Here are 5 tips for budding authors to achieve the perfect work-write balance

Writing is a passion for many. But let’s be honest it doesn’t pay well. Thousands of books get published every year, and only a handful becomes bestsellers. Unless you find your way up to the top, writing is a rather unassertive full-time option.

But when it’s your passion, you simply can’t give up on it. It is your moral responsibility to keep trying and find your way into that list of bestsellers.

These days, great content alone is not enough to make your book a bestseller. Gone are the days when an author could simply take responsibility for “structuring the words”, and the rest is a walk in the park.

You need to market yourself and your book. Marketing is an investment, and you need money for it. Now, where does that investment come from? Naturally, most authors would need to consider doing other work. So, how can one achieve a perfect work-write balance?

Here are a few tips for budding authors:

1. Finding your source of income

Crush your utopian ideas of finding a relevant profession with a perfect work-life balance that allows you enough time to write, have a social life and provide a good income. Such an ideal job doesn’t exist. Period.

Some well-educated authors have gone to the extent of becoming watchmen only to focus better on their reading and writing. That sounds a little extreme, but the bottom line is — find yourself a source of income that leaves you with some personal time.

The money doesn’t have to come from a job you absolutely love.

2. Don’t lose focus of your goal

Never forget your commitment to writing. The corporate jobs will pull you into their culture of working late hours, and weekend parties. But you are only mandated to work 9 hours a day. No more than that. Make sure that you are curt enough to log out on time.

For some reason, if the working hours are beyond your control, at least make sure that you cut back on the social events in the office. Use your personal time wisely.

3. Block your time

Weekends are usually free but can also turn out to be lazy. Make sure you assign a fixed time for writing and find discipline to adhere to it.

Understand that writing is a creative process. So, you won’t always find inspiration, but try to utilize that time for some brainstorming, reading or researching.

4. Create a WhatsApp group with yourself

This might sound crazy. But inspiration can strike anywhere- in the bathroom, late nights or in an office meeting.

Often, we tend to forget and lose out on that inspiration. So, whenever it comes, you can type out those ideas/thoughts/words as a quick text to yourself.

Later, whenever you would work on your writing, you can refer to these texts and work on them.

5. Become a full-time storyteller

Balancing your jobs, your writing, health and social life is a hustle. Not everyone will support or understand you. That’s where storytelling comes into picture. But remember that stories can be fictional.

So, tell your boss how you love your job but can’t work late on Fridays owing to a personal engagement. Tell your colleagues how much you wanted to come for that party but can’t make it due to some health reasons.

Tell your friends how much you love them but need to prioritize your dreams for the time-being Learn to tell compelling stories, that’s what you wanted to do anyway. Right?

– Article by RV Dadhe, Author, Accidentally Educated

Source : IndiaToday
Featured Image : stocksnap.io