Overcoming Imposter Syndrome on My Writing Journey

I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.

As a child, I spent countless hours reading every book and magazine I could get my hands on. I dreamt of seeing my name in the byline, on the editor’s page, and on shelves at bookstores.

It was one of those dreams that is frightening in its intensity. My imposter syndrome raged. The prospect of failure was too much to bear – so I shoved it away in the back of my head and contented myself to find a career that was writing-adjacent.

But dreams are not meant to be denied and I found myself working in close proximity with writers, green with envy as I planned their travel itineraries.

I had always told myself I couldn’t be an author, that it was too hard to get published – and then I entered an age where book publishing was just one of many paths to becoming a writer. I began to wonder if I could do it, if I should do it, and still fear held me back.

When I left my stable job to pursue freelancing, it would have been easy to pivot into writing – and still fear held me back. It was only after months of failure that I could no longer deny what I had always known – I am a writer, and I cannot do anything else.

Fear still gripped my heart tightly as I entered the freelance writing space. But as I built my business around my life, I found my path taking unexpected turns. When it came time to niche down and I came to cannabis, I found help in an unexpected place.

Meeting the Traveling Cannabis Writer

I do not remember if I first met Vee on Instagram or LinkedIn, but we connected digitally long before we connected in person. She was doing everything I wanted to do – traveling the country, writing about cannabis, smoking good weed, and getting regular features in a magazine. Watching her work was proof positive that everything I wanted to do was possible.
I joined her team of writers for a time and we met in person at cannabis events across the country. We are very different people from very different backgrounds, but none of that mattered because we shared a passion for the plant and for the pen.

The more I got to know Vee, the more I came to appreciate her journey. She too had left the stability of a 9 – 5 job to pursue writing and living on the road. She too was moved by the power of the plant, which she came to later in life. She too had dreamt of seeing her name in bylines.

I watched her. I read her work. Knowing her has been a gentle guiding hand on my journey as I embarked on a life on the road, writing about cannabis.

Veronica has been a major inspiration to me as a writer. It’s not just that she’s traveled the country coast to coast for five years, or has been published over 100 times in 14 magazines. It’s that she found creative ways to financially support her life on the road and has never wavered in her mission to share the work of Black and brown people in the cannabis industry.

The Traveling Writer’s Network: Support to Move Past Imposter Syndrome and Start Writing

Months ago, I asked Veronica if she would ever write a road map of her journey for new writers. She smiled and told me something was already in the works. That was her Traveling Writer’s Network, launched at the end of 2023. This program – completely free of charge – gives you an inside look at how Veronica went from working at an insurance agency to traveling the country, living the vagabond writing life of her dreams.

She talks about overcoming imposter syndrome, a paralyzing, internal condition that I thought was unique to me – and is anything but. She explores how being a writer means writing – even when you don’t want to and don’t think it’s any good. She talks about writer’s block and pitching publications and why original artistry still matters in an AI world.
Everything that I spent the last three years soaking up in her presence is bundled together in easy-to-read, delivered to your inbox format.

I am not the only one whom Vee has helped on her journey.

“Working with Veronica has afforded me the ability to be a published writer in publications like Honeysuckle, Cannassuer, The Chronic, and Vanguard.” said Dominique Tossie, owner of Write the Vision and a member of the Traveling Cannabis Writer Media Team. “I’ve been a writer since I was 8 years old, but working with her  – it’s opened doors for me and it’s opened my eyes to what I can do with my gift.”

If you are like I was four years ago, desperate for a change, pining for an impossible dream, no idea where to start – start here, with Veronica and her traveling writer’s network.

You’ll be glad you did.