How to fall back in love with writing + GIVEAWAY! 🥰

Today's guest is author Lindsey Duga.

Imposter syndrome: the uninvited guest to every writer’s party.

Almost every author will, at some point, wrestle with imposter syndrome. A bad review, a career setback, or even a quiet period between projects can spark that creeping fear: Am I good enough? Is my work worthwhile?

When things don’t go as planned, it’s easy to blame yourself, to second-guess every decision, and to lose sight of why you started writing in the first place.

The truth is, no one feels “good enough” all the time—but that’s not the point.

Publishing is full of highs and lows. The writers who push through are the ones who treat it as a long game. That means developing discipline, finding ways to stay creative even when inspiration is low, and understanding that publishing is, at its core, a business. By focusing on what you can control—your craft, your process, and your resilience—you set yourself up for longevity in an industry that often feels unpredictable.

In today’s interview, author Lindsey Duga shares how she overcame imposter syndrome, the mindset shifts that helped her navigate publishing, and why she’ll never go back to pantsing a novel again.

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OUR SPECIAL GUEST TODAY IS…

Lindsey Duga

Author

Lindsey’s latest novel, ROYAL HEIRS ACADEMY, is available now!

📣 Giveaway alert! Want a free copy? Leave a comment, and one winner will be randomly selected on March 28!

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in your publishing journey?

I truly think most authors have some point in their careers where imposter syndrome becomes a real problem. If you're not confident in your writing and you get wrapped up in negative reviews or subjective feedback, it can feel debilitating. How can you create something when you feel like your work isn't worthwhile? Writers almost always experience setbacks in their career and we tend to attribute those setbacks to our own failures, not outside factors beyond our control.

While I can't speak to the full story of what led to my own imposter syndrome, I can tell you that it lasted for nearly two years. I felt adrift and a failure as a writer, thinking I handled career decisions the wrong way and regretting every step that led me to this roadblock. But more than anything, I questioned my talent—simple as that. I worried that at the end of the day, my writing just wasn't good enough to award me the confidence and trust from my editor and publisher. And through all this spiraling self-doubt, I began to lose sight of why I was doing this. I fell out of love with writing.

It took a lot of great books and wonderful writer friends to pull me out of my slump, and eventually, I wrote my next book just for me. Without worrying if I wanted to sell it or not. I just wrote because I had fun doing it. Once I fell back in love with writing, everything else just seemed to fall back into place.

What is one thing you wish you had known about the publishing process before going through it yourself?

Publishing is a business. That means every relationship you enter is a professional one. Treat your agent and your editor like you would a coworker and/or client. Don't take anything personally and make decisions that you believe is good for your career. Take your ego and personal feelings out of the equation as best you can.

As near and dear to our hearts as our books are, at the end of the day, publishers are there to make money—and so are you. Feedback, rejection, and marketing choices is all done in hopes of making the book sell. Once you realize that, it takes some of the sting away. Not all of it...that's impossible, but enough to help you persevere in an industry that can be highly competitive and shrouded in mystery.

How do you balance finding time to write and managing other obligations and responsibilities?

Honestly, discipline, for the most part. I have a day job (like most authors do) and it can get kinda demanding at times. It was important for me to maintain a schedule for my writing. I set daily word count goals for drafting and dedicated certain times of day to do nothing but write. It's also nice to reward yourself between sprints of work and take little breaks so you don't burn out too quickly. I have, many times, cancelled plans or rescheduled with friends or family due to deadlines. But it's all about prioritization. I devoted myself to making this my second career with a consistent workload that I could rely on and that demanded a lot of my free time. I never felt like it was a sacrifice, though, because I love being an author. I'm incredibly grateful I get to write and be paid for it!

How do you personally get over writer's block?

Thanks to my thorough synopsis, this doesn't happen to me that much anymore. But if I ever do get stuck, I rely on friends and my agent to help me get through it. Usually a good brainstorming sesh always helps me overcome plotting issues, and for more craft and creativity roadblocks, I like taking long walks and listening to curated playlists for my books. Sometimes I even end up imagining music videos of my book to the songs I listen to and that exercise is so inspiring.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? What's your personal drafting process like?

Speaking as a reformed pantser, I am now a proud plotter! It used to take me ages to write a book. My first one took me three years while I was in college. My second took me one and a half and my third took me eight months. All of these were done without an outline or synopsis. Then my fourth book, an IP project with a synopsis provided to me by my editor, went so smoothly - only 3 months with minimal edits - I knew I had to find a way to draft by synopsis. So nowadays I hardly write any novel without a chapter-by-chapter summary. It cuts my drafting time down to two months and I'll never go back! Of course, writing the synopsis is its own journey. I could spend three weeks working on that alone because I spend so much time conceptualizing and daydreaming.

Leave a comment to be entered to win a free copy of ROYAL HEIRS ACADEMY!

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🚫 The #1 Reason Writers Get Rejected (YouTube)

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