Coping with the Overwhelm - by Liz Carter

Do you ever get that feeling where you wish writing could simply be about writing?

For most writers, especially in these times, writing seems to come with so much more attached to it. Writing a book, it seems, is the easy part. Then comes all the other stuff: editing; querying if going the traditional route; formatting, designing and uploading if self-publishing; then the word that sends sparks of dread flying at us - marketing. 

Whether self publishing or traditionally publishing, usually authors must take an active and innovative role in marketing in order to be 'seen'. And there is so much information out there, so many voices shouting from every corner about how to do it, and what we should all be doing, and how we should all be trying harder. Acronyms like ARC, KDP, KU, POD, ASIN, ISBN, EPUB, PDF, SEO, and words and phrases like keywords, blurbs, hybrid, synopsis, advertising, reels, BookBub, NetGalley and so on get thrown around every author space on the internet until the individual author feels like they are drowning under the weight of them and can't take any more.

They have reached the Overwhelm stage.

I might add that I have reached this stage several times and, in fact, am there at this moment, hence I might be writing this post as much to myself as to other authors! My first novel is out next month, and I am overwhelmed with the amount I am told I must do for it to gain any kind of traction at all. I must organise book launches and get out there to sell. I must organise a comprehensive advanced reader strategy and blog tour. I must master amazon and Facebook ads. I must learn how to use TikTok's algorithm and get better at Instagram. I must. I must. I must.

(I must collapse on the floor.)

I wonder if this resonates with any of you. It seems to me that there is always a massive push to succeed, to always be 'doing' in order to get our books out there. In many ways it makes sense - books are really hard to market if you don't have a Big Five publisher behind you. Thousands of books are released every day and it's so difficult to get seen - like the proverbial needle in the haystack, really - so it's no wonder that there's all this advice out there. These things are good things to do when we are able - I'm certainly not questioning that.

But I do want to recognise the toll it can all take, and I also want to admit that it is okay to draw back from it all and allow the simplicity of writing to be a great joy once again. The other day I was stressing about all this stuff and my husband said to me, "Do you love writing?" Yes, of course I do, I told him, and he advised me that all the other stuff is frippery, that writing for the love of it is the most important thing and if anything else comes of that writing then that is all a bonus. I think he's right - for me, anyway, right now. I'd allowed the Overwhelm to become too heavy upon me and begin to affect my mental health in negative ways. I'd already launched a book this year, and that had been really tough on me in the midst of a really difficult time for me healthwise, so I began to realise that it's actually okay to step back for a bit and breathe. 

It's actually okay to step back for a bit and breathe.

 

They always say comparison is the thief of joy, and they're so right. All of these things can play into a big game of comparison and trying to do as much as or more than other authors, and sometimes this just leads to a great big downward spiral. Because the truth is that God has given us this gift to enjoy, to glorify him and to create. So when creating gets drowned by doing, it's so easy to lose that sense of excitement, that love of the craft we are imbued with. I don't want to lose that. Instead, I want to lose myself in the art of it all, to sing in my soul in delight at words that pour out and coat the page with sheer joy. I want to rise on eagles wings once again as I join with God in wonder at how words can express such great big truths and joys and sorrows and the love that is at the centre of it all.

So today I'm fighting back against the Overwhelm. Not by going through my to do list and ticking off all the things, but by making an active decision to remember what this is all about, and to know my value doesn't lie in how much I do or how successful my books are, but in who I am as a child of God. 

I hope that you, too, find moments today to remember the heart of writing and to celebrate it. Remember that your worth doesn't lie in success, but in being who you are created to be. Maybe it's time to put down the to do list and shove away the Overwhelm for a while to enjoy what you do once again.

Liz Carter is an award-winning author, poet and editor from Shropshire. She loves to write about the difficult and painful times in life, and how we can find gold in the mess. Her debut novel, a YA thriller, Repression Ground, is out November 23rd with Resolute Books and is now available to pre-order for Kindle. Her new non-fiction book with The Good Book Company, Valuable, was published in June. Her other books Catching Contentment and Treasure in Dark Places are available in online bookstores. She works freelance to proofread, format and design books.

You can find her at www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk