If, on the other hand, you read my book Highlanders' Revenge and enjoyed it, or you're a freelance writer too and want to know how a fellow one makes a living then read on, it'll be brief, I promise.
I don't think I've actually updated what I've been doing for work and writing for a long time, if ever. So, last year (2016) I was working as a freelance writer, mainly writing for my local branch of publishing company Archant, though I occasionally picked up an extra bit of copywriting and blogging elsewhere.
While I liked working for Archant (I mainly wrote features for the East Anglian Daily Times and Coastal Life Essex magazine) I was also working on this blog and writing my own stuff in my spare time. So, apart from the one day of the week when I was in the office, I was constantly working from home, staring at a screen all day and not really interacting with other human beings. Most people who know me wouldn't think this was a problem because I generally have a low tolerance for the amount of time I spend with other people, but even an anti-social hermit like me was getting a bit stir crazy, not to mention also getting headaches from constantly looking at a computer screen.
Plus, around October last year, my uncle Paul and I started work on the sequel to Highlanders' Revenge. It took a hell of a lot of time and work to produce the first one, and the second one is going to be just the same.
I really wanted to just focus on writing this blog and the sequel and felt like the journalism was bleeding over a bit too much. So, I finished working for Archant last November, had a lovely break over Christmas (integrated with a few bits of copywriting to keep some money coming in) and started a part time job in February. It couldn't be farther away from journalism; I work in a lovely clothes shop in a nearby town. I won't say which one on here, just in case someone finds this blog interesting enough to stalk me (highly unlikely).
I work part time at the shop, usually about three days a week, and the rest of my time I write, splitting my time between this blog, the book, and a few other things I'm sort of half working on.
This is actually working really well for me, it's making me use my writing time more wisely as it is limited and I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes to actually put on proper clothes and get out of the house occasionally. I even enjoy talking to other people, imagine!
I'm incredibly lucky that, as my husband works full time I'm able to go part time for a while and take a cut in pay while I pursue my writing career. I'll make it up to him when I'm a multi-million selling author (also I supported him through college so, you know).
In all seriousness, I don't think this will last forever, but for the next couple of years or so this is working for me and I'm going to really focus, not just on the book but this blog too. I intend to keep posting at least twice a week and including a bit more about writing and tips as well as the usual book reviews.
If you've made it this far, congratulations, I hope this didn't bore you too much. I thought I'd share as I always like reading about how other writers work and how it fits around their lives.
If you've made it this far then here's a photo of my dog curled up with his toy squid as a reward. This is normally what I'm sitting next to when I'm working from home.
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