A few years ago, I met up with another author who challenged my work. She suggested my (then) 28 years’ experience and (then) 7 books was not enough to write a book helping others write a book and, thus, stripped my confidence.

Of course I told her I felt it was enough and we parted ways. I did discover she had adopted this attitude with others too.

Comfidence takes time to achieve so anyone stripping you of it should be stopped instantly.

Great article btw. ♡

Excellent point A.D! I have only started to feel like a “real writer” when I began to take it seriously, like a part time job. And yes, I’m unpublished. At this moment.

Thank you for the comment, A.D. I agree with what you say about serious writers. They come in many varieties. As for writing groups, I’ve been super lucky with the ones I’ve joined. However, I understand the frustration of a group that doesn’t click. At one point in my post-college life, I took an evening writing class in a continuing ed. program, and the people in the class decided to form a writing group. We met twice, I think, but did it in a restaurant/bar, and it was a large group, and nothing ever really got accomplished. After those two meetings, I didn’t go back, and I sort of forgot about the whole thing until now. I wonder if you could find a good online writing group through SheWrites? There are lots of people on there, writing at many different levels and on different topics. Best of luck. I do think a good group is really, really helpful

Excuse the typos this was typed on my iPhone

That’s one of the best things about writing groups, I think. There’s that delicate balance between encouraging each other but also letting someone know when something isn’t working. And like you say, you, as the writer, don’t need to agree with the comments, but it gives you something to think about. Since one of my writing groups has five members, I’m usually more likely to change something I really like if two or three people say it’s not working. But every case is different. I’m just so thankful for all of them. Thank you for your comment, Linda!

Wow, Julie, I think you’re right on the money with that last point. When you can confidently tell people what you write, then you’re a writer. Perfect.

Congratulations on your writing career as well. And how cool is it that someone in your writing group helped you find a publisher? This is a wonderful story and I wish you much continued success!