Ink and Angst: The Top 3 Hurdles Every Writer Must Clear

Art created in Leonardo.ai by Regina Paul

I really love to write, there is nothing more satisfying to me than typing "The End" when I've finished a novel, or the word "Conclusion" when I've finally got the end of an article. I write both fiction and non-fiction, this is one way that I find balance with my writing and how I give myself breaks in between working on a novel and completing articles for clients or for my own blogs. 

However, there are three things that I think are hurdles that every writer has to contend with. It doesn't really matter what type of writing you do. Anytime you put yourself out there into the public, these hurdles become very easy to spot, and even more difficult at times to deal with.

1. Self-Doubt. This is one of the biggest hurdles I think that writers have to overcome. The idea that maybe you're not the best writer, or that people won't like what you write can be a real stumbling block to overcome. It can be very easy to fall down the rabbit hole of self-doubt and just stop writing all together if you're not a very strong person emotionally. 

2. Maintaining Discipline. This is another big one for writers because if you're not disciplined with your writing, meaning you adhere to a writing schedule of some kind, then it can be very easy to lose your followers. With the trend towards writing fast and authors in this race of trying to publish at least a book a month, your readers can easily move on to writers that are pumping out books faster than you are. 

3. Building an Audience. I think building an audience is definitely one of the more difficult parts of being a writer. Even if you're with a traditional publisher, they still require you to market your book, and in order to do this you almost have to have some kind of audience. If you don't, then you run the risk of not being able to get a second contract with that publisher. That's not to say that it's impossible to sell books with out an audience, but it's certainly harder. 

So, if you're thinking about being a published author or really any kind of writer, it behooves you to figure out how you're going to solve these three things ahead of time so you can be as successful as possible.