The Power of Positivity
Back in May this year I wrote about my nerves and imposter syndrome battles as I entered my novel A Quiet Vengeance in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO) competition. 2023 was even more intense as I also entered Hall of Bones in the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA), so I had two different books in two separate competitions.
Having been a previous SPFBO finalist you’d think that this time round I would be calmer but, somehow, those competition nerves still got to me. It’s like a low-level anxiety condition, where you’re constantly wondering ‘Is today the day?’ Most of the time, it wasn’t. Occasionally, it was.
My goal for SPFBO was to come out with a good review for A Quiet Vengeance and that’s exactly what happened! Competition within my group was extremely fierce, so congratulations to all of those authors who made the semi-finals and especially to Jacquelyn Hagen, author of The Wickwire Watch, who now proceeds into the second stage as the finalist from my group.
My first time entering BBNYA was a great experience, with Hall of Bones making it as far as the semi-finals of that competition. I really like the format of BBNYA, where multiple reviewers look at the entrants collectively. As a semi-finalist, Hall of Bones will receive a mini-spotlight tour later this year, so I’m looking forward to that. For those 15 authors proceeding to the finals stage, good luck!
Both competitions have built a large online community of followers over the years. Being part of this, either as an entrant, reader or reviewer is definitely one of the major pluses of entering these competitions, regardless of what happens. This is another year where I’ve made new connections and found out about books I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, which is a real bonus.
All those positive things are extremely important to hang on to, because writing is a strange business. To a certain extent it’s built upon the premise of constant, low-level rejection or complete indifference by the general public to everything you do. On any given day, it’s guaranteed that somebody is going to prefer someone else’s work to your own. You can’t win every competition you enter, nor will you receive an endless stream of glowing five-star reviews. Whilst it’s wonderful for a book to be named as a finalist or semi-finalist, the more important thing is getting noticed, making those authentic connections within the wider writing, reading and reviewing community and building on them.
The reason why this is vital is you’re not writing for the indifferent majority of people, who will likely never hear of you or your book and, if they do, will almost certainly not care. With millions of titles available it’s important to have a proper sense of perspective on the challenge before embarking upon a career as an author. However, the scale of the task is not insurmountable, and this is where the power of positivity comes into play.
All art, which obviously includes creative writing, is a positive act. You’re producing something new for others to enjoy and appreciate. It may sound trite, but by doing so you’re making the world a better and more interesting place. Whilst not everyone will necessarily be a fan, you’ll soon find there are people out there who like what you do. Hold on to them, because they’re your core fanbase – this is your audience, the people you’re writing for. It may start small, but if you keep going that fanbase will continue to grow. That’s certainly been my experience.
I’ve seen some authors complain the road is long and hard and they often question whether they should continue. Whilst no one should feel under any obligation to do something they don’t enjoy, all the authors I’m friends with write, first and foremost, for the love of the art. Sales are important, don’t get me wrong. They’re a measure of whether or not you’re reaching your audience and connecting with them. However, this seems to build not from a single book but rather from the cumulative impact of each successive title reinforcing your profile, growing your readership and making you a more enticing prospect as an author to the reading public. You’ll find your audience through social media, advertising and of course via competitions like BBNYA and SPFBO.
In the beginning, putting your work out there when no one is reading it is hard. I know, because that was my experience when I started in 2020 and my story is the typical one. A writing career has to be built on a series of positive creative acts and a level of self-belief that, by keeping going, things will start to happen.
This has to be supported by a general commitment to learn, develop and improve your craft as a writer, through taking constructive feedback from reviewers, reading widely and raising the bar on the quality of your output. Readers will become bored if you churn out the same thing over and over. Once you’ve found your audience you need to reward them, improving your storytelling ability to demonstrate you’re a serious long-term prospect, and it’s worth their while investing their time and money in you.
I won’t pretend this is easy. It’s not. But I still enjoy it more than any other career I’ve tried my hand at in the last 30 years. The other aspect of this that’s surprised me is that more or less every time I take a positive step there’s been a spin off benefit I wasn’t expecting. Just by putting yourself out there, other opportunities come your way. Features on blogs and book websites, interviews, podcasts, conferences, collaborations with other authors, the opportunity to contribute stories towards anthologies …
In other words, despite the challenges, there’s a chaotic, unquantifiable power in saying ‘yes’ and doing something positive, rather than holding back. Opportunities rarely seek you out if you’re hiding away.
I wouldn’t say I had much of a plan when I began writing in 2005, and I’m not sure there’s a great deal more of one now in 2023. But I do know that I’ll continue to write the stories clamouring to be told that are currently rattling around inside my head. Oh, and I know for certain that I’ll be entering BBNYA and SPFBO once more in 2024. After all, there’s nothing to lose and you never know where it might lead.
