A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STRUGGLING AUTHOR

The role of an author can be an arduous one. Creating characters, finding a world in which they can inhabit, developing conflicts that they have to go through. Developing and nurturing them is similar to a parent taking care of a child. Eventually, the novel is let loose on the world and you wait, anxiously watching the reviews and sales as they slowly come in. This is before all the marketing and the reading involved in trying to become the best author I can be.

This blog post details what my work process is as an author each day.

EARLY START ALWAYS

Most mornings, I get up and do some form of exercise, usually yoga with some stomach muscle exercises mixed in. I believe this helps my mind to relax, keeping my mind focused and my body toned. Writing can be stressful at the best of times so it's important to relieve some of the pressure. In the New Year, I want to do some form of mediation, also.

NEXT STOP – READING A NOVEL

I’ve got to be honest. I don’t do this every morning, although I should. Personally, I find I always write more when I read more. Try not to stick to reading the same genre all the time. If you like a good thriller, why not try a sweet romance? If you read more genres, it opens your mind to possibly writing in different genres later in your writing career.

IN THE MORNING – WRITING 1

Every author varies in terms of what time of the day they write. Some bang the keys of their laptop in the mornings, others prefer the tranquillity of the evenings while the really, really dedicated ones, write all day. The method which I’m inclined to use is to write in the mornings. I tend to write until a chapter or a section of the novel is complete. This can take two or three hours, sometimes less. I don’t set myself a word count or limits. I'm the type of person who will just get demotivated by trying to write a certain amount of words by a set time.

WHAT I FIND DIFFICULT –MARKETING

To be truthful, most authors are not good business people. I'm much more interested in which words are spelled correctly in a sentence, than if my novel has a sensational cover design. However, marketing your books is something that cannot be ignored. Although it is difficult to master, there are tons of blog posts going into great detail regarding how best to market your novel. Although I don’t do it every afternoon, I do try to fit it into some part of my day to market the novels. Unless potential readers know about your books, they won’t buy them.

MORE WORK – WRITING 2

Some evenings, I will get the bug, writing in short bursts. These bursts can be an hour or longer. They don’t happen every day. Writing this way can be very productive, especially if an idea for your novel pops up in your head and you don’t want to wait until morning in case it disappears.

Although writing is a tough way to make a living and few authors in the first couple of years make a large income, I still enjoy doing what I love for a living.

Annette Austin is a self-published author of five novels in the acclaimed The James Saga series, ‘The Fall of the House of James,’ ‘Always A Slave,’ ‘A Slave’s Vow,’ ‘Betrayal of Love’ and ‘Between Love and War.’ She has also written a prequel to The James Saga, ‘All That Time Allows.’ Her first novel spent some time at the Number 1 spot on Amazon (History of Antebellum U.S. Chart.) All five of the books in The James Saga have garnered five-star reviews on Amazon.

If you liked this blog post, please share it on social media, email me at anne.austn586@gmail.com or join me on Twitter at Annette Austin@Annettte91329398 with your thoughts.