Compare without despair

A simple step to turn the pain of comparisonitis into productivity.

Am I my agent’s slacker client?

This is not a useful thought, and it certainly isn’t one that feels good. Nonetheless, it was the sentence that ran through my mind a few weeks ago after seeing several incredible announcements (think film projects and major deals) from some of the other authors my agent represents.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I want you to know that if you suffer from comparisonitis, you’re not alone.

It doesn’t matter if you outsell Colleen Hoover; you’re still going to compare yourself to other novelists. In fact, researchers say that roughly 10 percent of all thoughts involve comparison. Trouble is, our human brains are wired to seek evidence that the very thing we have stated we don’t want—such as lousy book sales or low social media engagement—is exactly what’s going to happen to us, often based on other people’s real or perceived successes. (This is called negativity bias.) Which is why you may find yourself scrolling Publishers Marketplace and lamenting that you’ll never get the incredible deals other authors are landing.

That doesn’t mean you should continue scrolling while telling yourself terrible stories about what’s up ahead for you.

Here’s a different idea: When you catch yourself focusing on how you measure up to another novelist, focus on how you’re like them, rather than honing in on your differences. What do you have in common?

Most of the time, the most obvious answer is genre or sub-genre; if you’re writing book club fiction, you’re unlikely to spend loads of energy thinking about how you stack up to a horror writer. But don’t stop there. What about writing style or backgrounds? Many authors are open about their path to publication, so you might be surprised by what you share while you’re browsing bios.

According to researchers at Penn State University, focusing on similarities during comparison fosters positive feelings like optimism and contentment. And while negative emotions are (again) totally normal, we also know that positive varieties are better for creativity and productivity.

If you want to hear more about how to put a positive spin on comparison, check out this week’s episode of the Career Novelist Podcast. Thoughts? I’d love to hear from you.

Happy writing,

Camille

P.S. Pitch Pro starts today! If you’d like to work closely with me to learn how to sell your novel—and get personalized edits on your query—you can still join. This is the last time I’m offering edits as part of the course.

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For more about my writing, visit camillepagan.com