I’ve been thinking about the phrase “fake it ’til you make it” a lot — not because I particularly like it, but because it’s misleading. As writers, we’re told that as long as we act like the successful writers we want to be — until we become successful writers — we’ll be fine.
But what if we never “make it” — or, more optimistically, what if “making it” still doesn’t lead us to believe we’re deserving of our success?
Imposter Syndrome Aside
I don’t particularly love the general meaning Imposter Syndrome has taken on in writing discussions (though I do understand that language and meaning shift over time). In order to have it, you, by definition, have to experience self-doubt despite proven high performance and success. It’s not a term anyone can use in place of not believing you can do something you haven’t done yet. That’s still totally valid — and I’ll write more on that below.
However, this all doesn’t mean feeling like you’re faking it — even when you’re not — isn’t a real thing people experience. I always think of Viola Davis standing on the Academy Awards stage, accepting her award, holding her Oscar, and still questioning whether or not she deserved it (she did). This is why “fake it ’til you make it” doesn’t always work in practice. You could have all the success in the world and you still might have to put a ton of time and energy into acting like you deserve praise even when you don’t totally believe you’ve earned it.
Which is why mastering the art of “faking it forever” will serve you well not just until you find the success you’re after, but long after you’ve “made it.”
Why Writers Don’t Believe They Can
Put simply, it’s a completely normal human experience to not believe in yourself. Some operate with more confidence than others — internally and externally — but it’s OK to wonder if you have what it takes to succeed in writing. Most of us question our capability and worth more often than we’re willing to admit. This goes for anything, but artists often seem to experience it the most. Why is that?
It really comes down to how we measure success. In the corporate world, for example, defining your “I’ve made it” success is a little easier. You’ve been promoted as far as you wanted to go, you’re making a certain amount of money, or you’re working with the companies or people you’ve always wanted to.
Success is harder to define for artists — both for artists themselves and those who follow them. As a writer, what success means to you may not be what success means to someone else. You might define “making it” as publishing your first novel. Someone else might not feel satisfied until they’ve won a major recognizable award. Not to mention the goalposts very often change — again, as you move them or others move them in front of you. What success means to you today may not align with how you define it five years from now.
So it makes complete sense that most writers don’t see themselves succeeding. Success is different for pretty much every writer. How are you supposed to know you’ve “made it” when there are so many different paths and milestones for success in the writing world?
We’re All Just Faking It
While it may seem, externally, like the most successful writers out there are all confident and truly believe in the value of their success, it’s not a stretch to say that most of them probably still struggle to voice their own worth despite proving they’ve earned their praise. People are drawn to confidence, so for most of us, learning to play the role of someone who owns their success is part of the game — even a marketing strategy, if you will.
It’s OK to fake it — not just until you have what you want, but forever. The reality is, you don’t know if you’ll ever succeed as a writer the way you’ve always dreamed of. I used to dream of publishing a novel; I’ve accepted that this may never happen for me. But I’ve changed the way I define success for myself. I’ve set new goals. I’ve followed a different path. Even when you haven’t reached the goals you want to reach, believing you can do it and that you deserve it — or telling yourself you do — could end up being your best motivator, your most sure step forward.
Writing — as a profession, as a hobby — is not easy. Anyone who says it is is lying, and you can have fun doing something even when it’s hard work. If you’re lucky enough, you will find people who believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself. But even if you do get that lucky, you still have to convince yourself you are deserving of success. No one else will believe it if you don’t. You don’t always have to truly believe you can do it — but you still have to, as much as you can, act like it’s possible. For many of us, it will be. As long as we never give up.
Meg Dowell is the creator of Brain Rush, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words, and Not a Book Hoarder, celebrating books of all kinds. She is an editor, writer, book reviewer, podcaster, and photographer passionate about stories and how they get made. Learn more
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