Not that long ago I began writing in earnest.

I plunged into it and along the way discovered I have a talent which had laid buried for most of my life.

I made a change. I decided to pursue my creativity.

It has opened doors for me.

It has introduced me to a whole new world. A world I never knew existed.

Not only in my imagination, but also out there on the streets.

I have become an Authorpreneur.

About a year ago I finished my first novel Loreless. I then immediately began work on a new one.

I published that novel, Complicated Blue, two weeks ago. Now I am deep into writing my third.

I decided that if I wanted to make a living from my writing – and be successful at it – I would need to adopt a business attitude.

I couldn’t just do what I felt like doing. I couldn’t leave it all up to chance. I needed a plan. I needed to teach myself what it meant to be a professional author.

I had to go beyond creativity.

If I write something, it needs to be for a purpose.

Playtime was over.

Except, playtime is not over.

It has just been relegated to one of the many things I do. It is the core to what I do, but of equal importance to everything else.

If I don’t dedicate time to writing, I will not have a product to sell as an author.

It does involve juggling different parts of your brain. In order for the creativity to flow, time has to be dedicated to it. The creative block of time is important.

I protect it.

I have built a wall around it. It’s almost as if I go into another room.

Sometime I do that physically. Mostly it is a case of getting into another brain space.

In order to do this successfully, all the other things need to be pushed aside.

The story I have to tell cannot be influenced by pressure.

It would stifle it.

It would make it impossible to work.

It needs to given free rein. The imaginative juices have to be allowed to flow.

Otherwise nothing would come out.

That was the first step towards making authorship a profession. Dedicating a certain amount of time on a regular basis to writing.

And doing that without fail.

My work week is much like anyone else’s. Monday to Friday I spend my mornings writing. In the afternoons, evenings and weekends I work on the business.

• I study marketing.
• I research.
• I maintain a website and social media platforms.
• I work with my designer on artwork.
• I discuss my progress with beta-readers.
• I try to sell more books.

The list goes on…..

And it’s a long list.

If I were to work out the percentages, I expect I write for about 20% and run a business for about 80%.

Being an Authorpreneur is, for the most part, nothing to do with writing.

The fun work is naturally the writing. But I find the other things fun as well. If I didn’t I would have stopped ages ago.

What has happened in the past two weeks, since publishing my second novel, is that I can see a change.

People are now approaching me for advice.

They are asking if I want to be interviewed.

My impressions on social media have gone through the roof.

Strangely, publishing novel #2 makes a huge difference. A second novel says you are not a one-trick-pony. I suppose it’s not strange at all.

I knew all along what I was doing. Only the rest of the world had no idea.

It’s nice to know a second novel brings more respect with it.

It makes sticking to the plan all the more worthwhile.

Somehow, I feel my apprenticeship is over. Now I am doing the work for real.

I still have mountains to climb and much to learn, but it’s getting easier. I am not fumbling around in the dark anymore.

Things are starting to make sense. I can now see how some things, which were once a mystery, seem to slot together.

I am now able to work out if something is effective or not. There is generally less noise. I have crossed to the other side. I have climbed the next rung. It is still hard work but it is much more pleasurable.

And writing is still a joy.

It makes me wonder where I will be in six months time.

A year ago I set out on this journey, six months ago I published my first novel, two weeks ago my second.

I am making progress.

One thing I have to keep reminding myself:

You're an Authorpreneur, you're in it for the long game. Click To Tweet