In this week's episode, we consider whether or not writers should substantially rewrite previously published novels. We also take a brief look at imposter syndrome in writers. TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 214 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is August the 16th, 2024 and today we are examining whether writers should rewrite and republish their old books. We'll also take a brief look at the phenomenon of imposter syndrome in writers. Before we get into that, let's have a look at my current writing projects. Now that Half-Orc Paladin is out, my main focus is Shield of Conquest. I am 39,000 words into the rough draft, which puts me on Chapter 9 of 22. I think the rough draft will end up at about 100,000 words or so, but we'll see. I'm still hoping to have that out in September, if at all possible. I'm also 32,000 words into Ghost in the Tombs, the third book in the Ghost Armor series. I am very much hoping to have that out in early October, but we'll see how the next couple of months go. I’m also 4,000 words into Cloak of Illusion, which will be the book I write after Shield of Conquest and Ghost in the Tombs are finished and that will probably be around November or possibly December. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to work on once those three books are done, but in all probability, it's going to be Elven Sorcerer, which will be the fourth book in the Rivah series. In audiobook news, I have quite a few audiobooks underway. Stealth and Spells Online: Leveling is currently being recorded by C.J. McAllister. Half-Orc Paladin is already being recorded by Leanne Woodward. Brad Wills is currently recording Shield of Darkness as well, so hopefully we should have updates on those soon and then you can maybe listen to previews of those upcoming audiobooks on this podcast. 00:01:41 Imposter Syndrome and Writers Now on to our first topic, imposter syndrome and writers, which is inspired by a reader question. Surabhi wrote in to ask: “Have you, as a very prolific writer, ever faced impostor syndrome or self-doubt? Do you still do? And what helps you overcome those doubts? I think self-doubt is something most authors go through.” Well, to be totally honest, in my case, not really. Impostor syndrome has not been one of my personal challenges. Whatever my personal struggle bus might have been in life, let’s say impostor syndrome was not among the passengers. I did almost quit writing fiction at the end of 2010, but not out of impostor syndrome. I was just disgusted with traditional publishing and traditional science fiction and fantasy publishing in particular, an emotion that has not substantially changed in the last 14 years. My frustration wasn't one of impostor syndrome. I'd written 10 novels at that point. I knew I could do it, but that it was nearly impossible to break into traditional publishing, and that even if you did, you wouldn't make very much money. I had published two books at that time through small presses. I've mentioned before that the royalties from the second book I published were enough that I could buy a Triple Whopper from Burger King. While that was a very tasty burger, that was not a lot of money. So by the end of 2010, I decided that I was wasting my time and I needed to pursue more profitable enterprises. But right about that time, I discovered self-publishing and things took off from there. But I can pinpoint the exact moment when I lost any trace of impostor syndrome when it comes to writing. It was in early 2012, about 12 years ago now, when I got a letter from the IRS informing me, to paraphrase a bit, that I needed to be paying much more of self-publishing writing income. That was my fault, to be fair. At the time, I was new to the idea of quarterly tax payments and didn't fully understand how they worked and I had messed one up. I sent in the payment with the associated penalty and that was that. The IRS, if you're not familiar with it, is the American federal tax collection agency. It famously has no sense of humor whatsoever and is also very fond of accuracy. So if the IRS was of the opinion that I was a good enough writer that I need to be paying more on my writing income, I sure wasn't going to argue with them. That semi-amusing anecdote aside, let's return at last to our original point. I have to admit that impostor syndrome has never really been a problem for me. I don't present myself as something other than what I actually am. I freely admit when I don't know something, which happens a lot, and I only rarely speak or write without thoroughly thinking it through first. Thinking aloud is something I don't really do. If I encounter something I don't know how to do that I nonetheless have to do, my usual approach, for better or for worse, is to make a good faith approach to muddle through and hope for the best, which can have results ranging from very good to less than desirable, like ...
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