What If Your Writing Is Just Ordinary?

I have been playing pickleball for nine months, about the same length of time as the gestation period for a human embryo to turn into a baby. I can conclude that I am very much average at this sport. It is hard to confront the truth that you are pedestrian at what you love to do. Most writers, I fear, never face up to this truth.

I would say, of the people I have played against and with, I am often better than at least 50 percent of them and perhaps 20 percent seem to consistently outplay me. The other 30 percent seem to be on a competitive spectrum. On most days, I am as good as most of them, but I could easily be no better, if not worse, than a substantial amount.

Writing, for many, could yield the same reality. Only a handful of a few thousand books each year win awards, hit bestseller lists, and receive overwhelming critical acclaim. Only a few dozen or hundred titles this year will be turned into movies, TV shows, or documentaries. So, what about the millions of books that are published each year that simply get published in obscurity?

Writers can be a proud people. They believe their creation is worthy of readership and many, in their hearts, feel they are very good, if not great writers. They don’t understand why their book does not sell well or how a publisher, book critic, or consumer could ever reject it.

The last few months I have played with a rotating group of mostly middle-aged and senior women and I was the king of the court. I hit killer shots, put a great spin and slice on the ball, and often won 80 percent of the doubles matches that I played, regardless of who my partner or opponents were.

Then I played at a higher level of moderately good picklers — people who did not make every play but who limited unforced errors. They had good serves and could cover the court. I suddenly had to confront where I stood on the spectrum of picklers and concluded that I am extraordinarily ordinary.

That is not easy to admit for something you love and think you are good at. That is just it — I am good but not great. On any given day, half of my opponents could beat me and maybe vice versa. But there are clearly better players who are consistently better than I will ever be.

Do writers confront such truths about their craft? And what do they do once this happens— do they try harder to improve or do they give up? Or do they try to act as if this epiphany never happened, wanting to just go back into being willfully, blissfully ignorant?

On the other hand, a writer just has to be great once to have a legacy. You can write a dozen books and they all can be moderate successes or even outright duds, but if one breaks through and catches fire with consumers and book critics, you can feel like you accomplished something. Your best will be better than most people’s bests, even if most of what you have written is nothing special.

Our ego can be fragile. It is hard to be honest with ourselves or to even have a way of judging our own writings.

In pickleball, my blinders are off and I will now strive for improvement and to be competitive but I have no delusions not only about being an elite player but even of being in a decently high category. I am remarkably ordinary on the pickleball court. I feel stripped naked in public. Everyone knew — and now I know.

 

“When that happens, you're free to look for new ones. Go after your sacred cows. Periodically inspect your ideas and beliefs to see if they are contributing to your thinking effectiveness. Ask yourself, "Why did this program, concept, project, or idea come to be?" Then follow this question with, "Do these reasons still exist?" If the answer is "no," then eliminate the idea.”

— A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be. More Creative, 25th Anniversary Edition by Roger von Oech

  

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/