How to Build Your Confidence as a Writer

As a writer, confidence is one of the most important traits you can have. Confidence gives writers the ability to feel safe in telling their stories, to trust in their skills and knowledge, and to speak about their writing with the world in order to promote their books.

While some people seem to be born with plenty of confidence, others take some time to develop the self-assurance they need to share their creativity with the world. Regardless of where you fall on this scale, confidence is something you can begin building now.

Here are 7 ways you can build your confidence as a writer:

1. Self-Hypnosis for Confidence – Hypnosis can reprogram your mind for confidence by retraining the way you speak to and about yourself, by releasing limiting beliefs, and by increasing positive expectations.

2. Affirmations – Similar to how confidence can be instilled through hypnosis, affirmations retrain your self-talk, keep you focused on your desired outcomes, and they keep you aware of your thoughts so you can see when doubt and fear are speaking louder than confidence and self-assurance. 

3. Reevaluate your idea of what constitutes good writing – Many people believe that because they do not have impeccable grammar or spelling, they cannot be good writers. Fortunately, grammar and spelling can easily be changed, corrected, and improved. What is most important it your ability to tell a compelling story and share your unique message.

4. Share your writing with others – One of the most effective ways to improve your writing is to get feedback on it. In order to get feedback, you have to be willing to share your writing with others. If you keep it locked away in your google docs without anyone else ever laying eyes on it, you are denying yourself positive feedback and praise as well as constructive criticism that will help you become a better writer.

5. Develop your intuition – If you want to trust yourself more, which is confidence at its core, developing your intuition is a must. When you strengthen this inner knowing, you learn to rely on your instincts as a writer more than research or outside opinions. This builds confidence in your writing and your message that is more solid because it comes from within.

6. Work with a writing coach – While developing your intuition builds confidence in your writing from within, working with a writing coach will help you learn the skills you may not have on your own. Will they sit down and teach you proper grammar and spelling? No, they are no elementary school teachers. But they will teach you how to structure your story, how to make your writing more compelling, and how to make it as clear as possible for your readers. 

7. Get yourself published! This may seem like an obvious one. You may be thinking, “don’t you need the confidence so you CAN get published?” and the answer is yes. BUT there are many smaller ways you can get published on your way to publishing your book that will give you a huge confidence boost and some added credibility as a writer. Apply to be a guest blogger with a much larger platform. Submit articles to a publication in your niche. Participate in a collaborative book. When I became published as a contributing author in a collaborative book, it gave me a huge boost in confidence as a writer and in motivation to complete my own book. Now, I’m working on publishing my own collaborative book on the bridge between creativity and spirituality. If you’d like to be a featured author, click here to learn more and apply.

When you build your confidence as a writer, you will finally allow your writing to improve and your career as an author to begin. Confidence allows you to embrace opportunities that arise with enthusiasm and courage. You may even begin to create your own opportunities.