Today, I am talking about self-doubt. We all face it from time to time and it isn't fun.
Take my recent battle for instance; I have two completed, polished manuscripts. They have both been critiqued, revised, and refined. Manuscripts have been formatted, proofread, and polished.
My main characters are identifiable. They are faced with conflicts and challenges.
They have agency over their stories and show growth at the end. The stories though fiction, contain non-fiction STEM elements. They also both include non-fiction back-matter. There is even humor and twist endings!
So why am I so hesitant about sending these stories out? Because I’m afraid of rejections and what it will mean. It will mean that even though I checked all the boxes, submitted what I believe to be strong stories, they still wouldn’t be good enough.
Today one of the persons I’m following on Twitter, announced that she is now open for submissions. Her MSWL (Manuscript Wish List) seems to be a perfect fit.
As I was plagued with all the reasons why I shouldn’t query, I took a step back. I realized I won’t get anywhere in my publishing journey if I don’t take a risk. What good is it to wonder what if? To have perfectly polished stories tucked away in a drawer or on your laptop, never taking a chance.
I read this agent’s bio. She was very much like me, a PB writer who went through her ups and downs to come out better and stronger in the end. So, I drafted my query and clicked “send”. Whatever the response, I already have a small victory…..I faced my self-doubt head-on and triumphed....besides I'm too busy for self-doubt, I have to get ready for #PBPitch on Thursday.