The Challenge of Compare and Despair

Joanie (bottom) and Chip on a walk in the woods near home.

Until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard the phrase “compare and despair.” But I’ve certainly done my share of comparing myself to others and then despairing about how little I’ve accomplished.

What an awful trap to fall into. It can be hard to pull ourselves out of it.

I try to remind myself that life isn’t a competition. Neither is writing.

Instead, I try to focus on what I need to learn in order to keep making progress. Apparently I had a great deal to learn before I was finally able to write a novel that would land me an agent this year.

One big step that helped me revise that novel and attract my agent was earning my book coach certification from Author Accelerator in 2021. Through that program I learned several useful tools that I use myself and now use with clients, like the Blueprint for a Book workbook.

I also learned more about book marketing and ideal readers. And then something clicked—I corrected a long-held misbelief about writing and the market.

For a long time, I thought good writing was the most important thing. So that’s what I focused on. (I was not born a novelist, but I could make myself into one. I learned to write compelling fiction, and so can you!)

Writing well is important, but so is understanding how your book fits in the marketplace—not as competition with other books—but rather how your book fits into the conversation.

So compare your work to others’ in order to make your work the best it can be. But don’t give into despair.

You have something important to say. That’s why writing keeps nagging at you and won’t leave you alone.

You can do this.