Becoming a full-time author isn't for me!
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Hub Calendar (all times GMT/BST)
May
Tuesday 21st May - Pitchhero with Jo Moult
Friday May 31st, 6pm 'How to find freelance writing gigs' writer's toolkit workshop with Florianne Humphrey
June
Thursday 13th June - Pitchhero with Alice Williams
June 25th 1pm - Amber and Jo (Skylark) Q&A
Industry Insights: Anna James ‘School Visits’ (date tbc)
July
Tuesday July 2nd 10am - ‘Writing Spooky Stories’ with Emily Randall-Jones
Pitch Hero: Arden Jones – TGLA - date TBC
Tuesday July 16th, 10am - Matt Goodfellow ‘Writing a Verse Novel’
A full calendar is here: https://write-mentor.com/events/
All sessions are recorded and available to watch back, so don’t fret about being there ‘live’.
This is is just a few of the many sessions/opportunities that happen every month in the Hub and are all available on catch-up if you join now.
The Final Word
Becoming a full-time author isn't for me
By Florianne Humphrey
It is a truth universally acknowledged that most authors aren’t in possession of a good fortune, and are often in want of other income streams. Basically - in other, less Austenian words - it’s difficult to find a full time job in writing and publishing books.
What authors do to make money elsewhere is something I chatted about with Aisha Bushby, Andreina Cordani, and Emma Read during a WOWCON 2023 panel (news about this year’s conference coming soon!). Exploring this topic made me think - if given the choice, would I choose to be a full time author?
This might surprise you, but I think the answer is no.
Even saying that feels like I’m putting a curse on my writing career - be careful what you wish for and all that. But I don’t believe becoming a full-time author is the key to success. I still want a long writing career where I publish several books. I just want to work on other projects too.
Maybe that’s because I’ve never had one job. Straight out of university, I went into freelancing and pieced together a career from different part-time roles and projects. All of these sit under the writing umbrella: marketing, copywriting, blogging, content creation, editing, tutoring, writing workshops, and, more recently, travel journalism. Initially, I chose the freelance route for the flexibility - to work how, when, and where I want. Now, I’ve discovered another benefit - variety.
My brain loves variety as much as my taste buds love cheese and chocolate. I can’t concentrate for hours on one type of task, so a day filled with short bursts of time on different projects keeps me motivated and engaged. Within my WriteMentor job, for example, I can be designing website content in one moment, then recording a podcast with the team in another.I also love the surprise of a new project, and the different experiences and challenges each one brings. This year so far, I’ve been down to London to help deliver WriteMentor’s in-person conference; up to Newcastle to run a workshop for New Writing North; worked on International Women’s Day campaigns; talked to a group of 100+ journalists about freelance life; and flown to Tunisia to report on the first person to run the entire length of Africa.
Of course, if you work for one company in one role, life will be equally varied, both professionally and personally. The same with being a full time author. Publishing books isn’t just about writing them - authors have to be their own marketers and publicists; they run workshops and do school visits; they chat on podcasts and radio and write blogs and articles; they go to book launches and festivals and conferences. But this sort of variety, where my work isn’t exclusively centred around my books yet I’m still writing everyday, suits me best.
When I first decided I wanted to be a published author, I did want to write books full time. Now, armed with the knowledge of the realities of the industry and my preferred way of working and living, I’ve changed my mind.
But you’ll have a different opinion on this topic than me, which is why we can’t just wear someone else’s publishing dream and expect it to fit. We’ve got to take time drawing up our own pattern, our own plan, and then work towards tailoring our ideal writer’s life.What’s yours? Would you love to be a full-time author or mix in other jobs?
I’d love to chat about this during my workshop on the WriteMentor Hub, where I’ll be sharing freelancing advice. Join me on May 31st at 6pm https://write-mentor.com/community-learning-hub/
Writing can be lonely, but it doesn’t need to be.
May the Force be with you!
Stuart, Florianne, Melissa and Emily