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Dealing With Unsolicited Advice

A woman whispering into another woman’s ear, raising doubts.

Unsolicited advice can leaving you doubt yourself and your copywriting dreams.

Building the writer’s life that suits you best is an intensely personal adventure. Only you know exactly what mix of clients, projects, and timing truly serves your creative, financial, and personal needs.

Of course, that won’t stop the world from loading you up with opinions about what you should being doing with your writing career.

Sometimes, it’s helpful. Advice you’ve intentionally sought out from other writers in similar situations can help you reach your goals more efficiently or give you fresh inspiration as you consider how to balance your work and your life.

But most of the time, what we get is unsolicited advice — especially from friends and family members who might not understand what we’re trying to achieve. They mean well (usually), but their voices have a way of disorienting our internal compasses.

I’m not immune, even after nearly a decade as a professional writer. But here’s what I’ve found helps when I find myself feeling lost, or like I might be on the wrong path:

  1. Turn down my inner critic. Tell myself I’m doing the best I can and remind myself no one ever looks back on their life and says, “I’m really glad I worried, stressed, and beat myself up about __________.”
  2. Review my personal priorities and goals. I’ve spelled out how I want to live, the kinds of clients I want to work with, and where my writing ranks relative to some of my other life priorities, like caring for my family. Re-centering on these things helps me put any outside advice into perspective.
  3. Reach out to my community of writers. Often, the opinions and judgments that set me off the most come from people who don’t know me well or family members who don’t understand that a writing career isn’t limited to fiction books. Spending time with my “tribe” is a wonderful way to find support and balance once again.
  4. Let go and move on. Yes, easier said than done! But by addressing my inner critic, reconnecting to my key anchors, and wrapping myself in community, I usually find I have no reason to dwell on what others think. My journey is mine, just as your journey is yours. No two roads will look alike, and I firmly believe there’s a path to success for all of us.