INFORMAZIONI SU QUESTO EPISODIO
You may have already called yourself a fraud at least once this week. Not out loud, but just that quiet voice that shows up right before you hit send, right before you speak up, right before you finally share the thing you've been working on.
We've been told for almost fifty years that this feeling has a name — imposter syndrome — and a cause rooted in self-doubt. In this episode, I — author coach, book editor, and certified life coach — question whether that story is actually the right one. Drawing on an author who sat on a finished manuscript for two years and her own imposter moment at the launch of this very podcast, I make the case that what is often called "imposter syndrome" might really just be your nervous system doing exactly what it was built to do.
In This Episode
Why the science behind “imposter syndrome” isn't as settled as we've all assumed
Where the term actually came from — and how it drifted from “phenomenon” to “syndrome”
The story of an author who sat on a finished, good manuscript for two years, convinced it “wasn't ready”
My own imposter moment at the start of this podcast — and what actually moved her through it
Why your nervous system, not a personality flaw, is behind most of your self-doubt
The important difference between real barriers (bias, gatekeeping) and internal doubt — and why they deserve different conversations
A simple, four-step practice for noticing doubt instead of obeying it
The invitation: one small, true step you can take this week
📗 From the Episode 📗
“That wiring never got the memo that wild beasts are no longer eating people for breakfast.”
“A rejected query doesn't make you a fraud. It makes you a writer who queried. That's the whole game, friend — not zero rejection, just zero surrender.”
✍️ Your Invitation This Week
Four small steps:
Notice the thoughts that make you doubt yourself — without judging them
Thank your nervous system for trying to keep you safe
Remind yourself of your calling, and ask: “What is one small step I can take?”
When the answer comes — take that step
It doesn't have to be big. It just has to be true, and it has to be yours. Then give yourself a high five — you just expanded your own comfort zone, and that's worth celebrating.
Links & Resources Mentioned
Grab some free resources for writers at alicecrider.com /your-write-life-coach-podcast
Work with Alice one-on-one: alicecrider.com or email admin@alicecrider.com
The term “impostor phenomenon” was coined by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in their 1978 paper, “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention,” published in the journal Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice
Definition referenced from Merriam-Webster
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About Your Host
Alice Crider is an author coach, book editor, and certified life coach. She has edited hundreds of books and spent decades helping writers move from stuck to published — with their voice, vision, and sanity intact. Her podcast, Your Write Life Coach, exists to give heart-led authors the motivation AND the momentum they need to do the work that matters.
Find Alice at alicecrider.com
