Writing Questions Answered

Afraid of Openly Sharing Writing

One of the great things about fan-fiction is it’s almost always shared under screen names and read by total strangers. If someone doesn’t like what you write, it still hurts, but the anonymity makes it easier to bear because you don’t feel completely exposed.

But sharing original fiction, especially with the intent of eventual publication, means being more open about who you are. You will probably share your work with alpha readers, a critique partner, beta readers, agents, editors, publishing teams… it can feel like a lot.

Many people start out sharing their original work with trusted friends and family members, but even that can be daunting–for a variety of reasons.

One of the first things you may want to do if you’re feeling afraid of sharing your work, is try to pin down your specific fear/s. Are you afraid people…

• will think your writing is bad?
• won’t like your writing style?
• won’t get your story/characters?
• will judge you for what you write about?
• will think less of you for writing at all or what you write about?
• will blab about your writing to others?
• will steal your ideas?
• will make you feel tied to a project if you decide not to complete it later?

These are just some possibilities, but if one or more of these sounds familiar, it can help to reason out why you feel the way you do. I address several writing related fears in my Motivation post master list, so it’s worth seeing if anything there can help with any specific fears.

And another important thing to remember is that you’re not obligated to share your writing with anyone you know personally. Yes, once your book is published and out there, you can’t help it if they buy a copy and read it–and they might–but by then you probably won’t be as worried about it. It’s entirely possible to get through the process of sharing with alpha/beta readers, critique partners, etc., without ever having to share with someone you know personally.

Fiction Sharing Tip: Start Small

If you do decide you want to share your writing with someone you know, one of the best things you can do is start small. And, honestly, this is still good advice even if you’re sharing with an alpha/beta reader or critique partner you don’t know in “the real world.” Try giving the person just the first couple pages and see how it goes. It’s just enough that you should be able to gauge their reaction to see what they might think if they read further. If you’re happy with their reaction, you can send the rest of the chapter. If you’re happy with their reaction to chapter one, you should feel encouraged to share a few more chapters, and so on. By going a little bit at a time, you can build up your confidence. You can even start smaller and just share the opening sentence or paragraph. Whatever works for you!

At the end of the day, if you want to be a published writer, the fear of sharing your work with others is just something you have to get over. Like so much in life, it can be one of those things where you just have to rip-off the “band-aid” and bite your way through the resulting pain. Like all hard things we have to do in life, it does get easier with practice. Eventually you’ll get to a point where you can share your writing without feeling paralyzed with fear.

Best of luck to you! <3

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Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check through my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)