Method to Madness: Slaying the dragons of self-doubt

Self doubt is something I’m quite familiar with. Being a writer, I think it’s part of the makeup of many of us. Behind the bravado we share on each page, there is the terrifying need for approval.

“Is the story good?”

“Will people like it?”

“Will they get it?”

“Will they even read it?”

There is plenty of fear. As an indie writer, my decision was to push through, to insist, to drum out the voices of doubt and to commit to my vision.

People ask me how I deal so well with self-doubt.

My reply?

I focus on my work.

That’s it.

That’s the trick.

To always be so busy that I don’t have time to wonder. I push myself hard to produce memorable words and content on facebook, my books, the blog, twitter, google plus, instagram and anywhere I am because I love connecting with people in my own way.

I have two soon-to-be-released poetry collections, a bilingual collection, the sequel to Only Human, a young adult novel and the physical version of the Daydreams because otherwise I give that self-doubt a chance to take hold of me.

I will coordinate book activities and be a part of the Puerto Rico Comic Con for the same reason.

I surf, I read, I play guitar, spend quality time with my wife, love my family and touch base with great friends for the same reason.

I donate to charity, I help people as much as I can, am happy to answer questions from fans, friends and future writers and will gladly interview people and even review the work of others for the same reason as well.

Simply stated: I have too much I want to achieve to give an audience to self-doubt.

I think about low sales, lack of reviews, low engagement, how to get to more people, lack of likes, how to improve SEO, and that I need more time to do what I want to do. I wonder if people enjoy my work, wonder how long before someone gets offended (because eventually somebody always gets offended) and what I’ll say when I talk to an audience.

But instead of being buried under it, I use that fear to drive me because I am more determined than I am afraid.

I do not focus on results.

I focus on my work.

I pour myself into every poem, every story, every book, every post and every song I create.

There is much I will do in my life and I’m not in the mood to wait for the conditions to be right.

I do all of this because I wouldn’t regret not being read, but could never forgive myself if I didn’t do what I was born to do.

So I choose to write.