I am an Imposter.

By Kait Carson

Imposter syndrome: a psychological condition that is characterized by persistent doubt concerning one’s abilities or accomplishments accompanied by the fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of one’s ongoing success. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Okay, it’s not quite that bad. Just a temporary crisis of conscience. I hope. Or maybe it’s a simple case of underachievement. Hard to know. I have writer friends who produce multiple books in a year. One writes three to four well-written and edited books a quarter. Yes. A quarter. I take at least a year to write one book, and that doesn’t include editing. So, right now, I’m feeling less than writerish. Or am I?

I’ve got the first book in a new series out on submission and am midway through the fourth book in an existing series. Clanging around on my to-do list are the partial rewrites and final edits of a fun new series set in Key West. Not too shabby.

Any writer will tell you that imposter syndrome is a thing. I suspect any creative will tell you the same. When I worked in the legal field, we used to say we were only as good as our last billable hour. It’s similar as a creative, but different. No profession has guarantees, but the creative ones are more tenuous. A creative is always working on spec. The space between submitting a finished work and its acceptance or rejection gives birth to imposter syndrome. It matures with some measure of success when you have to do it all over again. Scary stuff.

Every creative overcomes it in their own way. In the words of Brene Brown, “You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.” When I realize I’m wallowing in imposter syndrome, I do three things. First, I enlist the help of one of the most prolific and successful writers of our time, Stephen King, and re-read his book On Writing. It always gives me energy and perspective. Second, I make a list of what I have accomplished. Third, since we’re talking about writing, I put my butt in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard. Works every time.

What about you? How do you overcome your fear that you just can’t do it again?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award nominated Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies.