How to Keep Writing When Self-Doubt Comes
“Instead of writing the perfect book that stands the test of time, you write the best book that you can, that you have in you, and put it forward.” —Mara Glatzel
Early in Mara Glatzel’s career, she worked as a therapist and had some interest in coaching, but she was feeling burnt out. At that time, burnout was more of a badge of honor, and there weren’t many conversations about self-care for mental health professionals. But she did enjoy writing her successful body-image blog on the side, which led her to learn more about becoming an entrepreneur. Building her own business helped her do what she loved and changed every aspect of her life.
In this episode of “Authors Who Lead,” I talk with Mara about her journey building her business and how she overcame self-doubt to write her book, Needy: How to Advocate for Your Needs and Claim Your Sovereignty.
Mentors
Mara’s early mentors were her parents, who were active creatives in their community. She learned how to share her voice, how to gain skills necessary for her business, and that creativity is not a solo sport—it is easier to do it alongside others. This helped her when she started writing her book. She tells us in this podcast that “finding as many ways to be in good company as possible made it infinitely easier for me to work on the content of this book.”
Perfectionism
“I had been trying to write this book for quite some time,” says Mara. She had trouble writing it because of self-doubt, which was triggered by perfectionism. Many of us writers experience this type of resistance: we think there must be the right time, financial situation, or working space to write our books. We think if we have a whole month sequestered away in a log cabin we’ll finally get our book done. But this is perfectionism talking. Mara tells people “the same thing that I say to people when they ask if there’s a right time to have a kid: there is no good time to write a book. There really isn’t.”
When the country shut down due to COVID-19, Mara said it was the worst possible time for her to write her book. She had a nine-month-old baby and a three-year-old at home with no daycare. But she thought to herself that she would be “very pissed” if she died without ever having written her book. So she gathered a community around her and started writing.
In this podcast, Mara also shares with us:
- That being vulnerable can help others
- The biggest resistance to writing your book is actually within you
- How finding a writing community can help you write your book
- How a writing coach can help you
- That your writing gets better with time
- How she published traditionally, even though she craved control over the process
- That there is more to marketing a book than checking steps off a checklist
- Prioritizing your happiness and joy in a book launch is the most important thing to do
- Other ways to make money other than book sales
What was your biggest takeaway from this episode? What are your biggest blocks to writing your book? Share in the comments below!
That’s all for this week. If you have a message inside of you that needs to be written, today is the day to start. Don’t delay—take action.
Episode Resource:
Connect with Mara here:
Instagram
Get a copy of Mara’s book here:
Needy: How to Advocate for Your Needs and Claim Your Sovereignty
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