Are You a Writing Imposter?

I watched an amazing webinar with Writers on the Move contributor Carolyn Howard-Johnson and her publisher Victor Volkman.

Carolyn is an award-winning author and an expert book marketer, so I listen when she has something to share.

A small part of her talk was about the imposter syndrome. Making it easier to understand, it's more like the 'I'm not good enough' syndrome.

This is something most writers deal with once in a while, me included, so I decided to look into it.

According to Wikipedia, the "imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud."

So, what does this have to do with writers?

Well, once we feel we're not ‘really’ a good writer, we begin to underestimate our ability and our value.

Unfortunately, this syndrome seeps its way into new and even seasoned writers, and it can cause consequences.

The I'm not a good enough writer syndrome, or I'm a fraud, and sooner or later, everyone will know.

Have you ever felt like this?

Once a writer has these feelings, they can fester and grow, stopping her from moving forward. 

Maybe she's been thinking of seeking an agent's representation.

He may have thought of submitting to traditional publishers.

Maybe he's wanted to get articles published in magazines like Writer's Digest, The Writer, or another magazine. 

BUT …

She doesn't think she's good enough, so she doesn't even try.

There's an expression I love: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

You don't have to be the best writer on Earth.

It's not the best writer who succeeds; it's the writer who perseveres. And part of perseverance is to submit your work. 

It's about writing the book you want to write and self-publishing if that's the route you want to go.

It's about submitting your manuscript to agents and publishers.

That said, it is important to make sure you, at the very least, know how to write. 

- Read a lot.

- Read books the agent has represented if that's what you want to do.

- Read books that the publisher has published if that’s your dream.

- Read 'quality' books in the genre you want to write.

- Take the time to learn how to write if you haven't yet. There are excellent online classes that can help you with this.

Another problem is if a writer with this syndrome offers services like editing or ghostwriting. 

If you're offering writing services and don't believe you're qualified enough to provide these services, you're in trouble. 

- The first thing that will happen is you won't charge what you're worth. This thought process can cause a domino effect. 

- Your lower prices will cause some potential clients to believe you're not as good as other services charging more.

- You may let clients tell you how to write. Or, you may not be confident to explain to your client that what he has done or wants to do won't work.

- You'll second-guess almost everything you do.

If you have these feelings, it might be helpful to create a vision board.

Put a few quotes or sayings that will help you believe in yourself. Be sure to keep it where you'll see it every day!

And another good idea is to keep learning your craft.

Learning to write also goes for wannabe authors. Learn about writing by reading books in the genre you want to write in, and then go for it.

Click the link to watch Carolyn's talk - it has lots of book marketing tips: 
https://youtu.be/ykE7ITz6HUk

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

 

 

 

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, working ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach (picture and chapter books). If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/karens-books/

 

 

Writing for Children - 10 Rules

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Ghostwriter, Rewriter

 Before I became a children’s writer, I wrote marketing and health articles. Writing in multiple genres, writing for children can be much more challenging. 

When writing for children, there are guidelines to keep in mind to help your story avoid the editor’s trash pile. And if you’re self-publishing, the children’s writing guidelines help you create an engaging and marketable book.

Here is a list of 10 rules to refer to when writing for young children:

1. Keep it safe.

Be sure your story does not suggest dangerous or inappropriate behavior. Keeping children safe is the most important item on this list.

Example: The protagonist (main character) sneaks out of the house early in the morning while his parents are still sleeping.

This is a no-no!

2. Age-appropriate words, dialogue and action.

-You wouldn’t use the word remote for a first grader. You would use far.  
-A seven-year-old wouldn’t speak like a twelve-year-old. 
-A seven-year-old wouldn’t walk a half mile alone to go to a park or go in a pool without adult supervision. 

3. Age-appropriate problem.

The protagonist should have an age-appropriate problem or dilemma that’s established at the beginning of the story. 

Let the action/conflict rise. Then, have the protagonist, through thought process and problem-solving skills, solve it on his own. If an adult is involved, keep the input and help at a bare minimum.

Kids love action and problem-solving! 

4. Point of view.

The story should have a single point of view (POV). Writing a single POV means that it doesn’t exist if your protagonist can’t see, hear, touch, or feel it.

Example: “Mary crossed her eyes behind Joe’s back.” If Joe is the protagonist, this can’t happen because Joe wouldn’t be able to see it.

5. Sentence structure. 

When writing for young children, keep sentences short; keep adjectives and adverbs to a minimum. And be careful of your punctuation and grammar.

6. Show rather than tell.

Write your story by showing through action and dialogue rather than telling.

You can use your imagination for this one. Picture how the child might behave or react. Will his arms flail? Will he narrow his eyes? Will she cry? Will she run away or stand her ground?

If you can’t seem to find the right words to show a scene, try using dialogue instead; it’s an easy alternative.

7. Write tight.

Don’t say something with ten words if you can do it with five. 

Watch for unnecessary words (adjectives and adverbs). Use strong verbs. And pay special attention to “ly” words.

8. Watch the timeframe for the story. 

Picture books should be kept within several hours to a day or two. On the outside, a week or two. 

A fun story, Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch, has a timespan of five days. 

9. A character arc.

Along with the protagonist’s solution to the conflict, she should grow in some way as a result of the journey.

An example would be if a protagonist starts out unsure and afraid but becomes confident by the end of the story.

10. Use a thesaurus and a book of similes. 

Finding just the right word or simile can make the difference between a good story and a great story.

Summing It Up

Using these techniques will help you create effective children’s stories. Another important tool to use in your writing tool belt is joining a children’s writing critique group. No matter how long you’ve been writing, you can always use another set of eyes. 

If you’re a beginning writer and unpublished, you should join a group with published and unpublished members. Having published and experienced writers in the group will help you hone your craft.


 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, working ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach (picture and chapter books). If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

You can connect with Karen at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karencioffiventrice 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcioffiventrice/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karencioffikidlitghostwriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenCV
 

 

Should Dialogue Be Used For Exposition and Description

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

 I read an interesting article on Nathan Bransford’s site (link below), which discusses the use of dialogue to deliver exposition.

But whether delivering exposition or description, the answer to the title question is no.

Dialogue should be a natural conversation between characters, and it should be specific to the scene. 

Each character will have his own motivation for the back and forth. 

Once you force the conversation to include exposition, description, or backstory, the characters become more like “chatbots” than people.

Here is an example of dialogue and description from Chapter Four of Walking Through Walls:

Captivated by the clouds, Wang walked further into the room. When he noticed the master watching him, Wang stopped in his tracks. He lowered his eyes and bowed. 

“Come forward, young man. What brings you to my temple?” Remaining in a bowed position, Wang stepped forward. “My Honorable Master, my name is Wang. I have come seeking an apprenticeship. I am from a village to the west. It took many days traveling over difficult roads to find you. For years, I have read everything I could about the Eternals and wished for this. Please accept me.”  

The master studied Wang. 

Feeling like an intruder, Wang stood motionless and stared downward. He could not help but notice the spotless floor. It looked like it had never been walked upon. 

After a long silence, the master spoke. “Learning magic is a long hardship, one that you cannot imagine. It takes many years and much sacrifice. I can see in your heart that this will be difficult for you.” 
Wang knelt on the ground, afraid to look up. His eyes darted to and fro, desperate to find the words the master needed to hear to accept him. 

While there’s a bit of backstory in the above excerpt, when Wang blurts out why he’s there, it’s easy to see that Wang is desperate to convince the Master Eternal. It doesn’t feel forced. It’s a natural conversation.

Later in the book, Wang looks through a window and witnesses magical events. The information in this scene is conveyed through description, internal dialogue, and a bit of dialogue in the form of crying out.

Conveying the description as it’s happening brings the reader into the story. It’s engaging. 

But suppose the narrator didn’t describe what was going on when it happened, and later Wang discussed it with a friend. 

To convey the description through dialogue, it might go like this:

Wang: “I saw the most astonishing things tonight. Magical things.”

Friend: “What did you see?” 

Wang would go through a long and drawn-out speech, giving details of what he had seen.

Friend: “What else happened?”

Wang would go on.

Friend: “That’s amazing. Go on, please.”

Wang would go on.

This scenario has the friend asking questions to interrupt Wang’s dialogue, purposely to avoid a super-long uninterrupted block of dialogue. 

There are two no-nos going on here:

1. The friend is feeding Wang the questions specifically to get the information to the readers. It’s forced, and readers will know it.

2. Relaying comprehensive description through dialogue is forced and tedious.

This is why writing dialogue to deliver exposition and comprehensive description should be avoided. 

On the flip side, you wouldn’t want large blocks of description either. This can also be boring and cause the reader to pause.

Keeping the reader engaged should be one of a writer’s top priorities.

As with all things, balance is needed in writing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, working ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach (picture, chapter, and middle-grade books). If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

You can connect with Karen at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karencioffiventrice 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcioffiventrice/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karencioffikidlitghostwriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenCV

 

Why Every Author Needs To Update Their Editing Skills

 

 

Why Every Author Needs to Know Editing

 

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Author of The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing
Now In Its Third Edition

 

Last month I contributed an article “Ten Easy Ways to Keep Dialogue Sharp
to this #WritersontheMove blog with a promise to give authors reasons why
they need to know all the editing skills they can work into their busy writing 
schedule including those for writing dialogue that I covered last week. I hoped to entice
even nonfiction writers who don’t often use dialogue to start using
it. Even newspapers that once

demanded strict "who, how, were, and why leads”
 now include anecdotes in their front-page stories!

 

It surprises people when they learn that grammar rules change over time. Or that what they learned in high school or advanced grammar classes in college is either passé or may not apply to fiction. It also surprises them to learn that a perfectly edited book is never perfect because there are always so many disagreements among experts. And even experts are often misinformed. The worlds of grammar and style choices are filled with myths and misinformation like, “Never use contractions in your writing,” “Never use fragments,” and “Never end a sentence with a preposition.” Further, as my client base grew, I kept running into common misconceptions and outright annoying style choices that would never fly in the publishing world. Thus, a new edition of The Frugal Editor was a must! And, thus, I keep battling decades old misinformation about editing—especially among newer authors. 

 

But what about authors who can proudly point to decades of publishing? Well, sometimes they suffer a little hubris. They think they have done well without worrying about spending time on what they know from high school grammar classes. and therefore already know. So we’ll start off with a smattering of what is new in my The Frugal Editor in its third edition—new in that last few years, in fact! And—if you scroll a bit—you’ll find another list of editing myths you—still believe—yes! You personally—that just happen to still be lying in wait for an occasion to embarrass (humiliate!?) you:

·       The Third Edition of The Frugal Editor has been reorganized, and my publisher Victor Volkman at Modern History Press tells me I outdid myself with about 50% new (helpful!) material including new “Editor’s Extras” based on my own school of hard knocks!

·       Authors will love the all-new sections including:

o    Beta readers and peer reviewers

o    What you probably don’t know about custom dictionaries

o    Up-to-date rules for accommodating gender-specific and other cultural needs

o    A chapter for word-lovers and poets

o    Quickie reviews of word processors for you

o    What even traditionally accepted front and back matter can do for your book sales, your career, and your readers

o    Political Correctness considerations change and grow with each passing day. So, yes! Lots of updating here!

·       The Third Edition of The Frugal Editor still includes the basics that make you into an on-your-own editor when you must be. Few writers other than Stephen King can afford to hire an editor for every query letter, every media release, every media kit, every blog post. So until your career is so star-studded you can afford a publicist and editor on a retainer basis, writers need to know both the basics of editing and the little-known secrets.

·       The third edition is still loaded with reader favorites like what authors need to know about book covers—another aspect of publishing that even experienced authors might leave entirely up to others—but it’s updated!

·       New information will dispel myths like these:

o    Agents are a cantankerous lot. (Nope! In The Frugal Editor, twenty-one of the nation's best tell you their pet peeves and they do it in the best of spirits.)

o    If your English teacher told you something is OK, it is. (No! Language rules have changed since you were a sophomore. Anyway, your English teachers likely have no background in publishing, so apart from basic grammar, how much help can they be?

o    If a manuscript or query is grammar-perfect, you'll be fine. (No! Lots of things that are grammatically correct annoy publishers.)

o    Always use your Spell and Grammar Checker. (No! Some suggest you don't use it at all, but The Frugal Editorwill help you make it your partner instead of your enemy.)

o    It's easy to avoid agent and editor scams by asking other writers. Even other professionals! (The Frugal Editorgives you a to-do and not-to-do lists to help you avoid being taken even when you are doing just that. )

o    Your publisher will assign a top-flight editor. Even big five publishers are having budget problems and many cut expenses by using less experienced/qualified editors. (Maybe, but don't count on it. The more you know, the better partner you’ll be for an editor!)

o    Formatters and editors will take care of the hyphens, ellipses, and all the other grungy little punctuation marks that English teachers avoided teaching because they didn't know how to use them either. (Chances are, you'll catch even great formatters and editors—the ones you pay for their services—in an error or two if you know your stuff!

o    When you do know your stuff, you’ll feel more comfortable defying all kinds of rules that are still extant. You’ll even feel comfortable explaining to your editor why this choice is an improvement for this particular title, voice, time, or era.

 

NOTE: The parts of this article bulleted are reprints (edited and updated) from one of my sell sheets. They are widely used in publishers’ and authors’ review-getting process using query letters, ARCs, and accompanying marketing materials. Find a sample of sell sheets—front, back, and footer—in the Appendix of The Frugal Editor, third edition.

You’ll find the first part of this plea of mine for writers right here on Karen Cioffi’s Writers on the Move
blog in my column on basic dialogue tips posted  in May, 2025.

It will give you ten reasons why knowing more 
editing than your do already might make

you a better (and happier) writer . 

Go to:  
 https://www.writersonthemove.com/2025/05/dialogues-ten-basic-cant-go-wrong-rules.html

 

MORE ABOUT TODAY’S WRITERS ON THE MOVE CONTRIBUTOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson was an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writer's Program for nearly a decade. The first book in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books, The Frugal Book Promoter, won USA Book News' Best Professional Book Award and Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award. The second, The Frugal Editor, is the winningest book in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers (The first edition was named best of 2004 by USA Book News.) TFEIII includes many more editing tips on dialogue—even punctuation for dialogue. Learn more about building a career in the publishing world at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. 

 

“Careers that are not fed die as readily as any living
 organism given no sustenance.”

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