Summary

A full-time author reflects on the unexpected realities of writing professionally after leaving a thirteen-year job, discovering that more time does not equate to more books or income, and that the true benefits are found in quality of life and the pursuit of diverse income streams.

Abstract

The author, having transitioned to full-time writing, anticipated increased productivity and financial gain, expecting to write more books and earn more money. However, the reality was different; the pace of writing and idea generation did not double, leading to a stable output rather than an increased one. Contrary to fears of distraction by Netflix, the author found greater temptation in exploring the city and taking naps, which initially occurred without planning and hindered productivity. Over time, the author learned to manage these activities, integrating them into a structured routine that includes writing and research. The decrease in sales of a novel series prompted the exploration of additional income sources, such as writing on Medium and considering music as a future venture. The author emphasizes the gained quality of life, the joy of writing without the pressure of a day job, and the importance of diversifying income as a writer.

Opinions

The author believed that having more time would automatically result in writing more books, but this was not the case.
Initially, the author was concerned that having more free time would lead to procrastination through watching Netflix, but other unplanned activities like city exploration and napping proved to be more distracting.
The author's income did not increase as expected, leading to a realization of the need for multiple sources of income beyond book sales.
Despite the challenges, the author values the increased quality of life and the ability to write with more freedom and less stress.
The author views the unanticipated distractions not as failures but as lessons learned in the journey of being a full-time writer.
There is an optimistic outlook on the potential of new ventures, such as writing on Medium and possibly writing and marketing music.

What I learned from my first seven months as a full-time author

I was expecting something else, but what I found was even better

The thirty-first of October 2018 was my last working day as an employee. I had resigned six months earlier. Because I had worked for the company for thirteen years, I had a long notice period. In Germany, this is regulated by law

So I had been looking forward to this day for half a year. And then it happened. In the office, I organized a big farewell party for my colleagues after work. Everything felt like a new start. It was an exhilarating feeling.

The next morning I woke up for the first time as a freelance writer. I didn’t have to hurry to get to the office in time for half-past seven, and I didn’t have to worry if my job would still be there ten years from now. I was now on my own and could do what I did best.

Over the years my income as an author had slowly increased. When it finally happened that I earned more with writing than with my full-time job, I didn’t hesitate a second.

So I got up and started my new life. I went into this new stage of life with some expectations. Here I report what has become of these expectations.

1. I thought I’d write twice as much as I did before.

A straightforward calculation, I thought. When I suddenly have so much more time, I can write so much more. One book per month seemed realistic (at that time I was so far along that I published a book every two months).

But I had to realize that it didn’t work because I didn’t suddenly have twice as many ideas. Besides, I couldn’t suddenly push a story at twice the speed. I doubled the number of words I could write in one day to 5000, but that didn’t lead to more complete books.

What happened instead: Writing no longer felt as much like work as it did before. Being able to write early in the morning was much more pleasant than starting after work and tired from the day. I wrote more but mostly reached my daily goal in the early afternoon. Everything else was suddenly free time. I had gained quality of life.

2. I thought I’d make more money now than I did before.

This second error resulted directly from my first one. Because I did not publish more books than before, I did not earn more money. In fact, the opposite happened, because my very well running novel series gradually sold less and less.

What happened Instead: In place of earning more money with my books, I came up with the idea that I needed additional sources of income. Just being dependent on Amazon could become dangerous at some point. So I started to look around for more possibilities and so I finally ended up here at Medium. I don’t earn much here yet, but in a few months, it may look quite different. Besides, I’m just starting to play with the idea of writing and marketing music in the future. But as far as that’s concerned, I’m still at the beginning of the road.

3. I thought Netflix might be a danger to me.

I know I’m a terribly lazy person at the bottom of my soul. Whenever I can save myself a lot of work, I do it. That’s why I was afraid the new time I gained would make me sluggish. Sitting at the computer all day in sweatpants just two meters away from my TV while my wife is in the office would certainly tempt me.

What happened instead: In fact, for the first two weeks of my independence, it looked as if I was right. There were more than a few days when I was watching The Walking Dead or some Marvel movie at noon. But then everything changed. It wasn’t Netflix at all that mainly distracted me from writing. Instead, two other activities seemed much more attractive to me than writing: Explore the city and sleep.

At noon I simply put on my shoes and went to the bus to drive into the city, which I rationalized as “research.” My books play in my town, so I should get to know it better, I thought.

On the days I stayed at home, I discovered the amenities of the midday nap. After a few hours at the computer, the eyes become heavy, and the words no longer flow so smoothly. So I convinced myself a little sleep would do my productivity good.

In both cases, there was only one problem: I did these things without a plan. When I drove into town, I had an idea what places I wanted to see, but when I was done with it, I didn’t drive home to write, I just walked around.

When I lay down on the couch to take a nap, I didn’t set a clock and sometimes slept the whole afternoon.

Today I still do both now and then. But now I’m setting my sights on it. I just drive into town to see a particular place and then immediately drive home again. When I lie down at noon, I set the alarm to twenty minutes and wake up refreshed when the alarm goes off.

Netflix was never a real danger because I knew it could hurt me. Things that I had never thought of before became a problem.

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