You’re listening to The Write Mindset Podcast with Racquel Henry, this is episode 22! This podcast is sponsored by and associated with my writing studio, Writer’s Atelier. I’m an author, editor, writing coach, and part-time professor who believes that mindset work is the cornerstone of writing success.
They say the best things you write come from your heart and come from your experiences. For this episode, I want to talk about low vibration vs. high vibration. Some of you may or may not know this, but I like to sketch out episodes before I record them. By the time I record this episode, I’m sure I’ll be in a different state, but I wanted to write it all down because A, it might help you if you’re feeling the same, and B, writing it down is actually helping me get through the moment.
First, I want to define what low vibration means for anyone listening who might not know. The term low vibration is essentially associated with negative feelings. On a more technical side, it refers to energy. Science shows us that everything is made up of energy. So, when we talk about lower vibrational frequency, we’re more or less talking about something that doesn’t make us feel good. Essentially it can be a person, place, or thing that doesn’t make you feel good. And when you don’t feel good, it can directly impact not only your writing life, but your life in general.
So, for example, for a writer, a rejection letter or a bad review, or maybe criticism from a critique partner can put you in a lower vibration. Have you ever gone to a place and it just didn’t feel right? Maybe it gave you the creeps or the people there made you feel uncomfortable. That place would be considered low vibe. You don’t want things in your life that put you in a low vibrational frequency. The idea is to vibe high. When you vibe high, a.ka. at a higher energetic frequency, you feel good, and then you put yourself into alignment for all the good stuff to come your way. And to just quickly explain alignment, I mean setting yourself up for whatever it is you want in your writing life. I like to think of it as prep work. Your prep work helps you align yourself for success. I know there will be many people who don’t believe this, but you can stop listening (or reading) right now if you think what I’m saying is hocus pocus.
So, at the time of me writing this, I am in a state of low vibration. I had a major rejection from an agent, I lost three members on Patreon and only two people wanted to take the first class I’m teaching at my own studio! I’m grateful for the two, but we’re used to getting on average 8-12 students per class. And for me, it’s never about the money. I felt like I would be teaching authors and helping them find their readership, but it seemed no one wanted to take a class with me.
So, let me tell you why the rejection from the agent was a blow. I have been querying my current YA contemporary novel for roughly five years. I didn’t query all the way through, it was really two or three good rounds of querying and I revised between all of that—to make a long story short. I had received quite a few partial and full requests. It seemed like getting a foot in the door was a hair easier than getting my entire body in the door. And I don’t want to paint the picture that I had a slew of agents interested. I sent many a query that went unanswered. I even got my first mass rejection email. (Don’t get me started on that.) Anyway, I knew something was wrong somewhere in the middle of my book because I was sending agents anywhere from ten to fifty pages and they would ask for more. I’d wait sometimes months and the response was always the same: they just didn’t love the manuscript as they had hoped.
So, flash forward a few years. After the second to last round of querying, in full transparency, I felt a little defeated. I figured, maybe I need to finally come to terms with the fact that I have to shelf this book. So I took a class with an agent, and she loved the opening pages. By now the shine of this kind of thing has really worn off. Agents have loved my opening pages before, so no big deal. I decided I would query her, but if it didn’t pan out, then I’d have to put the book away. I should also say that I had another abnormal situation with another agent I met at a conference. He gave me his card and invited me to query him. So between the two, I knew this would be my last shot with this book.
I never heard from the agent I met at the conference and the agent who loved my first pages ended up passing. According to the feedback, I had a saggy middle. I agreed. The other feedback suggested I change the storyline entirely. That, my dear listeners, I could not do. I am most certainly open to feedback that would help me fix my book, but I know what story I want to tell. And there are reasons for certain things in my novel. I don’t want it to be like every other book in its category, and I felt those changes would make it so—it would become just like every other book.
But all of that didn’t particularly matter at this point in time anyway. I was spinning circles with this book. And over the years I have changed so many things to accommodate so many people and I was just tired. I reached the point where this one had to go away, even if for a little while. And I also had to accept the fact that it may never hit shelves—unless I decided to publish it on my own down the line, which I was open to. That was why this particular rejection stung the most. It was kind of like a definitive breakup with my book, at least for a while.
So you can imagine the kind of vibrational state I was in that particular week. Low vibration all the way around.
I definitely don’t want to discredit anyone’s feelings. You are most certainly allowed to feel sad or disappointed. We’re all human after all. It’s part of life. But what I don’t want you to do, is stay in that place. You can feel whatever you need to feel, but do not let it break you. There are some forms of rejection that no longer phase me. For example, if I get a rejection on shorter work, very rarely am I upset. I see it and kind of think, okay, cool. Then move on. But when it’s a major rejection like the one with this particular agent, I do get pretty sad. This is the book of my heart.
My tradition after a major rejection is to eat a pint of ice cream and watch either a favorite movie or The Office. Those of you who know me already know the movie choices are probably any Hallmark movie or Pride and Prejudice. I like The Office because it’s hard for TV to make me laugh, but I laugh so hard when I watch that show. It usually lifts my spirits. This is part of getting myself back into a higher vibration so that I can put myself back into alignment.
Think of this concept the same way you would when you’re driving your car. You have all these turns you have to make to get to your destination. Your car may even slip a little within a lane, but you regain control and set it back on a straight path, don’t you? Would you just stop the car and say forget about wherever I’m going, there are just too many turns? In most cases, unless there was maybe some kind of danger, you wouldn’t.
So why would you stop on the drive to your dreams?
That’s kind of the way life works. We are going to have turns. The terrain may even be bumpy at times. But we are in the driver’s seat, and it’s up to us to set ourselves back on a straight path until we get to our destination.
I’ve already talked about one of the things I like to do to get me back to my high vibration. I have some ideas to help you get back to a higher vibration. Some of these may work or all of them may work. My hope is that at least one of these will work for you:
1. Write about it. You don’t only have to write when you’re working on a particular project. You can journal so you get in touch with your feelings. I always write out podcast episodes and writing this episode has helped me release some of my frustration. It doesn’t always have to be nonfiction either. Poetry often helps me with this and sometimes also my fiction. I write poetry because I don’t care if anyone ever sees it. I write it for myself.
2. Take a day off. You’d be surprised what a day of rest and relaxation can do for you. First, sometimes you may just be working too hard. Second, you may be putting too much pressure on yourself and it’s starting to trickle into other aspects of your life. Just as you would take a break or a vacation from work/a day job, the same is true with your writing. Especially if you’re treating it like a career. Try stepping back and letting your work breathe for a little bit. Chances are you’ll come back refreshed and ready to go. Essentially, you’re letting yourself process and rest. Resting is essential to a proper mindset and a higher vibration.
3. Read. I know this is going to be in virtually every one of my solutions to your problems. But that’s the thing about reading, it is so powerful. Just as I listed the writing benefits earlier, reading can have the same ones. It can help you escape, no doubt, but I also like to read things that are uplifting. That can sometimes look like a simple quote (I scan through them on Pinterest or Hashtags on social media), or I read a motivational nonfiction book. Might I suggest Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert? I have that book tabbed, and I revisit it often because it initially changed my writing life. I cannot recommend it enough. Every now and then I’ll also read some articles on the subject of motivation. Whatever the medium, I read so I can be uplifted and inspired.
4. Move Your Body. What this basically means is exercise. You don’t have to do it in the traditional sense and get to the gym every day. What I mean by moving your body, is making sure you get out and take those steps. You will have to find something that works for you, of course. Maybe it’s Zumba, maybe it’s weight lifting, or maybe it’s jumping on a mini-trampoline. You can also go for a walk around your neighborhood. I actually try to get on my treadmill for at least forty-five minutes each day. One other thing I like to do in between working is get up and have a dance party. Yup. I turn the music all the way up, and I dance to a song I love, and then I get back to work. Getting the blood flowing to our brain is necessary. If we want to be successful and take care of our brains, we have to work on making sure the blood is getting to our brains properly. And it goes back to energy. Moving your body gets your energy flowing. That’s all part of vibrating higher.
5. Connect. Sometimes you just need to pick up the phone and call your writer bestie. You might even need to meet with that friend. Or maybe you have a group of writer friends who can lift your spirits. I am lucky enough to have a network of writing friends. When I received that rejection I immediately texted three of my writing friends and they gave me a good pep talk. That’s what it’s all about. Each one of them started with “Oh no, I’m sorry.” They then went on to be the voices of reason. They reminded me that I wanted an agent who would be passionate about the project and at least now I knew. And they were right. If I hadn’t submitted I would never know, and the “not knowing” would eat me alive forever. At the very least, there was that. You should be surrounding yourself with friends who are going to elevate you in general, but especially when you need to be pulled out of that low vibration.
6. Spend some time doing something non writing related. It’s no secret that there are a ton of creative outlets that exist. Why not tap into one of those? You could take a painting class, or learn to play an instrument. You could take a pottery class or do a series of yoga classes. And it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to engage in a creative act either. You can go to the museum or go to a Jazz concert, or take a cooking class. The point here is to surround yourself with not only other talented artists, but also to be inspired. I think we writers get so wrapped up in our solitary worlds. We spend a lot of time behind our computers and we forget that there’s a whole world out there. There’s a world beyond that of our characters, and we need to let it into our subconscious. A lot of people like to spend time in nature as well. Whatever it is, do something other than just sitting behind your screen. Nothing will inspire you more than simply living your life.
Okay, so there you go. Now you know how to recognize if you’re in a low vibrational state, and you have some tips for putting yourself back into a higher vibration. I want you to also remember that it’s okay to feel down sometimes, you just can’t let yourself stay there. You are all talented writers and I am a firm believer that if you do the work and you keep showing up, you will get to your final writing destination. You can have the writer life you want if you do those things and you believe that no matter what, it’s gonna happen. And if you need someone to tell you they believe in you—I believe in you.
Thanks, as always, for listening, you all. If you’re enjoying The Write Mindset I encourage you to subscribe and leave us a review. You can also check out Writer’s Atelier at writersatelier.com or on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. If you’re interested in joining our membership, you can do so through Patreon. Special thanks to our podcast editor, Aly Grauer. Take care and Happy writing life!
Mentioned in this episode:
From our affiliate account with Bookshop.org:
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Write Gym Accountability and Group Coaching Program by Writer’s Atelier
Find out more about Racquel Henry: www.racquelhenry.com
Audio edited by Aly Grauer. Find out more about Aly at: https://dreamstobecome.com/.
Music: Wooden Smile by Ziv Moran
This post contains affiliate links. WA receives a small commission for purchases made from affiliate links.
