Well folks, I am now officially working for myself. It’s still sinking in, even after a week of prep work for the next phase. I can’t say it has been an easy ride because my stress levels have been through the roof. Becoming self-employed as a writer is not for the faint hearted.
Before embarking on this adventure, I had to do a lot of research and quite a bit of soul searching. You see, there’s no point in telling yourself that you’re going to become a fabulous, £50k a year author (I’m allowed to dream), if you don’t have anything to eat in the interim. There’s that annoying question of how to put food on the table and pay for essentials, like the car insurance, for example. I was very lucky – I got help. Joining a group of like-minded writers/bloggers who have already crossed the roughest parts of the journey and have shared their experiences has helped immensely. Taking their advice is important too. There are so many pitfalls, it feels like walking through a valley of snakes!
The soul searching comes into play when you actually think of ways of earning money. Do you stick to what you know career-wise or take a leap and start looking for jobs within the writing industry? I decided, after many sleepless nights, that trying to force myself back into an office – be it in the legal, commercial or educational field – would kill me. I escaped the 9-5 a while back and could not envisage living that life again.
Working as a ghost writer, copywriter or academic writer requires skills that I may possess but my confidence refused for me to push myself there.
And so, it came down to finding my own niche market, a place where I feel I belong, something I am truly passionate about: inspiring others to write. So, with that in mind, I offered my services to people from different walks of life who are now on their way to becoming published authors themselves. I have taken my Writers’ Clubs and Book Clubs to other schools and have so many other ways to reach into the community to offer my services and inspire more people. It’s that tingly feeling deep inside when I think of how I can get children and adults to believe in themselves, to see what I can see in their words that got me here. And I hope I will be able to keep going and make my clubs a success.
There’s a long journey ahead and I can’t promise you that it’s going to be easy. From listening to many other adventurers who have taken the big step towards following their dreams, I need to prepare myself for some heartbreak along the way and some back breaking work. I’m ready for it. After all, this is now my dream we’re talking about and I want to keep it alive for as long as I can.
What are your dreams and how can I help you make them come true?
Thoughts by Mello-Elo 