I submitted my PhD thesis 7 weeks ago and I'm still waiting to hear back from the three examiners as to whether I require minor mods, major mods, revise and resubmit, or outright fail. We don't do the oral examination here until all three examiners are happy with the results of the thesis. Basically, you go into the oral exam knowing you've passed. I feel VERY inferior to other people in my program, and it's making me think I'm going to outright fail.

Most of the people in my program are older. I just turned 31. I have a tenure-track position at a local university (not the same uni as my PhD), and I have a tenure promise which will come into effect the moment my PhD is granted. Other than that, I'm not very impressive. My PhD is a creative writing/literature PhD. The majority (if not all) of my PhD colleagues have published books, short story collections, and have received awards for their writing. I've published a handful for short stories and poems, and none of them are in BIG name journals. I've had a few of my stories published in anthologies. I co-edited a research anthology. I have a few obscure journal publications and a few more well-known publications (but not New Yorker level or anything). I feel like this is indicative of my writing quality. How can I stand out to the examiners if I'm literally just a beginner and have no awards or major publications to my name?

Did anyone feel the same? Did anyone successfully pass their PhD thesis even with minor publications and no major accomplishments?