Don’t Forget to Advocate for Yourself!

Introduction

For weeks, I struggled to come up with an idea for my first blog post. There are just so many different facets within the writing world that can be explored, and so many experts are already out there exploring them. If I were to write a whole blog post on a specific topic, I wanted it to be one where I felt I could offer useful insight to the reader. Unfortunately, imposter syndrome affects this author, so the list of topics seemed rather… scant.

Today, though, almost out of the blue, inspiration struck – self advocacy. Cue the heavenly chorus! If there’s one thing that I am a strong proponent of, it’s advocating for yourself, especially as an aspiring or existing author.

The importance of self-advocacy exists whether you are traditionally published or looking to take the self-publication route. While different people you meet will no doubt help in this department (agents and friends, I’m looking at you), it’s important to also have the ability to stand up for yourself when needed to prevent people from walking all over you.

Make no mistake; this is not an easy skill to master. While some may be blessed with the confidence to power through whatever obstacle enters their path, most of us have to learn how to do that. It can feel uncomfortable for sure, but at the end of the day, no matter who else is involved in your publishing journey, you are going to be the name printed on your book.

You were the one who dedicated hours upon hours to craft something you were proud of, and you were the one who worked tirelessly to polish it up before publication. Make sure you gift yourself with the ability to fight for this project when necessary. If it mattered enough to create it, it matters enough to advocate for it—and you.

What is Self-Advocacy?

I really loved the definition provided by West Virginia University’s Center for Excellence in Disabilities. They describe self-advocacy as “an individual's ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert his or her own interests, desires, needs, and rights (VanReusen et al., 1994).”

To be able to appropriately advocate for yourself, you need to have a good understanding of your needs, your goals, your rights, and your responsibilities. Once you get an understanding of those areas, you need to be sure to speak up and communicate them to other people. No one is a mind reader and, unfortunately, some people are more than happy to skirt around your needs when they’re not made clear. By taking a stand and stating what you need, want, or deserve, you’re taking a huge step in ensuring that your needs are met.

When it came to my debut novel, RUN LIKE A GIRL, I knew what I wanted and what I was comfortable with. Being my first published book, I wanted to use it as a learning experience to get the lay of the land in the publishing world and to better decide what does and does not work for me. My goal was to have a beautiful cover, an engaging manuscript, and have fun marketing it. I made sure to read through all contracts to understand what I was signing up for. And I knew my responsibilities in this process – in order to have a great book, I needed to hold up my end of the deal by going through the editing process, providing feedback where necessary, sharing my vision for art direction, and things of that nature.

As an author, I encourage you to start figuring out what you would consider a success when it comes to your book so that you can share this with your agent, editing team, or even just yourself when the time comes to publish.

What Does Self Advocacy Look Like?

There are different ways you can advocate for yourself, and it often varies by situation. The different ways can include:

• Asking for help when you need it

• Expressing your wants in a clear, direct way (no need to make them seem less important!)

• Standing up for yourself in tricky situations

• Tracking your accomplishments so that you know your strengths and the value you bring

I always make sure to ask questions when I need to, whether those are clarifying questions or asking for assistance. This wasn’t always easy and, honestly, still isn’t. I hate looking incompetent. Asking questions used to make me feel as though I’m either bothering the person I’m speaking to, or it makes me feel as though I don’t know what I’m doing. Over time, I realized that even if either of those outcomes were true, it’s still much better to be informed than otherwise. Also reminding myself that I’m just as worthy to be in this space as whoever I’m speaking to has helped push me to ask what I need to ask, when I need to ask it.

RUN LIKE A GIRL is coming out in May, and—surprise, surprise—I don’t know everything about the publishing process yet. There are times when I’m sent information I don’t fully understand because I’ve never experienced this before. Obviously, this makes me feel like I missed something that I should know by now, and I’m tempted to just leave things as they are and not say a single thing. But then I remind myself that I make the best decisions when I have all the information available to me. That helps me feel more secure when I need to ask questions, so that self-doubt or other mental roadblocks don’t prevent me from getting the knowledge I need to succeed.

Communication and Self-Advocacy

The importance of communication comes into play when something is happening that you’re not entirely comfortable with. While I’ve been fortunate to have an agent who does a great job in making sure things move in a way that benefits me, I also remember to take a step back, consult close friends and family, and comment on anything that I’m not a fan of. To me, this is an aspect of effective communication because doing this helps to make sure everything is clear, everyone is in the loop, and my opinion is appropriately heard.

As an example, my cover art. I’m pretty picky—both generally, and when it comes to artwork. I didn’t have a specific vision for the cover, but I knew what things I liked and what things I didn’t. This gave the design team a good place to start from when it came to creating the cover. On their end, it’s helpful for them to ask questions too – my editor at the time asked me for Pinterest boards, covers I liked, and other opinions I might have to help the design team along.

After I got drafts of the cover, I made sure to ask questions and provide input to get it to a place I felt comfortable with. It felt, at times, uncomfortable to do this but again—my name is on the cover. And art is important to me. So, I had to put on my big girl pants and say what I needed to. The worst thing people can do is say no, so as long as you’re respectful with your questions or comments, there’s no harm in speaking up.

Personally, I’m glad I spoke up because I adore my cover! I also was able to really see how accommodating, creative, and friendly the team I’ve been working with it. They provided answers and listened to my commentary, which I’m incredibly grateful for.

Last Thing for the Road

One thing to note before we wrap this up is that though someone may listen to your concerns, it doesn’t always mean they will ‘bend’ to them. As I said, I’m a debut author. I don’t know everything. If I ask for something that is out of the norm or not possible, it might not happen, and that’s okay. The important thing is that I had that conversation and that the recipient listened to me, explained their decision respectfully, and made sure I was comfortable with any alternatives they provided. Publishing a book is a team effort, particularly with traditional publishers. While self-advocacy is important, this doesn’t translate to steamrolling over everyone else.

Conclusion

I hope this blog has offered you some helpful information about self-advocacy in the publishing world! I know this isn’t the easiest thing to do, especially in a world that often asks us to shrink ourselves and be as imperceptible as possible. My advice? Take up space. Make some noise. And be sure to stand up for yourself. You’ll be incredibly glad you did!