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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45208
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm going to focus on one single point: self-doubt. I suffer from self-doubt a lot, so I have come across a strategy to control it.

> What if I am really not that good, what if I am simply an acute case of the graphomania disease, and nobody will ever be interested in anything I have to say.

Writing a good book involves several different areas: there's the plot, the characters, the writing style, the rhythm, etc.

You can have a book with a great plot that handles tension brilliantly, but the writing is at the level of a middle school student and the characters are 'meh'. Or you can have a tale with riveting characters that lead the reader to ignore the constant plotholes.

If you're doubting your skills, get your work(s) and analyse it/them area by area. Grade them as terrible - bad - passable - good - excellent. If most of your grades fall on 'good' pat yourself on the shoulder. While 'excellent' is great, it is not important for this exercise. If you identify anything as passable or worse, try to immediately diagnose why.

Do this exercise twice, at least one month apart. Do it first on a day when you feel confident, and the second time on a day when you feel down. Compare the two results. If your 'good' became 'terrible', jot down a note and make it visible: do not trust my gut feelings on bad days - they'd say Da Vinci was mediocre.

Now, whenever you think your work isn't good enough, read the note and tell yourself you're better than what that hateful little voice says.

But perhaps you'll still doubt.

The next step will require a bit of a thicker skin, but it may be just what you need. Find one editor, or agent, or literature teacher. Ask them (or pay them, as it'll be more likely to happen) to analyse your work at a professional level. Ask for a detailed analysis and give them the exact elements you want analysed. For each single one, they must point strengths and weaknesses.

The idea is to have someone who does not know you and who will treat you as a student with an assignment to be graded, but that must then be told exactly was is good and bad with said assignment in order to improve. By giving them the points to analyse, you make sure you don't end up with an impressionist 'good in general'. If the person must focus on detailed aspects (narratorial voice, character dialogue, character development, etc), they'll be more likely to identify the strengths of the text even if they dislike the story in general for personal reasons.

Perhaps they'll tell you you have a fatal weakness that could shatter your self-confidence. It's far more likely that you'll end up with an impartial list of strengths that out-weigh the weaknesses. Moreover, having any eventual weaknesses pointed out, will guide you into improving.

I did this with the two opening chapters of a story. The literature teacher was coldly contundent, but I came out with my confidence incredibly strengthened. The strengths I had identified myself, were the ones she indentified. Same thing for the weaknesses. It proved that my analysis was not inflated by personal bias and I could trust it. It gave strength to my belief that I could not pay any attention to self-doubt on a bad day.

Moreover, the weaknesses pointed out were minor and fixable. Her conclusion was that it was a solid novel opening in every way and that I was likely to find more trouble finding a publishing house due to my inability to sell my work, than from the work itself. She even joked the work might sell itself better if I kept my mouth shut.

So, if self-doubt is dragging you down, consider this approach. You really only have to do it once. When an impartial person who works with fiction confirms that your work is solid, that your assessment was valid and on the spot, that the reasons for rejection lie elsewhere (perhaps you simply chose a genre that isn't trendy... or you're a really bad salesperson), then you'll feel more confident.

As a final word: remember that publishing houses want quick money coming in. If you have an unconventional work - no matter how genius it may be - they'll set you aside as too risky to invest in. It's all in the marketing.

Good luck and stand strong.

Original score: 4