Now that I have moved past aspiring writer and forged my way into the published author category, it is time to rethink my routine. I have recently discovered that the whole aspiring writer title for me was basically an excuse. I was only aspiring because I didn’t push myself to work regularly on what I loved to do. I knew I wanted to write, and I did, a lot. But in my mind, I wasn’t ready for others to read my work. I realize now that this was only because I knew it would mean I needed to get serious about writing. I just wasn’t disciplined enough. Now that I have become disciplined in my writing and have to learn a new routine to balance work, home, and personal.

Being an indie author and publishing myself was a feat in and of itself. Looking back I can see all of my achievements and mistakes along the way. As I work on book two I am learning even more. There are so many things that come with self-publishing. Things I never dreamed of and therefore never did. I have studied so much in the last year on what needs to be done and am still learning. I hope to continue this learning for the rest of my life, but that is a story for another post.

I have learned that I cannot just write when I want to. I have to set a schedule for myself. I was thinking of writing La Flor Manor for a couple of years. But until I set a schedule for myself, and made deadlines, I was getting no where. So this time around I have set deadlines for myself. I have made miniature rewards for myself when I meet one of those deadlines. And of course when I miss a deadline I have a serious mental pep talk and put in an extra few hours of work to get caught up. This is proving beneficial in keeping me on track and pushing me forward.

Getting to this path has been hard though. I have had struggles and days I thought about giving up all together. This I discovered was from feeling overwhelmed. Following your dreams and achieving them is a lot of stress and pressure. All self inflicted of course. I became overwhelmed trying to find time for everything. I started freelance writing about the same time as I started seriously working on my books. Plus I have a family that wants clean clothes and dinner cooked every night. Add on top of this softball games and baseball tryouts. With all of this going on I felt like giving up. I am so happy I didn’t. I needed a routine that would give me time for everything and time to rest as well.

That is where I am at now. I have set hours now for my freelance writing. I make time in the evenings when everyone else is watching videos or playing games to do my writing as an author. I plan family fun for the weekends and work sports in as requirements dictate. This allows me to get my work done, both freelance and mom work. Gives me time to write my book and allows me a couple of hours on Sundays to just breath. This is the time I catch up on my Netflix obsession of the week and do nothing.

Through all of the trials of family, work, and being an indie author, I have found that I was losing the love of writing. The one love that has been consistent since I was a little girl. So I knew I had to fix it. Thankfully through a lot of reading and some really great blog posts by other authors, I have found my way. That is not to say that I have perfected this routine or that I will not stumble along the way. Just that finding some balance has brought the joy back into my writing and daily life.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me through these trials and to those who have encouraged me to follow my dreams. I also thank all of my supporters and readers. This has been an amazing journey so far and I cannot wait to see what the future brings.

As always remember to inspire to be inspired. Your future is what you make of it, so choose happiness and joy.