by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
It’s that scary time of the year again! But what do writers find scary? It turns out there are plenty of things in a writer’s life to give you stress, scares, or anxiety. Here are just a few of them.
Promo. Whether it’s advertising or newsletters, promo is one of the most dreaded activities for writers. Ads can be complex, time-consuming, and costly. Newsletters are time sucks, too, and it can be tough to come up with solid content.
Public speaking. This is a big one for a lot of writers (and writers aren’t the only ones who struggle with it.) I have a post with public speaking tips coming up soon. :)
Major revision. Need to change the book’s POV? Change the protagonist? Change a timeline or two? These are the nightmare scenarios that keep writers up at night.
Writer’s block. If you want to write and you can’t, it’s pretty scary.
Burnout. Not at all fun. With burnout, you can actually write (unlike writer’s block), but the output is rarely great. A little self-care will usually do the trick.
Social media. This often goes hand-in-hand with promo, but because it’s more about relationships, it happens all year instead of just around release time.
Deadlines. These are not just for traditionally published writers. If you’ve got a date set with a freelance editor or your book designer, there are things you’ll need to complete before you get started with your team.
Do you have anything to add to the scary list? And happy Halloween!
What's Scary for Writers: Share on XImage by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay
Definitely not a fan of public speaking.
I think a lot of writers are scared of bad reviews as well.
They both can be scary things!
I love this topic, Elizabeth! And, yes, all of these things can really knock readers back. Promo is definitely something I'm less comfortable doing. For me, anyway, I'd also add harsh criticism. I don't mean editors' criticisms; a good one will give helpful feedback, and none of us is a perfect writer. I mean that harsh stuff that some readers will post on an Amazon or other book review site. Some readers, I sometimes think, forget that authors are humans…
I agree about scary reader comments and reviews. Goodreads is an especially frightening place!
I don't mind the promo but a major rewrite is a frightening thing. Going back and rewiring the entire story is tough.
It gives me a headache just thinking about it!
Love this list!
Promo is definitely on my scary list! I'd much rather play with the words :)
Business stuff is so different from creative work!
Hi Elizabeth – lots to be stressed about at the moment … thankfully I'm now over the horror of public speaking – I'll happily do it … cheers Hilary
That’s great, Hilary!!