Living Authorly, Part I
By Jenna Elizabeth Jonson, Coastal Dunes Branch
Living life authorly can often be an overwhelming prospect. Like many writers out there, I have not yet reached the point where I can rely upon my writing to support me fully (and in all honesty, that may never happen). We have to balance our passion, the thing that drives us and keeps us up late at nights, with the ever-demanding day job. Some of us have an occupation that takes up most hours of the day, while others might be able to make do with a part-time job. Either way, it can be a struggle for us, for there is nothing we want more than the freedom to daydream up our worlds and then go on a writing rampage. This doesn’t always mesh well with a job in the real world. For this issue of Living Life Authorly, I’d like to focus on some of the misconceptions people might have about authors and the “glamorous” lives we lead.
1) Looks Can Be Deceiving
When you see the titles “Bestselling, Award-Winning” author, and when you look up a writer and count a dozen or more works to their name, you might assume they’ve ”made it.” Yes, they have made it in the sense that they have successfully written, published, and found an audience for their books. Don’t get me wrong, this is a huge accomplishment. It’s difficult enough to write a book, but to write many and to have outside sources recognize that hard work is not an easy feat. However, most authors are in the same boat: we struggle to make ends meet, even if our books are bestsellers and award-winners. Even if we’ve been published by a traditional press. It is the rare writer, indeed, who gets to enjoy the freedom of a single job while making six figures a year. Good thing we love what we do.
2) Impostor Syndrome Is a Real Thing for Many Writers
I heard about Impostor Syndrome about a year ago. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it states that no matter how many goals you reach, no matter how successful you are, you will always feel you don’t deserve what you’ve earned. Okay, so that may not be the exact definition, but that’s the gist. Like many authors, I suffer from this malady. I’ve also had people tell me it isn’t real. I’m here to tell you it is. It may not be real to you, but for those of us who find ourselves struggling to acknowledge our accomplishments as real achievements, it’s not something we can just shut off. Somehow, however, we continue to push forward with our work because to keep all of our universes bottled up would drive us mad. Don’t feel discouraged if you feel the same way. Just keep working at your dreams and try not to let anybody, even yourself, convince you that you aren’t good enough.
But wait. There’s more!
Good news in an upbeat, joyous payoff.
Read Part Two next month.
The feature column Living Life Authorly appears regularly
in The Creative World of Jenna Elizabeth Johnson.
This excerpt comes from the September 15, 2017 edition.
Read more at jennaelizabethjohnson.com.