Last week, we spent the morning finding a healthy balance between accepting criticism and withstanding it. Before we continue into this week, if you haven’t checked out part 1 of this series, visit the page here. It is so important that we as writers accept criticism from the right sources and know when to listen.

That being said, there’s also a time for confidence in writing. You can have confidence even if you aren’t published yet. How is that possible? Well, let’s look at the reasons:

1. You’ve put in the time. Writing takes effort and endurance. It’s not something that promises instant success. See, we have to learn and grow. So have you put in the time? For some of us, this means months, perhaps years, of learning. Successful writers have endurance. They edit and adjust as their knowledge increases.

2. You’ve studied the craft. You haven’t stopped at your limited knowledge and abilities. You search for agent blogs, professional websites, and crave advice from others. When you enter a bookstore, you read within your genre and you also search for writing craft books to help you grow.

3. You’ve sought to attend a reputable writing conference. You have attended classes led by professionals. You’ve met others within your field, and you seek their advice.

4. You’ve heard “no” or “not yet”. This is a tough one. But if you can accept the truth, you can grow. That means you listen to why your WIP just isn’t ready. It means you seek to understand and apply the advice that’s been given.

Sometimes, confidence is hard earned. It can come from the same struggles that cause other writers to quit. When you look over the course of your writing journey, some of us fear failure. We see the flaws, the errors and mistakes, and we worry we’ll never quite make it. But dear writer friends, confidence comes to many through that same journey. When you hear “no” or you read your own writing with disgust, that’s actually good news. It’s an opportunity for us to rise to the occasion. When you started this journey, your love of writing carried it. You had a story worth telling. Writing was innocent, pure.

Go back to that simplicity. Write from your heart. When you’re finished, take the advice, the “not yet”, the “you need more time” and use it to become the writer that will find success someday. See, it’s all in your perspective. Who will you let this story write across the page?