How to Own Your Writing – And Not Feel an Ounce of Guilt

As I have stated in the December IWA Blog, developing and designing fictional tales takes patience, preparation, and perseverance—along with mixing wild imagination with fascinating storytelling. The joy of creating new materials demands hard work and is self-evident.
 
Once publishing a work, the writer will experience the unexpected. That element is having the confidence in believing that the finished product is worthy of critical review, promotion, and selling. In other words, sometimes it is easier “to sell” someone else’s product than your own. Through self-reflection and the sharing of others, I would suggest that three factors may guide the author as they seek to expose their fiction books to the world of readers.

Owning the Writing:
Although simplistic and a “given,” what you write comes from you—your ideas, your mind, your heart, and your experiences. As the author creates the story, excellent writing skills and imagination are coming from a perspective that no one else likely has. So the uniqueness of your work is real and evident. Now the questions becomes: Can the product interest readers to become a part of your creation?
 
Believing in Its Worth:
What one has created means something and has importance. As the author, you must believe in what you have produced and realize that it is worthy for others to know and own for themselves. Can the readers appreciate what you have created? Can they enter into worlds and experiences which you have designed?
 
Enthusiasm for Your Work:
Owning your writing and believing in its worth is critical. But the next step is to promote that which you have created with enthusiasm. Taking pride in your product is not necessarily an “ego thing,” but is the driving force that facilitates marketing your literary work. A common factor is that sometimes it is easier to promote anything else but our own material. Why is this? First, most of us are conscious of the fact that conceit is a negative and thus self-promotion is a negative. Yet, if we designed a new car, created a delicious meal, or planned a magnificent event, we would likely take ownership in the promotion. So why should writers shy away from being proud and excited about our own writing?
 
To follow the author’s path takes courage, steadfastness, focus, and confidence in the process and product. Sometimes we stride only to look down at the path once we are well on our way. Plan you work and work the plan. Start out with a resolve to learn as much as you can from the writing process and authorship. Network with others with the same passion. Then follow a dream that no one else can experience—for it is yours alone to share with eager readers!

C. D. Koehler, Author
So Many Secrets: The Series
www.somanysecretsseries.com
​Having been a school administrator for most of his professional career, Koehler didn’t start writing seriously until encouraged by his oldest daughter in 1996. Since then, Koehler began writing science fiction stories and later authored a fantasy/adventure series for middle school/young adult readers titled So Many Secrets, where the main characters or “Jersey girls” (Nina & Piper) are patterned after his daughters. Since then, he has written 6 more books in the series. Currently, he lives with his wife in Northeast Ohio and has two daughters.