One of the most understated but common reason people never write the book they are capable of writing, or they dream about, is that fleeting thought: “who am I to write this?” or something related. And once this thought germinates, it will be followed by other self-doubting contemplation like, “some other people have said this better than I ever can?” “What if people don’t find it interesting?” What if people judge me?” “What if I am not as good as I think?”

Do any of these sound familiar? If it does, I promise that you are not alone. In fact, you are in very good company, because almost every serious writer, whether they are published or not, would have wrestled with the fear of judgment, comparison, and that unrelenting voice widely known as imposter syndrome. What you must however understand is that your story matters because no one else can tell it the way only you can.

What is Your Voice

People very often assume that an author’s voice is their vocabulary. They see it as how polished, literary or impressive the writing is. But that is not the author’s voice. The voice of an author is how he sees the world, how he processes his experiences, the values that he holds and his perspective about things. This reflects in the examples that naturally occur to you, the stories you choose to tell, your tone when you explain ideas, as well as the questions you ask.  

Your voice as an author is not something you invent, it is something you unveil progressively. One of the best ways to understand this is by paying attention to your most relaxed and confident self. Take note of how you explain things to friends, how you mentor younger people or tell a story that matters to you. The rhythm, honesty and clarity with which you conduct yourself in these situations is your authentic voice trying to reveal itself. The struggle that many writers go through many times results from trying to sound like someone else instead of trusting themselves.

Chose Authenticity Over Perfection

Like I said in one of my past newsletters, authenticity always beats perfection. I agree that perfection is a seductive trap. It promises you safety as you convince yourself that if you get it all right, no one would criticise you. Little would you realise that you may be heading towards creative stagnation or outright paralysis. The truth is that while perfect writing may be the most important thing, some readers, in fact, every reader connects with honest writing. Think about the nonfiction book with the most indelible impact on you; are they memorable because of their flawless sentence or the imagery they created? I don’t think so. I think that nonfiction books endure because of the clarity, sincerity and courage with which they share their knowledge and perspectives. Authenticity enhances trust while contrived perfection would create distance.  Readers see themselves and identify with your work when it comes in your authentic natural voice, even with its rough edges, and that gives them more value than the technical polish that you copy.

Let me suggest to you that your best shot at success is writing in your own voice even if you adore other people in the same genre. You do not need to sound like them because your voice can be distinct from others even within the same space. One memoir writer may be reflective and philosophical for instance, while another is conversational and humorous and yet may be instructional. The same can be said of self-help, business or leadership books. One author would teach through anecdotes while another would share a framework. None of these is necessarily better than the other, at least for as long as they are confident in their choice, they are only different.

That difference, especially when anchored on authentic lived experiences and credibility is what makes books compelling. Those things that shape your life, your provenance, your career, your successes and failures, the culture you grew in, what your entire trajectory is, etc. Your life is the “unfair advantage” that you have over every other writer out there and you should explore it to the fullest! Comparing yourself to anyone else will drown your voice and ultimately steal it away. So never measure yourself against others or second-guess your insights or capacity.

You must write from your truth and not allow fear steal your confidence. Understand that you are not competing with any other author, but you are able to complement whatever they have and the ideas that they have sold to the world. And when imposter syndrome rears its head with its pangs of fear, you must realise that it is a signal that you care about doing meaningful work with the experience that you have rather than your disqualification. That is the time to look fear in its face and call its bluff.

It is the time to take the plunge, tell it about that thing you learnt the hard way, how you built your expertise, lived through that change and navigated various levels of complexity. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do it, you don’t need to be perfect or to try to be like anyone else. All you need is to start out with honesty, clarity and confidence in your own voice. When you do this, you would have given someone the courage to believe that their story also matters, but when you fail to tell the story, you deny them that opportunity and bury your own voice perpetually.

Having Trouble Finding Your Voice?

So, does any of the issues we are talking about today affect you? Do you have a book idea that fear of judgment, comparison or self-doubt is stopping you from working on, you don’t have to figure it out alone.  

My book coaching practice helps professionals and experts to find and clarify what their books ideas is about, discover and build confidence in their own author’s voice, transform their lived experiences into clear, credible nonfiction materials and grow from hesitation. If this sounds like you, I’d love to support you. Reply to this newsletter with the word VOICE and let’s have a conversation about that book only you can write.

Trust me: Your voice is not late. Your story is not small. And your book is more possible than you think. And I’m here to hold your hand.

You can buy my book, Every Journalist Should Write a Book, here

Here’s wishing you a very merry Christmas and happy holidays

Niran Adedokun,

Writer | Communications Strategist | Book Strategist | Author of “Every Journalist Should Write a Book