It's no secret that the world we live in is a chaotic one. There seems to be a constant hustle and bustle, everyone is scrambling to get somewhere and there's a perpetual rush within us. An urgency to reach goals by a certain time we've set for ourselves, to meet deadlines and never be late for appointments.
When you hear the term 'self-published author', you might assume that since there's no publishing house involved which means no deadlines(except for the ones you set yourself, of course), there isn't that same level of pressure involved. And while being an indie author no doubt comes with an abundance of perks like having full creative control and escaping the uncertain waiting period that occurs between the time you've written your manuscript and getting published, the pressures are definitely there. Because we as indie authors have full control over our works, we have a number of tasks to tackle. One of the lovely things about writing is that the possibilities for your books are endless. There are so many things you can do that can contribute to making your story come alive. From moodboards that visualise elements of your book to playlists of songs that set and enhance the mood to making pinterest boards of suitable images, you have free reign to go wild and set your imaginary world alight. That's part of what makes authorhood(I don't even know if that's a word, but anyway, I'm going with it 😄) so fun and exciting! And... that's also part of the overwhelm. This is where comparison enters the picture. Often when I'm scrolling through social media and I see authors' posts where they talk about the fact that they created music playlists or character aesthetics or anything like that, I want to do all of that as well and my imagination goes wild with all the ideas popping in my head. And there's nothing wrong with that. But it becomes an issue when I overwhelm myself with doing too much at once because my head is buzzing with creativity. It might be a cliché, but the saying 'comparison is the thief of joy' is true. Comparing ourselves and our accomplishments to those of others' is detrimental. Not only as writers but as human beings. If we measure what we do by what other people do, we will always sit with a glass of half-emptiness because we're in the pursuit of filling our cups with other peoples' liquid. Comparison is the thief of joy for a reason. It steals. It saps our energy and contentment. And it replaces those pleasant feelings with overwhelm, burnout and it can threaten our self-esteem. This is what leads us to the topic of this blog post. Being an indie author can teach us how to take better care of our well-being. Here are three of the ways.
1. We learn to delegate tasks and ask for help
The projects we have can seem never-ending. As much as we'd like to, we can't do absolutely everything by ourselves. This can drain us, leaving us feeling emotionally unwell. Therefore, reaching out to people for some input and asking them for help with even just one thing like making a book trailer or researching a topic for example, can take a load off your shoulders and make you feel a little bit lighter.
2. It helps us realise that taking a break and making time to breathe holds major benefits
In between drafts and projects, it's beneficial to give yourself a break. Working on a novel, novella or short story takes a lot out of you, so it's important to make the time to relax before delving back into a story. You'll restore your energy and recharge your batteries. This also shows us that resting is crucial in anything and everything we do.
3. We learn to stop comparing ourselves to others
This circles back to what I mentioned earlier. Part of self-care is being aware of what causes us sorrow, and as we know, comparison seriously robs us of our joy. Imagine that you just wrote an incredible book and you couldn't be prouder of it. Months go by and you see that your sales haven't gone up like you hoped it would. This already discourages you, then you see in a post that another author's book sales are through the roof in a matter of days! That knowledge can make your spirits plummet. But when you take a step back and look at the big picture you'll realise that every author's circumstances are different. Just because that author sold more books doesn't make them a better writer. Stuff like sales and popularity don't define you as a writer or as a human being. When you stop comparing yourself with others, you learn to cultivate joy and this adds to the practice of taking care of yourself.
Practicing self-care is a life-long journey; it's not something you master overnight. And acknowledging this is part of taking better care of yourself.
Let me know in the comments how you try to practice self-care and what are your favourite things about being an indie author/an author in general.
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