My fears and anxieties about my writing career

 

Being a writer means a huge range of emotions but one of the ones that is the worst is fear and anxiety. 

I always ask myself questions like:

Is my writing good enough? 

Am I a fraud? 

Will I ever make it? 

Should I just give up?

Is my book good enough?

Do people even like my work?

And so much more but the real question is how do I manage these emotions?

I try and remind myself that people liked my wattpad books even unedited with many plot holes, I remind myself how much I have grown over the past few years with my writing and how I continue to grow and get better each day I write. 

My writing routine

 In todays blog I will be talking about My writing routine. I will be talking about if I follow a writing schedule or word count and what works and doesn’t for me personally. 

So I have done a lot of different routines over the years from writing every day, following a word count as well as writing once a week for twelve plus hours a day. 

Now that I am a mother I struggle to find time to work on my books so my writing routine looks a lot different nowadays but I find both a schedule and word goal is what makes me do well. 

I personally write Two nights a week both Wednesday and Thursday nights for a minimum of a half an hour. Now I can write pretty fast so I try and aim for over a thousand words a night. I will occasionally write on the weekends as well but I don’t set a goal for that it’s just whatever I can get done. 

I find this works well for me but I would love to know how you guys structure your writing schedules

How I stay on top of 3 blogs

 

Although in 2024 I am only updating two of my three blogs I still thought I would write this blog post as is. 

It’s no easy task running three blogs on totally different subjects while maintaining an upload schedule you can stick to but this is how I manage. 

I spend one week a year working on my blogs; that’s right only a week. Here is a breakdown so you can better understand how I do this. 

Day one: I will look all over the internet and my own brain coming up with ideas for my blog posts 

Day two: I chose twelve ideas for each blog and write down what I want to include in my post  

Day three: I will make blog graphics up for each post

Day four: I will write and edit my writing blog

Day five: write and edit main blog 

Day six: write and edit endometriosis blog 

Day seven: finish up any posts I didn’t get too. 

I spend maybe a total of ten hours in that week period working on my blog; I preschedule them so that I don’t have to even think about it and then every few months I will advertise my blogs on my social media so as to draw more people to my blog. 

While this routine isn’t perfect I find it works for me. 

the time i almost gave up on my writing career

 

Back in 2019 while I was working on a few of my now published books I was ready to give up, every rejection letter made me doubt myself and I was ready to give up; but what changed?

I got my first acceptance letter and then my second and my third and while I in the end decided to self publish wrongful love it gave me hope. Around the same time was also when HiNovel approached me and asked to sign me on for three of my books. 

I am now four years into that five year contract and while I don’t know what is around the corner for me with my journey I do know I still have doubts and feel like giving up some days but I remain strong and remind myself that it just takes one book and I could make it with my dream. 

My favourite books and who wrote them

 Stephen kings- pet sematary, Dr sleep, the shinning

Beautiful creatures series by Kali Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Engelsfors trilogy (the circle, fire and the key). by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren

Why do i write?

 Todays blog post centres around why I write. 

I write because it helps me with anything I have struggling with; I actually have a bunch of mental illnesses and physical issues so writing has always been an escape for me; when I write I don’t feel pain nor any of my issues. I get transported into my books and can just escape everything that is going on. 

I also write because reading is another way I escape the real world and I want to help other people escape from their issues for a small amount of time to the best of my ability. 

My goals when writing isn’t to write a best seller or to earn a lot of money although I do hope to one day earn enough money to live off that isn’t my main goal I just want to get my books into peoples hands for whatever reason they like to read for. 

10 tips to treat your writing career as a business

Treating your writing career as a business can be difficult but with these ten tips you are such to be building towards  success

1. Set Clear Goals: Define your writing goals, whether it's completing a novel, publishing articles, or becoming a freelance writer. These goals will guide your business strategy.

2. Create a Business Plan: Develop a detailed plan outlining your writing niche, target audience, marketing strategy, and financial goals. Treat it like a business roadmap.

3. Invest in Education: Continuously improve your writing skills through courses, workshops, and reading. Invest in your knowledge as you would in any other business asset.

4. Build a Brand: Establish a unique author brand with a professional website, logo, and social media presence. Consistency in branding is key when it comes to social media and marketing.

5. Financial Management: Keep track of your income and expenses. Consider hiring an accountant or using accounting software to manage your finances efficiently maybe even consider opening a Business expense account to help you manage this.

6. Networking: Connect with fellow writers, editors, and publishers. Networking can lead to opportunities, collaborations, and valuable insights.

7. Marketing and Promotion: Develop a marketing strategy to reach your target audience. Utilize social media, email marketing, and book promotion techniques.

8. Time Management: Set a writing schedule and stick to it. Treat writing as your work hours, just like any other job. This can be difficult when writing isn’t your main job  but stick to writing for half an hour to a few hours after work or on weekends.

9. Legal Considerations: Understand copyright laws and contracts. Consider consulting a legal expert for advice on publishing agreements.

10. Adaptability: Stay updated with industry trends and be willing to adapt to changes in the writing landscape. A successful writing business requires flexibility.

Remember that building a writing career takes time and dedication. Treating it as a business helps you stay organised, focused, and increases your chances of long-term success.