Find a support system. Find people who will celebrate your accomplishments and support you.
Writing can be stressful. The actual writing, the planning, the editing, the revising, the publishing, the rejections - all of it. That's no secret.
But here's the catch - you don't have to do any of it alone.
It can be really easy to feel isolated as a writer, especially a young writer. We are a particularly niche group, and I for one grew up surrounded by peers who had no interest in writing at all. They hated writing essays, reading books, and the idea of writing anything just wasn't appealing.
There are, however, people. There are people who will support you and will find your work interesting. And these are the people that you find and hold onto. The friends that don't show any interest in your accomplishments or interests - they're not friends. Writing isn't an exception to that. I for one would ignore the lack of actual support because writing was something else that made me a "show off" or a "know it all". And I didn't want people to think I was bragging when I mentioned that I wrote a book.
And that hurt. A lot.
When I finished my first book and published it, almost none of my friends even showed interest in reading it, let alone bought a copy. I brushed it off thinking maybe it just didn’t matter as much as I thought, or maybe it was just normal for writers to experience this.
But it’s not - and it certainly doesn't have to be.
You shouldn’t belittle your accomplishments based off of the people around you. Finding your niche can be difficult, but as a writer a support system is going to be there to celebrate the big things, and the little things. There are so many ups and downs in the writing process, and having people who are ready to read, critique, and celebrate your work - especially those that will be brutally honest - are going to push you to be a better writer. And a better person. Understand that buying a copy of your book isn't going to be financially feasible for everyone, but not showing interest other than a quick "Congrats" on social media isn't something you have to excuse.
So life lesson, and writing tip: hold on to the people who really care, and learn to let the others go.