We were lucky to catch up with Clara Sutton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Clara, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I think that imposter syndrome is one of the hardest parts of working independently or freelance, especially in a creative field. There is this stigma against creative professions that they “aren’t a career” or you have to be very talented or very lucky to make enough money as an artist of any kind. So in addition to the everyday imposter syndrome one can face, I think it’s worse for creatives because we believe we have to try to be the Best or we won’t make it.
I by no means have found a way to fully overcome the nagging little voice in my head that says I’m not enough. I have, however, found ways to drown it out sometimes. The most important way is to surround yourself with people who actually think you can do it. I’m not talking about your supportive friends or family members, though they can help too, I am talking about people who see your potential.
I have a mentor, who when I started this journey as a self-published author, he was the one who told me I could do it. He is one of the people who keeps me going. He doesn’t have blind faith in me, instead, he sees my potential and in turn, helps me see it in myself.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started my career as a self-published author about four years ago now, when the future seemed uncertain. It was still the height of the pandemic and the industry I had gotten my degree in, television writing, was at a standstill.
So when the panic and self-doubt spiral set in at the of 2020 I turned to an old friend. He was also a writer, and he had turned to self-publishing mystery crime novels as a way to make money during these “unprecedented times”. He was the one who told me to do it. He offered to help me however he could and even paid for the first two covers in my debut series. It was the perfect time too with the rise of Booktok it gave me a community to explore, share my stories with, and be inspired by.
I fell in love with being a self-published author. It is a lot of hard work but at the end of the day you get to make something you are proud of and you know it is entirely yours. The books I write for the most part don’t fit in pretty neat boxes, which would be easy to pitch to the big five publishers. My most recent series is a fantasy adventure archeological mystery with some romance. Something like that is hard to sell to a publisher but there are plenty of people who will read it. There is something extra special about finding your audience without the help of a big company behind you and watching it grow.
I have now published five books, with one completed series, a fantasy standalone, and another series just started. I can see the growth happening in real time and it is magical to watch.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Oh boy. My friend likes to say that when you are a self-published author you aren’t really an author. You are a publisher, who also writes. Being a self-published author is mostly marketing and that took a huge learning curve when I first started. If I’m honest it’s something I’m still learning. Especially when the landscape is always changing, even now with the impending tiktok ban many small authors like myself have to rethink their whole marketing strategy. Social media is the number one way to sell your book, wether its facebook, Instagram, or tiktok you have to figure out a strategy that works for you an your genre. Even four years in I feel like I’m just now starting to figure it out.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
If you are looking into becoming an author the first book I would recommend is Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. It walks you through the story beats you need and how to break down your outline. I still use it every time I start a new book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.clarasuttonbooks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarasuttonbooks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarasuttonbooks/
- Other: Tiktok: Clarasuttonbooks
Image Credits
Image Credit for the Photos of me in the Blue Foral dress go to Ashley Newby Photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
