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Overview
All authors can relate to imposter syndrome. This typically happens to new authors, but everyone seems to experience it at some point.
We have a good discussion on what is imposter syndrome, why you may feel that way, and why it isn’t true.
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Transcript
Let’s talk a little author stuff. Since you are a published author you, this is your first book, correct? It’s, you’re working on your second one. You have ideas for others.
So what are some things you’ve learned from when you first started to what you’re doing now? You’re doing,
[00:16:24] Davia: When I first started, everything was just done so rushed within two weeks and then a month later I published it and everything writing my second, but now giving me that time to like really go in, really edit every single piece.
Make it say what it is that I wanna say and capture what it is that I wanna capture. I think giving spent time is what I’ve really learned in this entire process. Even if one day you can’t write that’s okay. You’re just, you’re giving yourself and your work, the time to be exactly what it is that you want it to be.
Apart from that I’m really learning about like social media marketing. It’s been a long road. I’m slowly getting, [00:17:00] but right. I barely even post on my social media in my personal life. That’s been the major Problems that I’ve been facing this entire time. So I’ve been learning a little bit about like when to post and hashtag fees and all of that, but it’s been a interesting journey.
[00:17:14] Stephen: We were just talking about TikTok and the videos and ideas I get on and update. Author pages and stuff. And then my wife gets irritated if I’m not reading her posts and stuff. yeah. You mentioned your first book you wrote it in two weeks. You, weren’t under pressure to write it.
Do you feel, maybe you wrote it too quick and you’re thinking you should have taken long or do you feel it was just right?
[00:17:38] Davia: I actually feel it was just right. The only reservation or issue that I had with my first book was that. I do feel like it’s too short and I’ve gotten a lot of reviews about that saying that it’s too short.
So I like to classify it as more of a Chatbook than an actual book. But it just, when I wrote that last sentence on that last page I was like, I don’t need to go any further. This is exactly what I wanted to say. But I [00:18:00] hope to make my second book a lot longer. To appease my readers and myself too.
[00:18:07] Stephen: Okay. And how long is the first book?
[00:18:09] Davia: It is 48 pages,
[00:18:11] Stephen: I believe. Okay. How many poems is that?
[00:18:14] Davia: It works out to roughly, I wanna say 22 poems. Okay. And it, I have a preface that explains like the whole book and kinda a little letter to Alex.
[00:18:26] Stephen: Very nice. So your second book’s also poetry once that’s published, you’ll have two separate volumes have you, and this may be way ahead of thoughts for what you may do, but have you thought of combining them into one volume to put out? So people have a choice between individual or the complete volume, making it a little bigger.
[00:18:48] Davia: Actually I have it, but you have some great ideas.
[00:18:55] Stephen: Things that other authors have done. And it’s things that they’ve said, and they’ve [00:19:00] tried and that’s this author part, I like to chat about thoughts, ideas, because other authors listening may go, oh, that is a good idea. And, and just seeing what you may be thinking of to do with these to market them yeah.
Helping other authors out
[00:19:13] Davia: yeah, you definitely helped me out. So I think I really, would wanna do that and it does solve the whole issue of the first foot being so small.
[00:19:19] Stephen: Yeah. And then it gives you that flexibility to experiment with where you’re releasing em, and what the pricing is and things like that.
Yeah. So it’s a thought, I like that.
[00:19:30] Davia: Thank you.
[00:19:32] Stephen: So when you were writing this and what you’re writing now, what software and services do you like to use?
[00:19:38] Davia: I use good old Microsoft word and it’s just, I’ve tried other softwares, but it’s just, it’s not the same for me. So I used to use Microsoft word. I published originally with KBP for Amazon, but I think I may go through a different route this time just to get more distribution.
So I possibly will go. Ingram smart spark. I believe it is. I was looking [00:20:00] into it the other day. I think that’s the next avenue I’m
[00:20:02] Stephen: gonna take. Got it. So how well did you do KDB select? So you’re in Kindle unlimited. Is that what you tried? How well does poetry do in Kindle unlimited?
[00:20:11] Davia: That is, I just think I probably edited a little wrong so don’t like the way it looks through like ebook version, like a hard copy.
I think it’s perfect. But through the E copy version, I think it. I just, I didn’t really like how my book looked which I probably need to get some help for the second time. But as for sales it’s been okay. Like it’s been going through, a lot of people actually. I think I saw more E copies when I do hard cover
[00:20:36] Stephen: books.
Yeah. And that’s probably what most people say anymore. That’s okay. All right. We were gonna talk about imposter syndrome, which I think is a great topic. So let ask, why’d you think of this? Is this something you’ve been dealing with or? Oh, yes. Yeah.
[00:20:57] Davia: It’s I’ve. Been aware of what [00:21:00] syndrome was. And I was like, oh, that’s it. , that’s what I’m feeling.
[00:21:04] Stephen: Got it. So why do you think you, you feel that? I, is it OK, lemme back up? So the typical oh my gosh, I can’t write, nobody’s going to read this. Why am I doing this? Is that the, what you feel? Oh God.
Yes.
[00:21:17] Davia: Even the right now, even now on my second look, I’m like, why am I writing this? No one’s ever gonna read this. This is. But it’s something it says bizarre about like how it is that you can, you have this like big bullying in your head just telling you that you aren’t good enough or anything. And then I look at all these other poets and I’m like, if they can do it, I can do it too.
And then I get all, hyped up. And then the next day I’m like back on the whole imposter syndrome bandwagon. And I’m like, no, I can’t do
[00:21:43] Stephen: this. You just mentioned, you read other poets and helps inspire you. What are some other things you’ve done that have helped you get over this?
[00:21:51] Davia: I’m a huge advocate for therapy and mental illness awareness.
So I go to therapy and we speak my therapist and I speak about it a lot [00:22:00] about Basically feeling my feelings and creating a space for them. Cuz it’s okay to feel like you’re a failure. Like you’re human, you’re not perfect. And that’s my issue. Like I just, I want everything I do and say to be perfect.
And so I’ve been like working with myself and trying to create that space around the whole imposter syndrome, all the up feeling. And then picking myself up and just like telling myself all the facts, I wrote a book, I did it. People like my book I can
[00:22:23] Stephen: do it again. And I think that’s what, similar thing a lot of people do.
And I, I think just listening to what you said on your story, I, if I had to analyze and pop culture therapy for you, that when you wrote the first book, you were very focused on and your feelings and what you were going through, and there wasn’t a thought of. Being an author. Wasn’t a thought of comparison and things like that.
Yeah. So I would bet since your focus was elsewhere that you. It didn’t even really affect you until later. You’re like, oh my gosh, nobody writes a book in two weeks. Oh my gosh, this isn’t the right stuff. [00:23:00] That is exactly what happened. and I can say that because I can relate to that with I’ve written with stuff.
I’m editing something right now for an anthology. And every time I’m in, I’m like reading words and I’m going, oh man, I know everybody else is going to have a better sentence than this one. And they chose better words. And they’re all sitting at their computers probably going, oh my gosh, nobody’s gonna be as bad as mine.
[00:23:22] Davia: So exactly. It’s.
And I didn’t even know about it until I think I was talking to my therapist about it and how I feel like a failure. And she’s have you ever heard of imposter syndrome? And I was like, no, what’s that? And then I Google it. I was like, oh my God, I’m not
[00:23:34] Stephen: alone. It’s enough to have a title.
yeah. So I think what you doing is probably great way to get over it. Have you talked to other authors that have said, oh, I feel that way too.
[00:23:46] Davia: A lot of my friends in Jamaica do write and they aren’t published yet, I’m keep pushing them to go get published. But they all tell me that they feel the same way.
And I did meet a poet. I don’t know if she’s on Instagram or anything. I [00:24:00] met her here in Brunswick. She’s working on her book and she told me that she felt the same way. It’s good to feel like not so alone in it,
[00:24:07] Stephen: right? If it makes you personally feel better, here you are with a published book and you’re on a podcast.
I don’t know if you’ve done other podcasts, that I bet there’s gonna be some friends of yours that listen to this and go, oh my gosh, if Navia can do it, I know I can into it. She inspired me. So that I think, and that does really feel
[00:24:24] Davia: better.
[00:24:25] Stephen: yeah, definitely. I think the networking where we understand other people feel this way, I’ve talked to authors that have 30, 35 books out and oh, wow.
They still hit the same feeling every now and then it’s like, like, oh my gosh I just, this is gonna be the worst book ever. Do you do you listen to any other podcast, like Joanna Penn’s podcast? No, actually I don’t She’s a big author podcaster. Okay. And she’s said how she’s been writing 15, 20 years somewhere like in that rain 15 years, I think and written multiple books.
And she said she still feels that way and [00:25:00] mentioned. Okay. So
[00:25:01] Davia: that makes me feel so much better.
[00:25:03] Stephen: And I think for me, just knowing that other people feel that way. Makes me not feel as bad or at least embrace it. It’s okay, I can feel this way, but I’m not gonna stop writing. I think that’s the, what happens to a lot of people.
[00:25:18] Davia: Yeah. I’m glad I did go through a earlier, like way before I published my first book. I did go through that little period, I think for a year when I did not write it at all, because I had told myself that I wasn’t good enough for anything. And then, but somehow I just always come back to writing.
That’s just, it’s. It’s my defining characteristic. I’m a writer through, and through there you go. And I do like that. I don’t let it control
[00:25:42] Stephen: me anymore. Nice. Yeah. And, like I, I embrace it and I’m like, I know others are feeling this way, so I’m just gonna keep going. And I think that’s the difference is the people that feel that way, but just keep writing and that they get the confidence.
As they go, even if [00:26:00] they feel that way, they know it’s like, if I just finish this book, I’ll feel better. I could exactly another thing that helped me. Have you Stephen King’s book on writing? Have you checked that one out?
I
[00:26:12] Davia: just got it like a few weeks ago. I haven’t read it yet. Cause I’m finishing up this book.
I’m reading now and then I’m gonna read it, Mike. Okay.
[00:26:18] Stephen: It’s an interesting, good book. A lot of people recommend it. But what I love, at least in the version I have in the back appendix, there is a sample of his 1408 story and it shows what he wrote. And then it shows what he got back from the editor and all the stuff crossed out and then marks and moves.
And I’m like, oh man, Stephen King has been doing this for 40 some years. And he get these same types of.
So I, I wonder if anyone else that listens will come up with some ideas, maybe, if anyone listening, make comments, so you know, me and Davia and everybody else [00:27:00] can be, oh, Hey, everybody gets this. Everybody has to deal with it.
[00:27:03] Davia: Oh my God. I can’t wait to read those comments.
[00:27:05] Stephen: Yeah. That, yeah, there you go.
Everybody listening, go comment. Please help us out. so you You are a new author. You’ve got your book out. It’s been out for a while. But you’re working on your second book. You said you’ve got it in KP. You have it in books in Australia. What are some other things you’re doing to help market?
[00:27:23] Davia: Apart from my horrible social media marketing skills. My, I do have a publicist a creative edge, public publicity. My publicist is Mickey and he’s been just amazing. Just I have nothing bad to say about him. He’s gotten me podcasts, the interviews with, and I think that’s really calmed me down in the whole aspect of my, I, I can’t really do the whole social media thing, but I’m trying.
But he’s just been there. He’s been super supportive this entire time and I just. I just wanted to say a big thank you to him.
[00:27:53] Stephen: Nice. And actually Mickey’s gonna be next week or the week after episode that comes out. So yeah, I talked to him about [00:28:00] publicity and I was going to even say in that episode, I’ll say now anybody listening, I haven’t heard a bad thing about Mickey.
All the authors that work with him seems to say they, they love working with him. I talk to him, he’s got, he seems. To do good. So definitely if you’re looking for a publicist, you could do a lot worse than working with Mickey. It sounds like he’s. Does that help your feeling of imposter syndrome when Mickey’s, you’re losing ears?
I do when Mickey gets you a podcast or gets some sort of event or something, put your book, whatever it happens to be. Does that make you feel more an imposter or does it help with the confidence and I’m not the imposter.
[00:28:45] Davia: It helps definitely with my confidence love. And I’m like, oh my God, somebody actually wants to talk to me about my book.
Like really? I got, I’ve gotten interview questions and I’m like do they know who I am? Like, I’m pretty new here. So yeah, that’s definitely helped. And Mickey’s been great throughout it [00:29:00] and very supportive throughout it. Even when he’s not booking things, he’s been very supportive.
I just it’s really helped, calm me down with the whole imposter syndrome.
[00:29:07] Stephen: Great. There’s, something else to help gather people to support you and do things to help you with the book and the promotion, the marketing, whatever it to be.
Now I lost my train of thought. Before we go, and it’s been a great talking with you today, I’m glad we got to get on. We had to reschedule a couple times cuz it’s craziness out in the world. Yeah. But do you have any other advice for new authors? Before we go,
[00:29:32] Davia: I think the greatest advice I’ve ever heard the friend of mine and it said be very, she said be very like patient with yourself.
As patient with yourself as possible. Sometimes you will go two weeks about writing and then write in three days. And it’s just all a part of the process. And you can learn from yourself as you go through it. And I think that’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten.
[00:29:56] Stephen: Nice. I love that. Great. Da it’s been, am I [00:30:00] saying your name or right?
I didn’t even ask. Is it Davia?
[00:30:03] Davia: It’s DVIA but I do realize Americans say Del, so it’s
[00:30:08] Stephen: DVIA, and I apologize, I should have asked no problem. I just didn’t even think about it. And I get a lot of authors from various countries. And a lot of times I’m like, Make sure I’m saying the name, I didn’t even thinking about, I do apologize for that.
No,
[00:30:20] Davia: you’re fine. I’ve gotten so used to it this entire time that I’ve been here. So I
[00:30:25] Stephen: off at least you don’t have to like, go change your name to match what everyone calls you. It’s just the pronunciation. So the spelling’s all the same. so right. Got it right that time. It’s talking to, I appreciate you on, thank you.