How To Shift Your Identity And Become A Published Author
Updated: May 22, 2023
Written by: Jenny Alberti, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
For years you’ve dreamt of holding your published book in your hands. You have a notebook full of ideas and possible book titles sitting on your bookshelf, just waiting for the right time. You’ve said, “Someday I’m going to write that book,” more times than you can count. But, it may be very hard to make it to someday if you don’t shift your identity.
The Role Your Identity Has On Your Reality
Your identity is not simply what you see in the mirror, nor is it a list of things you enjoy. Rather, it’s what you're committed to, and all that comes with it. It’s what you believe based on the experiences you’ve had in your life. For example, let’s say you’ve had several jobs in your life, all of which have paid you a $30,000 annual salary. That’s your experience. You become committed to the belief that you’re a person who only makes $30,000 per year, and it doesn’t matter what job or career changes you make. You’ll always earn around that amount. That would then contribute to your identity. Consider how someone who makes that annual salary would spend their money, and what choices they may make because of it. The stores they shop at, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, the thoughts they have, and the emotions they feel are all part of their identity because of what they are committed to: the belief that they are a person who only earns $30,000 per year for the work they do. When you’re committed to a belief, you continue to tell yourself the stories that support it, which shapes your reality.
The Impact Of Disempowering Stories
If you dream of becoming a Published Author but struggle to make it a reality, you definitely are not alone. Less than 1% of the world’s population has written a book, yet most people wish to do so. Does any of this sound familiar? You believe becoming a published author is a massive undertaking. You don’t have the time to write, and even if you did have the time, you wouldn’t know where to start. Even if you knew where to start, you aren’t disciplined enough to write consistently, and on the off chance you managed to write consistently, you’re not a good writer. No one would want to read what you’ve written! Plus, it’s not like you are going to come up with anything original that hasn’t already been said before. And oh my gosh, if you wrote something that people didn’t like, it would be so embarrassing! The disempowering stories go on and on, holding you hostage and sabotaging you from becoming the author you want to become.
Why An Identity Shift?
When your identity is out of alignment with your goals, you cannot maintain taking the necessary actions to achieve your goals. When people attempt to make a change, they usually start by changing their actions and hope that if they keep up those actions for long enough they’ll become a habit. Let’s say someone wants to become physically fit so the action they take is they start going to the gym. The problem with this is they rely on willpower, and their identity remains the same. Their identity is still that of a couch potato and they tell themselves the story of “I’m not a gym goer.” It doesn’t take long for them to revert back to sitting on the couch watching TV with a pack of Oreos. The same goes for you: if you want to become a published author and you start by writing for an hour a day, you’ll rely on willpower. Your identity will remain that of an aspiring author and despite your best intentions. You’ll continue to tell yourself, “I’m not a good writer.” What happens? You revert back to filling that hour each day with other things that reflect your current identity. An identity shift doesn’t start with taking action. It doesn’t start outside yourself. Instead, it starts with acknowledging who you currently are so that you can release whatever isn’t serving you.
You Can Shift Your Identity To Become A Published Author With These 4 Steps:
1. Acknowledge The Identity You Want To Shift Away From
You have the power to change your circumstances, your situation, and your entire life. You’re not a victim of life happening to you. You don’t have to do as you’ve always done and accept things as they are. You have the power to make more money, make more time for yourself, learn new skills, create new habits, and become who you want to be. Start by acknowledging who you are now.
2. Do The Shadow Work Needed
Healing is a massive part of being able to shift your identity away from the old version of you and into the published author version. Your shadow self is made up of parts of you that are difficult to accept. This could be a collection of thoughts, emotions, and traumas. But you need to do the work and stop ignoring your shadow self. One way you can do this is by journaling. You can start off by writing about what you’re avoiding and examine what thoughts and emotions come up when you write it down. Once you bring what you’re avoiding to the surface, you can start healing by giving it a new meaning.
3. Clearly Define Who You Want To Be
The more detail, the better! Define what kind of book or books you’ll write as a published author. Who are the dream readers you want raving about you? What is the dream outcome you want? How much income and impact do you want from your work? Imagine yourself already having achieved these things as you write them down. I like to do a scripting exercise where I script a day in the life of my ideal self in as many details as I can and write out what my ideal self is thinking, doing, seeing, smelling, and saying.
4. Do As Your Published Author Self Would
Take the actions that your dream identity would take! What would that version of you do every day? What would their writing routine be? How would they manage their time? How would they take care of themself? How would they show up? Then do all of those things! Each time you take those actions, you re-enforce that identity. HelloPublished Author!
If you’re ready to start taking aligned action and embark on your journey to become a Published Author, I’m gifting a copy of my Powerful Writing Prompts to spark creativity, inspiration, and direction in your writing! Enjoy!
And visit here for more help with writing and publishing your book!
Jenny Alberti, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jenny is the Co-founder of the Women Writing Intentionally Collective, CEO of Introvert She Wrote Publishing and an International Best-Selling Author. She helps Female Visionaries communicate their valuable message to the world through uniquely designed book projects and author containers.
Jenny believes that remaining in alignment with and celebrating who we are is essential to fulfillment in business and life. She emboldens her authors to show up as their unique selves, speak their truth and get paid for their gifts. It is her dominant intent to amplify the voices of all women who have been called to make an epic impact, but have felt silenced.
A passionate storyteller since childhood, Jenny has been featured in Medium and Authority Magazines, Everyday Woman TV and several podcasts.
Jenny loves traveling, discovering and visiting new places. She plans to see more of the world with her incredible partner in the coming years.
