You can be forgiven for thinking that writing a book is all about the craft: how to write compelling characters, or how to structure a mystery novel, what to leave out when writing your memoir, or how to handle backstory, or how to curate a collection of stories or poems so it hangs together well as a whole.

Of course, these are elements of writing a book. But truth be told, they are not what gets in the way of most writers.

For a lot of writers, the story of writing a book goes like this…

• Have brilliant idea for a book.
• Get excited about the book and start writing.
• Write about a third or perhaps half of the book just by riding that wave of excitement.

Then...start to worry. 

• Worry about the middle. ⁉
• Worry about the ending. ⁉
• Worry about the language. ⁉
• Worry about the structure. ⁉
• Worry about how to make the book GREAT. ⁉
• Worry about finding an agent.  [Note: book still not yet finished!] ⁉
• Worry about finding a publisher. ⁉
• Worry about people reading it. ⁉
...

Fear of failure personified: your very own sad Frankenstein. (Photo by Ashkan Forouza)

Because facing failure is such an important issue for writers, I wanted to share some thoughts on the topic here on the blog for you.

Take a deep breath...and let’s dive in!

Facing Failure: Some Ways Writers Fail

• They fail to get stories or poems published.
• Then the writer has some stories or poems published, but their book is rejected.
• Then the book is published, but the critics hate it.
• The critics hate it, but readers love it.
• Most readers love it, but a few really hate it.
• The book is nominated for an award, but doesn’t win.
• The book is nominated for multiple awards, but still doesn’t win.
• The book wins, but some people still hate it and most people don’t read it.
• The book wins, but the author still knows all the ways it has failed.
• The book ends up in the “Sale” bin and then returned to the publisher.
• Then the author writes the next book, which is always...