Coping with Beginner’s Anxiety: Resources for New Authors

I’m an anxious person by nature. Whether it’s venturing into crowded public spaces, exercising in front of others at the gym, enduring new social situations (work conferences are my worst nightmare), traveling by air, or simply finding a parking spot when my wife and I are out shopping- I am riddled with anxiety. It’s a hoot.

Writing a novel- and going through the work of launching your author career by publishing the damn thing- is absolutely no exception. I finished that final chapter, stared blankly at my finished manuscript, and thought:  OH GOD. NOW WHAT?

My palms sweat. My skin crawled. The clench of my jaw spurring a dull, throbbing headache as my heart rate spiked. Anxiety. Sure, I was happy that my novel, after five arduous years, was finally complete- but I was afraid! My thoughts raced out of control.

What am I going to do from here?

Is anyone going to even want to read this?

What if this falls flat and all of this was for nothing?

Which brings me to my first step:

1. MAINTAIN SELF-AWARENESS

Firstly, let me just say that I am not a mental health professional and anything I say here is merely advice based on my own experience. I recommend and strongly encourage seeking professional help for any mental health concerns you may have.

With that said- You have to know yourself! Maintaining self-awareness gives you the clarity to recognize when you get sucked into self-destructive patterns of behavior and thinking. Recognizing these red flags can help you catch yourself early in that downward, anxious spiral and helps you practice self-care to hopefully prevent any further escalation. This step is hard, believe me.

Two of my favorite coping mechanisms are breathing and sensory exercises. Set a timer for a minute and inhale deep for four seconds, hold for two seconds, and exhale for another four seconds. Repeat as necessary to bring down your heart rate and calm your nerves. Next, use the one-minute timer to sit focus on your senses: What can you hear? Do you smell anything around you? What is the texture of your shirt or the floor beneath you? Focus on those senses and details only. Get lost in them. These two methods do wonders to break me out of my anxiety-driven spirals.

There are also plenty of free apps out there that help with meditation and breathing exercises specifically for anxiety. My personal go-to apps are Calm and Stop, Breathe, and Think.

Now that you’ve broken out of that negative thought-loop, onward to step two:

2. DO. YOUR. RESEARCH.

If you’re anything like me, you’re comforted by doing research. Why? Because how can you possibly know how to progress forward without knowing what paths are even available to you? Don’t get me wrong, this process can certainly become overwhelming (repeat step 1 as needed), but it is extremely important. Here are just a few items that you as a new author need to consider:

• Will you only self-edit or will you also hire an editor?

• Will you seek out beta readers for your manuscript?

• Will you try traditional publishing or will you self-publish?

• If you want to go traditional, where and how can you contact a literary agent?

• If you want to self-publish, what platforms/services are available?

• If you’re seeking self-publishing, how will you design your book cover? Will you design it yourself or hire someone?

As you’re going through each of these questions, you have to keep a few things in mind:

• What are your goals in publishing and becoming an author?

• Do you want your writing to become a full-time commitment or is this a secondary endeavor alongside your main professional career?

• Who is your targeted audience? What platforms do they prefer when digesting media?

(Did I mention that this can be overwhelming?)

This is by no means the entire exhaustive list of questions or details to consider. This is merely launching pad that will most definitely manifest new questions and considerations for you to research. And yes, it can take a lot of time! But it is time well spent when, after sifting through the myriad of information with a fine-tooth comb, you emerge with a greater understanding of what direction you want to go (instead of you meandering down one murky path to only get lost and have to run back to start over again. Or worse, give up entirely!).

When you know what direction you want to take, you know how to take appropriate action. Which brings me to step three:

3. BE PATIENT AND FOCUS ON WHAT IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL.

You’ve made important decisions! Great! … Now what?

Now you must start putting all that research into action. This will vary greatly from author to author based on their own individual journeys. Since I have chosen to self-publish my first novel, these are the main actionable items I tackled after doing my due diligence:

1.       Hired a professional editor to tear my manuscript apart.

2.       Created an author website for myself (hello, welcome, you’re on it).

3.       Created a Patreon (and no, I still have no idea what I’m doing with that)

4.       Identified which self-publishing platforms to publish my novel once it’s completed.

5.       Created a list of possible designers for my novel’s cover art and interior design once the manuscript is complete.

Here is the thing about this step: You have to be patient and manage your expectations!

Editing a novel takes time. Constructing a well-thought out website takes time. Figuring out the finer details of how to manage newsletters, blogs, self-publishing platforms, and collaborating with other professionals takes time. I know you’re eager to throw your work of art into the world, to bear your soul and share this labor of love you’ve spent countless time and tears building. But you cannot, and I mean cannot, rush this.

This is one of my favorite mantras, and it holds true for this step:  slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Identify specific steps you can take to inch closer to your stated goals, and list follow-on actions to take once those have completed. This is your map. Trust your map and don’t steer off-course! Just breathe, look at your map, and focus on that single next step.

4. RINSE AND REPEAT.

Here’s the thing:  there is never an end to these steps. Whether its yearly or even by the hour, these processes are a continuous cycle. But I see beauty in that- we are always developing ourselves, refining our goals, finding new information to hone our skills, and learning how to introduce those new concepts into the way we operate.

Here is an example of the course of a SINGLE HOUR this morning:

• I second-guessed my decision to self-publish. Anxiety. “Am I making the right decision? Am I kneecapping my author career before it even begins?”

• I stepped away from my laptop and pet my cat. I practiced calm breathing while focusing on his soft fur and listened to his throaty purr. “Okay. I’m alright again. This is fine.”

• Went back to my laptop and re-evaluated my goals in publishing my novel. I reviewed some of the resources I listed above on the pros and cons of traditional vs. self-publishing. I considered it a bit, and realized that I’d let my anxiety get the better of me. “I still want to self-publish!”

• After I grabbed a cup of coffee, I considered what next steps to take on this venture. The idea struck me to write this post. “I can’t possibly be the only new writer suffering from this kind of anxiety.”  

And here we are! Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

Whenever you begin to feel dismayed, tired, or hopeless, remember why you began writing in the first place. Remember your goals. Remember that feeling of finishing your manuscript (even if it did come with a wave of anxiety).

Keep going. And keep writing, friends. (and when in doubt, find a cat)