Advice For Seasoned Authors
The balance I have been trying to find seems to have found me. I have been struggling for months trying to figure out how to balance my writing with my personal life. It has been a difficult journey but I am feeling like the balance has found me. So for that reason this blog post is going to be all about writing. A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog post for those who are aspiring to be authors. This one is more for we seasoned authors who from time to time feel like they should give up writing.
The first bit of advice is we all at some point feel like giving up. We all have slumps, times when we feel like the pushing we do day in and day out is not enough. It is in some ways part of being a writer. As an indie author it is up to us to not only write, edit, and publish our books but we also have to find ways to advertise regularly. We have to think of new ways to market ourselves, if we will be attending any book events for the year. We have to learn how to make graphics, what swag we need to either make or buy and so much more. It becomes more than any of us can bear sometimes. So how do we fight the self doubt? How do we stay positive when it feels like we are failing at our dream? The answer is you need to have a support team. Your team should be made up of people who are encouraging and you can trust. It should be people who know how to cheer you up at the worst of times. People who know when you need a break or a drink or maybe just a laugh. Those are the people who will remind you why you are an author. They are the people who will keep you upbeat and smiling. For me, my team is made up of people I know personally and people I only know through social media. One of my biggest cheerleaders is my friend Betty. She is a woman I have never met in person but is one of the most wonderful people I know. She is encouraging, makes me laugh, and anytime I am second guessing myself she reminds me I am a badass and I can do this. My other cheerleader is Amanda and all of my ARC readers. They are amazing and are supportive of everything I do. I also have a few author friends, one of them being my friend L.E. Martin. She is my partner on Penned in Magic and Forevers. In some ways, she is my partner in crime when it comes to social media. We support each other, we try to encourage one another, and when needed, we let one another vent. As you all know my mom edits everything I write. She is also the person I talk through scenes with and reminds me who I do this for. There are times I forget why I work so hard. She reminds me. I have a couple of new team members. The first is my friend Matt. He is the individual who I plan on working with on my poetry book. I send him poems when I am unsure if they are good enough. I talk to him about my uncertainties and music. His taste in music is very similar to mine. I am grateful to call him my friend. The last but certainly not the least is Kyle. He is a friend of mine who makes me laugh and I can talk to him about anything, and is a big goofball. One of the reasons he and I get along so well is as he puts it our insanity matches up to one another. It is also why he is one of my team members.
The next piece of advice I have is to make sure you always support other authors. In many ways we authors live in our own world. Recently, I have been hearing about authors who have bullied other authors. Others who have plagiarized from other authors. One of my good friends had it happen to her months back and her first thought was maybe she and her writing partner should stop writing all together. Sometimes those moments make you want to stop being part of this world. The way I see it is quitting won’t make our world any better. The only way to shut down the negative individuals is to drown them out by supporting one another. The more support you can give to other authors the quieter the negative individuals will get. Make sure you review their books, cheer them on, and if possible help advertise their books.
The last piece of advice is what I said to aspiring authors, keep going. Push through the difficult times and remember why you became a writer. Life as an artist is not for the faint of heart. You have to be strong willed, determined, and believe in what you are doing. Until next time!
The first bit of advice is we all at some point feel like giving up. We all have slumps, times when we feel like the pushing we do day in and day out is not enough. It is in some ways part of being a writer. As an indie author it is up to us to not only write, edit, and publish our books but we also have to find ways to advertise regularly. We have to think of new ways to market ourselves, if we will be attending any book events for the year. We have to learn how to make graphics, what swag we need to either make or buy and so much more. It becomes more than any of us can bear sometimes. So how do we fight the self doubt? How do we stay positive when it feels like we are failing at our dream? The answer is you need to have a support team. Your team should be made up of people who are encouraging and you can trust. It should be people who know how to cheer you up at the worst of times. People who know when you need a break or a drink or maybe just a laugh. Those are the people who will remind you why you are an author. They are the people who will keep you upbeat and smiling. For me, my team is made up of people I know personally and people I only know through social media. One of my biggest cheerleaders is my friend Betty. She is a woman I have never met in person but is one of the most wonderful people I know. She is encouraging, makes me laugh, and anytime I am second guessing myself she reminds me I am a badass and I can do this. My other cheerleader is Amanda and all of my ARC readers. They are amazing and are supportive of everything I do. I also have a few author friends, one of them being my friend L.E. Martin. She is my partner on Penned in Magic and Forevers. In some ways, she is my partner in crime when it comes to social media. We support each other, we try to encourage one another, and when needed, we let one another vent. As you all know my mom edits everything I write. She is also the person I talk through scenes with and reminds me who I do this for. There are times I forget why I work so hard. She reminds me. I have a couple of new team members. The first is my friend Matt. He is the individual who I plan on working with on my poetry book. I send him poems when I am unsure if they are good enough. I talk to him about my uncertainties and music. His taste in music is very similar to mine. I am grateful to call him my friend. The last but certainly not the least is Kyle. He is a friend of mine who makes me laugh and I can talk to him about anything, and is a big goofball. One of the reasons he and I get along so well is as he puts it our insanity matches up to one another. It is also why he is one of my team members.
The next piece of advice I have is to make sure you always support other authors. In many ways we authors live in our own world. Recently, I have been hearing about authors who have bullied other authors. Others who have plagiarized from other authors. One of my good friends had it happen to her months back and her first thought was maybe she and her writing partner should stop writing all together. Sometimes those moments make you want to stop being part of this world. The way I see it is quitting won’t make our world any better. The only way to shut down the negative individuals is to drown them out by supporting one another. The more support you can give to other authors the quieter the negative individuals will get. Make sure you review their books, cheer them on, and if possible help advertise their books.
The last piece of advice is what I said to aspiring authors, keep going. Push through the difficult times and remember why you became a writer. Life as an artist is not for the faint of heart. You have to be strong willed, determined, and believe in what you are doing. Until next time!
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