The more I talk about being an author, the more I realize how skewed perceptions can be.
I think when people hear “indie author”, they immediately assume that this is something I’m doing in my spare time, perhaps under cover of darkness. Perhaps I sneak out of bed at night to furtively write my stories, keeping it completely separate from my so-called real life.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Being an indie author is actually a full-time occupation, just as being any other kind of writer is a real job. It doesn’t mean that every writer is able to only write–most of us are hyphenated–but the time commitment is the same.
I am a homeschooling-mom-writer. (That doesn’t even touch my wife gig.) A typical day (if there is such a thing) might look like this: I wake up in the morning around 7, when my husband leaves for work. I glance through my email on my phone, because I can do that without getting out of bed. And at this point, I can’t really get out of bed, because I am usually pinned down by one cat and possible the dog, too.
When my eyes are ready to open for real, I first tackle whatever Facebook and Twitter interactions need to be addressed–requests for reviews, other social media connections, editing/critiquing submissions. And it’s right about then that the cats let me know in no uncertain terms that it is TIME FOR TREATS.
Once I’m out of bed, I try to complete my morning chores like making the bed and tossing in laundry. I can usually accomplish those and maybe even sneak in a little editing or more email answers before the kids are up and ready for school.
I try really hard not to sneak in peeks to my social media sites while I’m schooling the kids, but I have to admit. . .sometimes while they’re working on math or spelling, I might catch a glimpse of my phone notifications.
In the late afternoon before dinner, I try to sit down to deal with any other email or messages that have come up during the day and if I can, work on my own writing, editing or planning.
After dinner, I sit down and am in my chair for sometimes 4-6 hours, working on my own writing and editing. And of course, before I go to bed, I hit promotion again, checking and posting on Facebook and Twitter and scheduling my tweets for the following day, as well as working on any reviews, interviews, guest posts or articles that I’ve promised.
Some time after midnight, I give in to the pointed stares of the cats and fork over the night time treats, before I grab a little sleep and get ready to do it all again.
Glamorous and exciting. . .that’s the life of an indie writer. Slash homeschooling mom. Slash wife.
