Meet Wesley Southard

We recently connected with Wesley Southard and have shared our conversation below.

Wesley, 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.

In the eighteen years I’ve been writing genre fiction, I’ve been wildly fortunate to meet so many incredible individuals. People that I once considered an inspiration, authors that made me want to write and create my own stories, I now call close friends and peers. I think the hardest part is not taking any of those relationships for granted. I’ve seen too many of my fellow creatives throw one another under the bus, or climb on someone else’s shoulders for that chance to get ahead. Believe me when I say, people will notice. Time and again, I’ve watched people come and go, whether by their own accord or having a mob grab them by the shirt and belt and toss them out on their behinds.

What I’m getting at is this: learn how to carve your own path. I’ve had numerous instances where I didn’t feel like I belonged, like I was out of my depth and was “faking it until I made it.” Every single creative has those thoughts. The difference is, what you do with those thoughts and how to make them go away. Make yourself a part of that community. Give, don’t take. Be humble. Be available. And most importantly, be genuine. Fake personalities in my business can be spotted a mile away.

Also, it’s incredibly important to stay the course. I spent many years wondering why I wasn’t getting further ahead, while others were shooting right past me like lightning. Finding a way to put the horse blinders on early and keep focused on your objectives and not what others are doing is a better recipe for long-term success than constantly worrying about where you’re currently at.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m a father to wonderful little two year-old boy. I’ve been married to my wife for ten years and counting. As far as writing goes, I’ve been working on fiction for seventeen years now. I’ve published over a dozen books, have won three literary awards, have been published in three languages, and have been fortunate enough to have one of my short stories optioned for screen. Whether its movies or prose fiction, I’ve been passionate about the horror genre my whole life. I’ve truly enjoyed the last nearly twenty years of my life trying to put my mark on the very thing that brings me so much joy.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Keeping close relationships with my peers has been instrumental to my development and continuation in publishing. Writing, by nature, is very solitary lifestyle, but keeping people that you trust and can confide with that are going through the same struggles is incredibly beneficial to any creative’s drive and willpower to continue on.

I think having the determination and discipline to get the work done is vital to long term success. It’s easy to sit and play on your phone or watch TV. It’s much harder to force yourself to sit in front of a computer for hours at a time.

Lastly…patience. I’m a horribly impatient person in a business that requires you to sit and wait. Learn to move on to the next project, because you’re going to drive yourself crazy waiting to hear back about anything.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I’m a massive music fan. I tend to have my ear buds in quite a bit and I’m almost always listening to music. I started out as a guitar player, and after going to college for music, I found I wasn’t happy playing anymore, and shifted my focus to other creative outlets. Music calms me and makes me happy. I also discovered ASMR over the pandemic and find myself listening to various forms of it nearly every day.

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