My Inner Artist & My Inner Critic: I wrote a book.

Now what..?

#writingcommunity #justkeepwriting #publishingjourney

The Artist.

I’m excited to announce that I wrote a book! I wrote a book. I WROTE A BOOK. I have been repeating that to myself for almost two days now. And every time I do I think, Whoa, did I really?

I did! It’s not a “book” yet. There is so much more to be done now. I sent it over to the publishing team I hired, and they are giving it a first look. I’m getting friends, family, and fellow authors to beta read for me and I’m forcing myself NOT to reread, rewrite, or revise ANYTHING for at least a week. This is an exciting moment, and I am trying to give myself time to soak it in and appreciate the gravity of it all.

My bedroom bookcase.

The Critic.

The last three to four weeks of completing the draft were rough. My imposter-syndrome, perfectionist, fear of failure, and negative self-talk were through the roof. I came close to scrapping the whole thing several times.

Until I realized what I was really doing was sabotaging myself! Obviously right? I was convincing myself all the work I had done was garbage and giving up was the safeset course of action.

I was afraid to let my work be seen. If I finished it, that would inevitably be the next step.

The Message.

Your art is a piece of you. To show care, compassion, and love, is to show those same things to yourself.

What it ultimately came down to for me was a promise I made to myself at the beginning of this journey. The promise was and continues to be that I will always show up for myself.

The Quote.

In the words of Philippe Renaldi, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.”