This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
I’ve read blogs before where aspiring authors have given up work and vowed to get their book published within a year. I’ve winced at those blogs and hoped for their sake and their mortgage's sake that they made it. But, with the ease of self publishing and the ability to make money off your books without a publisher, is it more possible to give up your day job nowadays? Well, don’t wince, readers, but I handed in the notice to my employers yesterday!
I’m going to put your mind slightly at ease, I’m not leaving my job based on my book sales. I realise that book sales on Amazon seem to be random and unpredictable. I think if I had a number of books on Amazon and they sold the same number of books in their lifespan as my ebook has, then I honestly think it would be worth doing. But I’m no where near that stage yet.
I’m leaving my job instead as my husband has accepted a job in Switzerland and, unfortunately for me, I’m not going to be able to work there. Which means I get to be a full time writer! Now before anyone throws daggers at me, remember I’ll be living in the 7th most expensive city in the world. Just think how little wine I’m going to be able to drink as I won’t be able to afford it!
This is a fantastic opportunity for my writing. In the next few years my husband and I are hoping to start a family, so I’m not going to have this much time to devote to my writing for a long while. My plan is to continue writing books for Amazon, but also try to write books that I can sub to agents and publishers, as I still desperately want to be a published author.
I’m really excited about working a proper day as a writer. When I wrote my ten day novel I loved having a proper writing routine where I got up everyday and wrote. I’ve already decided that I’m going to write during the day whilst my husband is at work, and hopefully this means that I’ll actually get some free time.
No longer will I have to shoehorn my writing into spare five minutes, getting up to write early before work, or force myself to sit behind a desk when I get home after an exhausting day. I might actually be able to follow TV programmes, although I’m not holding out much hope for Swiss TV.
I have to admit I’m slightly terrified at the thought that I’m going to be stuck in the house all day in a foreign country, not being able to speak the language and only having the dog for company. But I’m hoping that this just forces me to knuckle down and do some writing, that's if I stay off twitter for long enough.
I know I’m really lucky to get this opportunity, so the most important thing I can do is write as much as I can and not waste it!