Just Don’t Suck (and Other Lies Writers Tell Themselves)
(Free Post for “Nothing About This Is Safe” — Episode Companion)
You ever look at your first book, first podcast, first comic, and think,
“Maybe I’m just not cut out for this”?
Yeah. Me too.
That thought is poison, my friend.
And the crazy part?
It doesn’t even sound mean when it shows up…it sounds reasonable.
Logical.
Mature, even.
“The market spoke,” you tell yourself. “Nobody wants this.”
Except that’s not truth.
That’s fear, wearing a nice blazer.
This week I sat down with author and editor Lisa Norman (a.k.a. Deleyna Marr) , who said something that hit me square in the chest:
“Most writers judge the rest of their career by the limited success of their first project.”
Oof.
That’s the dagger, right?
Because it’s true.
We pour ourselves into that first creative leap, and when it doesn’t explode on launch, we start packing up our dreams like a band that got booed off stage.
But here’s what Lisa reminded me…the first project isn’t a verdict.
It’s a step.
You don’t step off the block you just built.
You step up to the next one.
The problem is, most of us confuse the quiet for failure.
We look at the silence and think nobody’s out there.
Meanwhile, there are readers who loved what you made…they just never said a word.
(If that’s you, by the way… write a review. Three sentences. Please. Authors live off those the way plants live off sunlight.)
When you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you start to realize:
A career isn’t built on luck, it’s built on persistence.
Skill grows slow.
Audiences grow slower.
But both die the moment you stop showing up.
I said something in the episode that made Lisa roll her eyes at me —
“Nothing will work for you if you suck.”
Now, I meant it. But Lisa pushed back.
Because there are plenty of brilliant creatives out there who don’t suck… and still haven’t seen the success they deserve.
Sometimes the work is great, but the season isn’t ready yet.
Sometimes you’re building muscles for something bigger you can’t see.
And sometimes you just need one small win — one sign that reminds you this is still worth doing.
So here’s my challenge this week:
Go find your small win.
Write a single paragraph that makes you proud.
Finish that short story.
Post that art piece.
Leave a review for someone whose work you admire.
Do one thing that proves you’re still in motion.
Because progress doesn’t start when you “make it.”
It starts when you stop quitting.
It’s called “success in motion.”
Listen to the full conversation with Lisa Norman on Nothing About This Is Safe.
We talk joy, confidence, and why your creative “ugly baby” still deserves to grow up.
Then come back for the paid deep-dive:
👉 “When You Think You Suck (But Don’t): Rewiring the Creative Mind for Confidence.”
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Every writer needs to be reminded of these points!
Go find your small win: I have 10 five-star ratings on my Google listing for my business and I received a lead by phone for an editing project yesterday. That feels great!
Write a single paragraph that makes you proud:
A stone in my boot is the metaphor for my life. How does it feel to walk with a stone in your boot? Slowly. Awkwardly. Painfully. Putting one foot in front of the other. Searching for that spot where you can take your boot off, shake out the stone, put the boot back on, and keep walking. However, there’s another stone in your boot before you know it. And you can do nothing about those stones, except learn how to live with them—without anger. Those stones remind you that you’re alive and experiencing a human existence. It’s over when you can no longer feel the stones in your boots.
Finish that short story: I don’t write short stories often, but you remind me that I could share a couple of them here. 😊 I’m gonna start sharing some of my poetry as well.
Post that art piece: I don’t know if you can call this art, but I suppose some people would. See my post called The Sickest Thing: My Evening with the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow. 😉
Leave a review for someone whose work you admire: I do this all the time. This week, I wrote a five-star book review for The Last Witch by C. J. Cooke, which I posted on my Notes.
I am totally going to reach for that win!
…..but I might need your help later to figure out how to post stuff….I have no idea how to do that lol