Charlie Hicks – Author

So, this morning I sat down and thought about all the things I had achieved yesterday. Promo material for current book sale on Smashwords. Promo material for the next book launch in August, setting up this blog site. Writing 2 chapters of my next book. And it dawned on me that I was no longer just an Indie author. I was a collection of all these other tasks, graphic designer, marketing, accountant, website admin and content provider across various social media sites. And It kind of scared me a little bit.

I got into writing as a form of self-healing, my first 2 books were and are very much me getting unresolved issues off my chest. The next book is very different. I think I used the first 2 books to clear the air, to set the scene as it were for what was to follow. And in a way I’m glad that I have done that. I contemplated on those first two books and realised I was now mentally in a much better place than I had ever been for such a long time. Writing can be a therapy, but it can also be a restraint which if you are not careful can hold you back. I hope that it still is a therapy for me this time next year, I wouldn’t want it to become a bind that shackles me to a desk again and only lets me have freedom some of the time.

And as I wrote this blog post today, I thought about what my blog should become. It should be my journal, my point of reflection on the world around me and my part in it. Now I know this may all sound very philosophical, but it is by asking ourselves such questions and exploring where the thought process may take us, that we learn, we grow and develop as a person.

I re-watched a video with Alan Moore, and he summed it up for me in a few choice phrases.

1. That book isn’t going to write itself, you have to sit down and put one word after another, and keep going
2. Set realistic goals, and if they are too much, adjust them so you are, not only happy in your work, but productive as well.

So, in reflection, being an Indie author is empowering and offers a level of freedom I have never experienced before in my life. But it is also something which unless carefully managed, can become a beast of burden. I will need to think carefully about how I manage my time, not only to write but also juggle all these other jobs I have to do as well as living and supporting my family.

And so I come to the difficult part of saying goodbye for now, I’ll be back, it may not be tomorrow, but it’ll be soon enough, and I hope to see you all here again.