Authors, are you burnt out from having to wear so many hats?

If we’re not writing, we’re editing. If we’re not editing, we’re formatting our books. If we’re not formatting, we’re making social media content. If we’re not making social media content, we’re booking ads on eBook deals websites, doing anything to make our book stand out.

Contrary to what some self-publishing experts often tell us, we don’t have to do it all, all the time. Sometimes, we just need to focus on writing and publishing the next book. Here’s why.

Wearing So Many Hats at Once Isn’t Always Sustainable

Some seasons of life require more of our time than others. Let’s consider these two scenarios:

Scenario 1:

Garrett is a single man who works a full-time job, lives by himself, and has no other commitments outside of writing other than visiting with his parents and siblings from time to time. At this stage of life, he is able to dedicate several hours of free time a week to all the ins and outs of self-publishing for his psychological thrillers. He writes at least a thousand words a day, and has dedicated days of the week for batching social media marketing content, scheduling out paid advertisements, and preparing for his next release. Because of this, Garrett is able to write a book every few months and publish two or more books a year.

Scenario 2:

Rebecca is a married woman who works a full-time job, has three kids in different stages of adolescence, and volunteers at her church and in her community. She hunkers down to write her clean cozy fantasy novels for at least 30 minutes out of her hour lunch break at work each day. When she’s able, she also gets some words in on her phone while her kids are at soccer practice or she’s standing in line at the grocery store. Due to her hectic schedule, she usually only gets one Saturday a month to batch content for her author platforms on social media, edit her manuscripts, or plan out her next release. Because of this, Rebecca has no set time span for how often she finishes writing a book and struggles to publish one book every couple years.

So, Who is Going About Self-Publishing the Correct Way?

That’s a trick question, because the answer is, they both are.

Garrett is taking advantage of the free time he currently has. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s working to his advantage.

On the other hand, Rebecca is also using the little free time she has wisely. She may not be able to publish books as quickly as she would like, but she doesn’t want to sacrifice the quality of her books for the sake of getting them out faster. It may take her books longer to gain traction, but in this season of life, she’s doing the best she can with the time available to her.

If Rebecca tried to publish as quickly as Garrett, and wear as many self-publishing hats as he does in addition to tending to all of her other commitments, she’d either become burnt out or would drop the ball in one or more other areas of her life. This could lead to a strain in her marriage, not giving her kids enough attention, or neglecting her responsibilities at home, work, her community, or church.

This is why, during our busy seasons of life, it’s perfectly fine if we throw some of the bonus self-publishing hats in a closet and focus on what matters most: writing the best book we can, ensuring it undergoes proper editing, and getting the book published without worrying ourselves to death over the unnecessary extra marketing avenues we can take.

Consider Authors Before the 21st Century

Did Jane Austen spend money and time procuring release swag for Pride & Prejudice? Did Mark Twain have a TikTok or Reel go viral that helped him sell millions of books? No, they didn’t. And I think we often forget that while going above and beyond marketing our books can help us sell more books, it’s not a guarantee that it’ll bring sustainable success.

What can bring sustainable (albeit, possibly slower) success is focusing on the basics of being an author: writing, editing, and publishing to the best of our abilities. As long as we do that, stay as consistent as we can without neglecting our other responsibilities, and never prioritize the extra frills that can come with self-publishing over the basics, we will be able to sustain a career as an Indie author.

Authors, it’s okay if all you do is publish books. You’re no different than any author that published centuries before us. They made it, and so can you. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

What’s a self-publishing hat you often prioritize wearing over your writing cap? Mine has definitely been social media marketing at different times!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀