan Stewart’s blog post 9 inexpensive revenue streams for broke or struggling authors. One of her ideas was to write “special reports” that you then sell individually. That sounded like a good idea, and I started playing with ideas of what topics to consider. And then it struck: the dreaded Imposter Syndrome.

Every topic I thought of, I wondered what gave me the right to think I could speak authoritatively on that topic. There were certainly other people out there who knew more about it than I did. People who are true experts in that topic—and topic—every topic. Who did I think I was?

This is how Imposter Syndrome holds us back. By making us believe we are not good enough, don’t know enough, don’t have the right credentials. By making us feel this way, Imposter Syndrome robs us of our voice, causes us to pass up opportunities, and makes us doubt our value.

There will always be someone who knows more than you, who is more of an expert. But that does not mean you can’t bring value to the discussion. Perhaps your information is available and accessible in a way the expert information is not. Perhaps your information approaches the topic from a different angle than is usually presented. Perhaps you synthesize two viewpoints not normally seen side-by-side. Perhaps you simply have such a passion for the topic that you want to share it with everyone.

Your interest in the topic will be unique simply because you are unique. In much the same way that a story you write will never be the same as anyone else’s, even if the premises are the same, your take on the topic will be different than anyone else’s. So don’t feel like an imposter. As Darren Rowse reminds us, you can write on a topic without being an expert.

So don’t let Imposter Syndrome paralyze you. Write about topics you love. Explore them and take your readers along with you. And the more you write on the topic, the more expert you will become. Soon you will be an imposter no more!

Has Imposter Syndrome ever gotten in the way of your life? How did you overcome it?

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