Meet Amanda Fletcher

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Fletcher a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I didn’t so much overcome imposter syndrome as learn to accept it as an everyday part of being a writer. If I’m feeling especially down about agent rejections or negative feedback, I’ll take a walk on a nature trail, or even just around my neighborhood, to take my mind off things. I’ll reach out to a writer friend about my day. I’ll read through some of the positive comments I’ve gotten about my work. And I’ll remind myself that this feeling will pass.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

It all started in 2019 with the spark of an idea for a book I wanted to write for my son. He was in fifth grade at the time, and I was looking for a way to excite him about reading. I’d always loved writing (Stephen King’s On Writing and Ann Lamott’s Bird by Bird are some of my most treasured craft books), but I’d never given novel-writing a serious go before. With my son asking for new chapters every night, I finally had the focus and determination to finish. His excitement about the project was contagious, and soon I was doing a deep dive on how to make a career as a published author. I’ve spent the past few years absorbing everything I can about the subject from webinars, conferences, podcasts, and industry professionals. I joined several critique groups, which has made my writing infinitely better. I joined organizations like the Atlanta Writer’s Club and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). And after years of serious study and revisions, I’ve started querying my first novel. It is a long process full of rejection, but I am determined to see this through. In the meantime, I wrote a short story that won the Terry Kay Prize for Fiction, my manuscript won “Best Manuscript Sample” at the Atlanta Writers Conference, and the first chapter of my novel won third place in our regional SCBWI writing contest.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three qualities that helped me get to this point in my journey are determination, humility, and patience. No matter how I’m feeling or where I am in the process, I try to keep my goal in mind. Determination is what keeps me on the path. It’s easy to give up, especially in such a competitive industry. This is where humility and patience come in. You must humbly accept that you don’t know what you don’t know, and learning from successful writers is only going to help you. And patience — this it the hardest one for me — is essential. Know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, and in time you will achieve your goal. It’s also possible your goal will change, and that’s okay too.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

In the past 12 months, I’ve come a long way in making connections. Writing is a fairly solitary pursuit, and for a long time I was doing it alone. But what I discovered when I put some effort into making friends is that the writing community is incredibly welcoming. Writers are generous with their advice and wisdom. I reached out to local writers whose work I admired, and guess what? They all wrote back! This year, I also volunteered to help lead my regional chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), and I have cultivated life-long friendships in that role. No matter what happens with my career, I know I’ll have the support of my friends to get me through the ups and downs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mandyfletcherwrites.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandyfletcherwrites/
• Twitter: https://x.com/mandyscribbles
• Other: Blog: https://mandyfletcherwrites.com/blog/