I should first make something clear: The Icarus Theory is a term I just came up with five minutes ago, but it is surprisingly fitting for a phenomenon I've recently experienced.
As writers, we honestly face a lot of stress, especially when we get to the point where we are putting our works and ourselves out into the public. When you have a manuscript that you've completed, edited, proofread, had beta readers go through, proofread again, crafted a query letter for, and prepared to send out into the world, it can be really hard to press the send button. A lot of things start to go through your head as you stare at the carefully written email to the literary agent of your choice. For the most part, I think, writers tend to experience a fear of failure. It's safer to keep your manuscript at home, because what if you send it out and the scary agent doesn't like it? (Don't worry, the vast majority of agents aren't scary :) ) But you start to doubt yourself. You start to doubt your work. You begin to think, What if there's more I need to do to this? I'm sure there's more edits to make... This isn't fit to see the sunshine yet.
