I thought it might be a good idea to give an author update.
-Maybe it’s the change of seasons.
-Maybe it’s me coming out of the shadows of an injury that had me at less than 100 for 4+ months.
-Maybe it’s social media and AI and bots.
-Maybe it’s a 10 year author journey reflection.
This post is a bit of a brain dump ramble, but that’s what you get sometimes when you hear from a real live human being.
My Author Update
But I can’t help but think about my author journey and how I move forward. The big update is that today I am pressing pause. All of these story starters and drafts and what I think I’m supposed to write and trying to write to market and feel like what I’m writing matters will experience a pause. Not because I don’t want to write. I have been writing since I was single digits. But at 50 (this may be another reason) I am looking at my life differently and what I want and what I want to give my time and energy to.
It’s also completely plausible that I am just an average writer with too many ideas in different genres (likely due to undiagnosed ADHD).
This year has most certainly been one of change for me. Expected (turned 50) and unexpected (a painful and debilitating muscle strain that forced me to slow down like I have never done in my life).
Then there was the timely self-reflection of 10 years as an author and 20 years since learning I was a psychic medium and 30 years since I won the title of Miss Black Georgia. Yeah, milestones worthy of reflection. All things that have shaped me and my life. There’s something about me and these even years!
Expectations
Social media seems to have turned community into this idea of who is doing the best, selling the most, has the most followers. It’s not a game I started out wanting to play, and ten years later the rules have changed, new players cheating the system have been added, and the games master doesn’t care who is cheating as long as you’re paying to play. (I’m looking at you Amazon and Meta.)
There’s this pressure to monetize everything, and yet the struggle to actually monetize can cost more in time and money than I make back. Not bothering with trying to monetize (sell the books) means none of the costs to produce are made back – hence the expensive hobby I mentioned above. Putting books on free sites means having them easily stolen and fed to AI for them to learn more about writing as a human.
I get to ask myself what I want to write, how often, for whom, why, where to share, and whether I’m okay with no one reading it.
What’s the answer?
I don’t know. But to the question of where else or in what other ways I can share my work, some people try places like Substack, but it’s more for essays and thoughts rather than fiction, and my ADHD brain isn’t going to stick with a Substack where I am expected to give subscribers new content on a single subject area on a regular basis.
Others do Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee. I did setup the latter before but, no, it has the same issue as Substack.
That’s why I need to pause on creating something new under this pen name.
I have created expectations for myself to produce and built this identity around being an author, which sometimes drives me to feel like I should be doing the myriad other things to promote and sell that other authors do. It can be a nonstop chasing of this ideal. Some reach it, and that carrot keeps others running.
But after ten years, I realize my greatest successes haven’t come from books or being a writer. Writing has been an outlet for my expression, but if you read my self-help books, you know more about my journey and what has worked. I have been lucky and intentional in crafting my life but that also means being intentional about looking at the things I am doing and my focus and goals. It’s being honest about when something isn’t working.
Unfortunately, I just want to share the knowledge in books, or entertain through books, or express myself through books. I don’t want to do personal development coaching, intuitive guidance, or long-term coaching. I have come to value my time, peace, and privacy at a whole new level.
Hence, the pause.
What happens during this pause? I am going to refrain from writing anything new right now under my main name. I’m going to watch the data, which includes the numbers and how I feel. I’m going to step back from the expectations that come with it all.
Will I write under my other pen names? Maybe. Do I have to? No. No one’s asking me for anything. No one expects anything from me with those pen names. I can breathe a little freer there. In the pause is the breath that lets me sit with myself and that’s what I need right now.
What about my books?
The beautiful thing about writing a book is that it’s been written. If it’s available you can still buy it. I’ve got signed copies of some books and would love to get one in your hands. Yes, I offer signed copies through my store.
You can also find most of my books at other online retailers as well and in libraries. By the end of the year all of my published books will be available in ebook format at multiple online retailers as they move out of Kindle Unlimited. I’ve already created these works.
They are mine and always will be.
Continuing to create more and more doesn’t add value to what I’ve already done. Not creating more doesn’t take value away from what I’ve already done. I could stop today and everything I’ve done to this day will remain in my body of work.
Explore my body of work in my shop to see what I mean and if there’s something that you want to read or a life craft tool you’d like in your toolbox.
Life Crafting
In addition to writing books, I’ve also created some life craft tools and the Stepping Stones game. While I have made a decision not to do coaching and individual personal development, the resources I’ve already created are there for you.
While I pause my writing to see how to move in this new landscape, please don’t hesitate to reach out. While I am not available for ongoing coaching or intuitive readings I can guide you through the Stepping Stones game to support you crafting your life.
Once I’m fully healed I will again offer remote pendulum and number code healing (but it’s not available at the time of this writing).
Thank you for reading this lengthy author update and being a part of this ever changing journey.