It’s me. Hi! I’m the Imposter, it’s me.
Imposter Syndrome is a term we’ve all heard and likely experienced. It’s a psychological phenomenon when people doubt their own skills, talents, accomplishments and have an internalized fear of being perceived as a fraud. Oh, how easy it is to get wrapped up in this within the bookish world.
I experience this often when I’m writing anything, even this article, because I start to wonder if it’s actually as good as I think it is, or perceive it to be. Will anyone even like it? Or when I post something and it doesn’t perform well, was that post just terrible despite me putting all that effort into it? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Or recommend a book people secretly hate? Does everyone actually hate me? It’s an endless downward spiral that starts with… you guessed it, imposter syndrome.
As I write this, I’m even questioning if others even feel this way sometimes, but I know I’ve seen it mentioned on threads several times recently. I experience it pretty much daily, downplaying the work I put into trying to be successful with my platform. Some of the ARC teams I’m on, I’d never in my wildest dreams thought I would be on. Or if an author follows me, I assume it’s an accident and not at all related to the fact I have a literal shrine to their work. It’s a constant thought in the back of my head, thinking I’m just an imposter. I’m often so convincing to myself that I’m just a fraud, I don’t even need anyone else to out me as one. Everyone just knows.
I’m using my psychology degree a bit in this article and I’m going to talk about one particular type of imposter syndrome. Get your pencils, class. There are five commonly recognized types of imposter syndrome: The Perfectionist, The Expert, The Natural Genius, The Soloist, and The Superperson. I like to think that most bookish people who experience this deal with the Perfectionist type, thinking that unless you are perfect, you could do better and that you think you aren’t as good as others think you are. What people don’t realize is that often times, imposter syndrome and the standards of perfection we try to hold ourselves to will force you to self sabotage, causing things like burnout. Combating that burnout we feel is a topic for another day... soon.
So how does one overcome imposter syndrome? I truly have no idea, but if you find out let me know. I’m just here to tell you that you aren’t alone in feeling like this. That your posts are great, despite how you feel, or how many likes you get. Too often we judge how well we are doing based on followers or likes, or even worse, how others are doing, and that’s something we should stop doing in 2025. The social media burnout we experience is possibly our own making and I think that’s how we should start to tackle this form of imposter syndrome. Post content YOU enjoy and love. Turn off those like counts. Quit stressing over a lost follower or ten. Whether you have 2 followers or 20K, it doesn’t matter because those two strangers thought you were cool enough to choose to follow you, and that’s pretty cool. We are here to enjoy what we love in the bookish community, whether it’s posting reviews, posting hot pictures with books, or making little squiggle line graphics. Your platform is yours to love and yours to prosper in.
Don’t sell yourself short and know that we are all likely spiraling with you. It’s all easier said than done, trust me, I know this. Some days we’re all thriving on that, “fake it til you make it”, mentality. But I know with 1000% certainty, that everyone that puts in even the smallest amount of effort, deserves to be praised for their accomplishment of making it through one more day, one more post, one more chapter. I think that’s the energy we should bring into the new year. Recognizing patterns of behavior is the only way to truly stop doing them, and talking about it with others will make you feel less alone, and this is not limited to imposter syndrome. Most days, I’m sure that scary big bookstagrammer you follow is dealing with the same anxiety you are, just trying to find a place to belong in this vast community. Remember to take up space and that you deserve to be here. And drink your water.
With Love,
The Imposter