Published: February 4, 2026

https://youtu.be/IDFxKT_4Kfo

Hey fam, it's Kelly — indie author, publisher, and host of The Author’s Mic™. I’m also the Owner & CEO of Bright Headed Publishing.

Let’s have some real talk about author voice—your real voice. The one you write from when you’re not trying to be “marketable,” not trying to be “relatable,” and definitely not trying to be digestible for people who were never your audience.

Because here’s the trap a lot of us fall into (and yes, I’ve been there): we start writing for validation—likes, praise, “good job,” approval from the loudest people in the room—instead of writing for truth.

And truth? Truth is what makes the work land.

Brand Voice vs. Author Voice (They’re Not the Same Thing)

Brand voice is what you craft on purpose for consistency:

• how you talk in captions and newsletters
• the vibe of your website
• the way you introduce your books on podcasts
• your “signature phrases” and content pillars

Brand voice is useful. It helps readers recognize you. It helps you show up professionally.

But author voice is deeper.

Author voice is the perspective you can’t fake:

• the rhythms you naturally use in your sentences
• what you notice and what you refuse to overlook
• the honesty you bring to the page
• the cultural context and lived experience underneath your storytelling

And for a lot of authors of color, author voice isn’t just style—it’s survival. It’s history. It’s identity. It’s what people have tried to edit, soften, “fix,” or flat-out silence.

The Validation Struggle (And Why It Messes With Your Writing)

Validation looks like:

• writing a scene and then “cleaning it up” so nobody can misinterpret you
• deleting the line that feels most true because it might make somebody uncomfortable
• swapping your natural language for something more “professional”
• second-guessing your character choices because you don’t want to be seen as “too much”

And the worst part? It doesn’t even start with readers.

It starts with that imaginary committee in your head—the one I call the tone police.

You know the voices:

• “That’s too angry.”
• “That’s too specific.”
• “That’s too Black.”
• “That’s too political.”
• “Can you say it nicer?”

Here’s what I need you to hear: that’s not a writing problem. That’s a comfort-zone problem. And it’s not yours to solve.

“You Sound White” — The Turning Point for My Own Voice

One of the biggest turning points in reclaiming my voice came through my book You Sound White.

That title alone tells you what kind of pressure I was carrying—pressure to translate myself, to code-switch, to be “safe,” to be understood on somebody else’s terms.

Writing that book forced me to look at the ways I had been trained (quietly, over time) to pre-explain myself, to soften my edges, and to apologize before I even made my point.

And I decided I was done with that.

I stopped justifying my voice.
I stopped auditioning for approval.
I stopped watering down my truth to fit somebody else’s comfort zone.

Reclaiming Your Voice: What It Looks Like in Practice

Reclaiming your author voice isn’t just a mindset. It’s choices—on the page.

Here are a few practical ways to stand your ground (especially when the tone police show up):

1. Write the “real” draft first—then edit.
Your first draft is where your voice lives. If you censor yourself in draft one, your edits won’t be “cleaner”—they’ll be quieter.

2. Notice where you’re translating yourself.
Ask: Am I changing this because it’s unclear… or because I’m afraid of how it’ll be received? Those are not the same thing.

3. Don’t confuse clarity with palatability.
Clarity means the reader understands what you meant.
Palatability means you sanded it down so nobody has to feel anything.
Aim for clarity—not comfort.

4. Pick your audience on purpose.
Not everybody is your reader. That’s not shade—it’s strategy. Write for the people who get it, not the people who want you to shrink.

5. Create a “tone police” filter.
When feedback comes in, run it through this:

• Does this note make the work clearer?
• Or does it make the work quieter?
  If it makes it quieter, you can ignore it with confidence.

6. Protect your language.
If your natural voice includes dialect, cultural references, AAVE, bilingual phrasing, or community-specific cadence—treat that like craft, not a flaw. You don’t need permission to sound like where you’re from.

Truth Over Validation (Because It Makes the Work Better)

Here’s what I’ve learned as a writer and as the Owner & CEO of Bright Headed Publishing: writing from a place of honesty makes the work clearer.

When you stop writing for approval:

• your themes sharpen
• your characters feel real
• your message stops wobbling
• your reader can actually hear you

Because you’re not performing anymore. You’re communicating.

So if you’ve been shrinking your voice to avoid backlash, ask yourself this one question:

What would my writing sound like if I trusted my truth more than somebody else’s comfort?

That answer is your voice. Claim it.

Links

Be a guest on The Author’s Mic™: https://brightheadedpublishing.com/be-a-guest
Grab the free guide: https://brightheadedpublishing.com/free-guide
Support my books: https://brightheadedpublishing.com/books
Join IRS (Indie Reader Society book club): https://brightheadedpublishing.com/irs-book-club
TrustBridge Series details: https://brightheadedpublishing.com/trustbridge

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