I have something exciting to announce today: I’ve started a Patreon for SimpleMarkup! Woohoo! Whether you simply don’t want to miss a single comic, want early access, want exclusive content, or if you just want to thank me for making you laugh from time to time, I appreciate any support.
And now, on to this week’s comic.
Imposter Syndrome affects freelance editors all the time, at all points in a career. It can strike at any time. But there are also different, weird scenarios that can cause it to flare up.
Like this one. You’d think that anytime a manuscript is super clean, you’d be like “Score! What a breeze this job is!” And if you’re proofreading, that’s kind of what it’s supposed to be at that point, right? Really clean?
Tell that to the Imposter Monster. Sometimes, as the pages go by free of errors, the Monster starts whispering in your ear that surely there’s something in those pages, and you simply missed it. The tension builds. Are you a fraud? Is it time to announce you’re quitting because you couldn’t find that imaginary typo? Hang your head in shame?
Imposter Syndrome is terrible for self-esteem, but there’s also an upside to it in that it keeps us humble. Fuels our drive and desire to put forth our best work, and that’s a great drive to have in an editorial professional.