I get that people don’t like apologetic self-deprecation but just imagine for a second—a second—if every day I logged on to Notes and told you all my self-published first-person faux-autofiction suburban male bildungsroman was one of the great novels of our time.

You think people would then take me more seriously???

If you need to puff yourself up constantly, maybe that says more about your own insecurity than some authors saying their book is “not for everyone.”

It’s best to not necessarily self-deprecate nor aggrandize yourself—simply know your place. Zoom out and have an ounce of self-awareness in how you communicate and your marketing/publicity will take care of itself.

What else do I know about myself? That I will never, ever be entirely happy with what I’ve written. And that’s how I know I’m a good writer.