When someone says they are an author, what is the first image that comes to mind?
I think of New York City and trendy coffee shops, but let’s be honest, being an author in real life is a lot different than Hollywood raised us to believe. Sure, we may spend a lot of our time in cute cafes with latte art next to our laptops, but most of us aren’t walking through Time Square with a book deal in our pockets. For the majority of us, there is an important balance between our author careers and our “real lives” that can sometimes result in lack of sleep and drinking an entire bottle of wine - just me? Okay, maybe that last part is subjective, but my point is there are different stages of “success” in this profession, so we can’t be brought down just because our success doesn’t look like the success of that best-selling book we saw in Barnes and Noble.
So what does the author behind the quill really look like then?
For me, my weekday starts with getting up at 5am (long before my husband) to brew a pot of coffee and post to my Instagram account while the smell of caffeine brings me to life.
I am a co-host of #TheWriterCommunity on Instagram, so those early mornings are dedicated to my community. I share my advice/tips for writing. I give my readers sneak peeks into my upcoming projects, and most importantly, I engage with the people who make living this dream life possible (I.e. YOU, my Faerie lovers and dreamers!)
If by some miracle you’ve just stumbled upon my blog in your daily internet scrolling, then WELCOME. It’s great to meet you, and I hope you find something useful in these words. Also, you can follow me on instagram @skyehorn_author 😘
But now, back to my point.
For me, being an author means writing as the sun rises over the trees and the sky turns from midnight blue to coral pink. It means falling away into a world of magic, myth, and legends before sinking back into the reality of my 9-5 job.
“I try to write a certain amount each day, five days a week. A rule sometimes broken is better than no rule.” - Herman Wouk
We aren’t going to talk about my day job, but just know that like many other authors, I never wanted to work in a cubicle. Since Covid-19, I’ve had the opportunity to work from home, but I’m still basically working 2 full-time jobs.
When work is over, I spend the evening with my wonderfully patient husband, but even then, I’m still working because books don’t sell themselves.
In fact, at this very moment I am sitting in my favorite reading chair (placed in the corner of my bedroom) typing away at my computer while my husband watches television in our bed.
Do I realize that this is hard on him? Yes. I absolutely do. But he is an amazing support regardless (See the image to the left of him literally buttoning my shirt for me during an author photoshoot when he didn't even have to make the 3 hour drive with me to meet with my photographer!)
I can only hope that one day the late nights perfecting my marketing plan and thinking of engaging content will mean that I get to work from home doing the job I’ve always dreamt of. I can only hope that one day I’ll be able to tell my future children that I followed my dreams with everything I had—and it worked.
That is what success looks like to me.
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” - Richard Bach
So, that leaves me with one question for you. What does success look like to you? If you’re a writer, does it mean your books are traditionally published alongside the greats? Or perhaps you dream of being a successful indie author all on your own? Or maybe like me, you dream of being a hybrid author who can write happily from her back deck and watch the sunrise every morning. Whatever your dreams are, I beg you not to give up on them, because one thing is guaranteed; if you never try, you will never succeed.
To quote one of the wisest men I know: “Do or do not. There is no try.” Yes, I did just quote Master Yoda. If you didn’t know something about me before, you sure do now!
Keep your eyes open for more blog posts in the future! I will be posting once a month, starting this November with more about my life as an author, book news, and more.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
