Writing is not for the faint-hearted
As it's Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK I thought I’d write about some of the mental health challenges a writer faces.
The criticism
Being a writer is a profession that leaves you wide open to critics from all walks of life and backgrounds. You may think you’ve written the best thing ever, but be assured that someone somewhere will think its terrible and will most likely relish the chance of putting the boot in.
I’ve received this treatment in both my working career as a content creator and as an Indie author. Sometimes there is just no pleasing people. A lot of the time, the criticism is constructive (no-one is perfect especially me!) but sometimes, just sometimes you encounter people that simply defy all logic and reason.
I’ve had people complain about a piece of content I’ve written, but not give any reason whatsoever as to why they disliked it and then I’ve had it where an article I’ve drafted is literally waved in front of my face and been told its crap. Writing is not for the faint-hearted, and it’s a bloody tough profession to succeed in.
Putting yourself out there is a massive challenge in itself and when you’ve poured your heart and soul into a book or piece of writing, negative feedback can be terrible for your mental health.
So many Indie authors experience the annoyance of obtuse or downright nasty negative reviews on the likes of Amazon. I’ve had some that have said I’m the worst writer ever, others that they simply hated the book and that’s that.
When I was still fresh to self-publishing, each of those reviews stung, and I was personally offended by them (so much so that I even replied to a few). Now though, I simply shrug my shoulders and say to myself ‘Each to their own, you cannot please everyone’. As tempting as it is, as upset as you may become, do not respond to negative reviews.
Now don’t get me wrong, don’t just ignore the comments of bad reviews, if they’re genuinely critical then take on board what they have to say. For example, I’ve had a 2-star review that outlined things that I could improve upon, and I am genuinely grateful to that person for writing it as they were correct to highlight things that could and were improved in later titles.
Avoiding the Trolls
Some reviews, however, are just nasty for the sake of it, and it seems some people simply get a kick out of abusing indie authors. My favourite one has to be a 1-star review from a guy or gal who named themselves The Hater. This sad human being trawls through Indie books on Amazon and just 1-stars them all for no good reason.
There’s a great thread on Goodreads about 1-star reviews that you can check out here
Which brings me to the fact that as an Indie writer you WILL encounter plenty of crazy individuals. I guess as writing falls into the same category of the arts this is to be expected. It draws out all manner of eccentric personalities, (hell, just check out some of the writer’s groups on Facebook for proof of that!)
At the end of the day if we want to succeed at this we all need to develop a thick skin (easier said then done). If things are getting too much, that you can feel yourself getting depressed just put down the pen or walk away from the laptop for a bit. If your mental health is in a bad spot then that will show in your writing, it might even make you resent the thing you’ve worked so hard to create.
The Pressures
There are plenty of other pressures that indie authors face aside from the above. Seeing other authors banging out book after book when you’re struggling to release just one book can also affect your motivation.
You need to remember it’s not a race. That we all work to our own speed as and when our lives allow. To many indie authors, writing is a secondary job that unfortunately doesn’t pay enough to pack in the day job.
Don’t get down when you see others succeed. Instead be pleased for them and who knows, maybe when you do get to the point where you can release your book, others in the community will assist you to market it.
Of course, there’s the flip side of that. I’ve written about online writing communities before and how they can be immensely toxic places. If you don’t toe the clique line you can find yourself an outcast, shunned from the community. Which is not good for your mental health. The best solution is to avoid such places, find your tribe.
We at EPIC can be that for you. Our goal is to support, encourage and be a place where everyone has a voice.
Other pressures that don’t get discussed about often enough are the mental strains we face when trying to hit a tight deadline or when the dreaded writer’s block strikes. We all suffer from it and even the most well established authors struggle with it. Being a mostly solitary profession means that we keep these pressures internalised and I know for sure that is not a healthy thing to do. It can make you irritable, harm relationships and generally wreck your mental health.
Learn from every piece of genuine criticism and support. Ignore the bullshit (there’s a lot of that out there). If you ever need to talk reach out to the EPIC community, we have authors and readers from all over the world who know what you’re going through. If you want to vent, then vent!
We suffer through the bad times and the negativity because we are writers and it’s what we love to do. Never let the bastards grind you down, keep going, and one day you might just succeed. I’m trying to do just that.
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