Lorie Langdon is the author of the Disney Villain series, Happily Never After, featuring the legendary villains; Ursula/Vanessa, Gaston, Yzma, Captain Hook, and the Evil Queen. Her short story ANNA and THE KING releases this November in the Frozen anthology, All is Found.

Lorie is also an Amazon best-selling author of YA novels such as; the Doon Series, Gilt Hollow, and Olivia Twist, which was picked up by Target Stores across the nation. When she’s not writing, Lorie is an avid bookstore explorer and enjoys traveling with her husband and two sons.  

People often ask me what I wish I knew before I became a published author. As you can imagine, this is a complicated question. Some of the answers that immediately come to mind are; I wish I had worked on a new book while waiting to get an agent, waiting for the publishing deal, or during any sort of downtime when I still had a flame of creativity burning, so that I always had a new project to pitch. I also wish I had understood how many hats a published author wears, from publicist, social media marketer, salesperson, and public speaker.

But most of all, I wish I had been prepared for the fear.

My first book contract for the DOON series was a four-book deal as the lead title for a new imprint of HarperCollins; Blink YA Books. All my problems were solved! I had made it! The hardest parts were behind me!

Not quite.

Even as my co-author, Carey Corp and I cried and celebrated this miracle deal for debut authors, the fears began to creep in. Impostor syndrome like I’ve never known. And so much more. But I’m a firm believer in arming yourself with the truth. I feel that if I had understood a bit more of the attacks that were coming my way, I could have deflected them instead of being blindsided every single time.

So, let’s face those fears head-on, fellow writers!

Fear #1: FEAR OF REJECTION

Obvious perhaps, but if we do not overcome this fear, we will never share our work with others, or even admit that we are, in fact, writing a book. It took me a while to be able to tell others I was an author. I feared their skepticism or even their laughter. But I found the more I told people who I trusted, the more my confidence grew. And it wasn’t always because those conversations were warm and fuzzy.

A friend once told me that writing was a fun hobby, but if I thought I could make a living at it, I should read the statistics. Was that a punch in the gut? Yes. But after I moved past the rejection in her words, I used them to spur me on to prove I could beat the odds!

Agent or publisher rejections must be viewed the same way. Turn those denials into motivational fuel—if you think I can’t do it, watch me!

Fear #2: FEAR OF FAILURE

This fear can stop you in your tracks if you let it.

The times I’ve come the closest to walking away from writing forever were because I either felt like a failure or feared the possibility that I could fail. On the sixth revision of DOON, book 1 (We were on our second agent, and yes, sixth revision) my agent called me and said that my POV character’s chapters were not strong enough. My writing wasn’t as good as my co-authors. I was holding us back. I had failed.

I cried on my hairdresser’s shoulder, declaring that I wasn’t good enough to be a published author. I called my co-author and quit. She wouldn’t let me. So, I dove into revisions as if my life depended on it and turned Veronica into a living, breathing protagonist that would not only save the kingdom of Doon, but my dreams as well.

Failure does not have to pound us into the ground. If we face it, it becomes an opportunity for our greatest growth.

Fear #3: FEAR OF CRITICISM

This is a big one for new authors. We always think that when a beta reader, friend or critique partner eviscerates our book baby, we will be able to smile and take the criticism in stride. When in reality, we curl up in the fetal position while your book-besties talk you down from the ledge.

But should we? Sure, allow yourself to wallow for a set amount of time. Take a day and eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s while binging Gilmore Girls or taking a long drive and sing at the top of your lungs or cry into your pillow. Then, when that twenty-four hours is up, put on your ‘big-person-pants’ and read over that critique again objectively, allowing yourself to use the points that resonate and make your book stronger.

As an unpublished author, I always thought once my books were on bookstore shelves, my confidence would be invincible! Then Doon received a horribly personal, 1-star review on Goodreads from a troll with so many followers that their comments pushed her F-bomb-laden review to the top of our Goodreads page. It hurt. My writing partner contemplated tracking this reviewer down and confronting her in person with a few dozen eggs and a hundred or so reems of toilet paper.

But when I dug deeper, I found that this reviewer also trashed and gave 1-star to Harry Potter and the Bible!

Always remember whose opinions matter and whose don’t. It should be a short list. Keep their names written on a slip of paper that you carry with you, if needed. If someone blasts their opinion of your work and they are not on that list, do not give them a moment’s power over you.

Fear #4: FEAR OF ATTENTION/SUCCESS

Introverts everywhere understand this fear.

If I publish a book, then I’ll have to do book signings and be the center of attention. I’ll have to do zoom interviews, podcasts, school visits, IG Live, Tiktok videos, travel by myself…speak in front of people!

If I had given into this insecurity, I never would have signed books at New York ComicCon, or taught a writing workshop in Ireland, or spoke at the U.S consulate in China. Or so many other like changing experiences.

No one expects you to be a professional speaker right away. All you have to do is be yourself and share with genuine care and honesty.

Face it now, my friends, if you are privileged to have a readership for your stories, embrace the attention. Repeat after me, “It is an honor that anyone wants to hear about my writing journey. I will not self-sabotage but embrace my success and everything that goes along with it!”

Fear #5: FEAR OF BURNOUT

If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you might have experienced this fear.

New authors may feel this when they reach the hard middle of a book and switch to a bright, shiny new idea, and another and another, until they have a dozen partial stories but no finished manuscripts.

I’ve spoken to multi-published, hugely successful authors who have said they don’t know if they have another book in them. I suffered this after I’d written my fifth book in two years for my Disney Villain’s Happily Never After series. The creative burnout built inside me for months until I feared I might never write again.

Which forced me to examine my future and why I sit at my desk agonizing over plots and characters and research and perfect words. Each author’s why is exquisitely personal.

I write for many reasons. One reason is that I love the creative art of story and have my entire life. But even more than that, I am motivated by having a purpose that is larger than myself; a purpose to shine light in the dark, my words swords that pierce readers hearts and minds and never leave them the same!

This is what keeps me going through rejection and failure and criticism and my dislike of public speaking and dreaded burnout. I always circle back to my why.

What is your why? Share in the comments. If you find the answer to that question, none of your fears stand a chance!

Lorie is giving away one hardcover copy of the 10th anniversary Frozen Anthology, ALL IS FOUND including her short story, Anna and the King! Those who comment will be entered to win. (U.S. only) Receive an additional entry by posting about this blog post on Instagram and tagging Lorie @LorieLangdon_author.