Lessons Learned from Ten Years as a Full-Time Author

And One Year on Substack

This month marks a couple of big milestones for me.

Firstly, it's my TENTH anniversary as a full-time author (woo-hoo!). I published my first book in May 2012, and by October 2014, I had officially ended my career as a photographer.

Secondly, it’s been a year since I started here on Substack (another woo-hoo!). So, what better time to reflect on what I've learned along the way?

Writing is hard – and I’m one of the lucky ones

Very few people write a book and manage to make a career out of it. I get that, and I (try to) remind myself daily what a fortunate position I am in. But ‘lucky’ doesn’t mean it’s been easy - far from it.

You would think that after 17 books, I would have this shit figured out. But each one is just as difficult as the last. What I have learned, though, is that knowing it’s going to be hard makes the process slightly less daunting. But only very slightly. I still feel a sense of dread and self-doubt each time I stare at a blank page as I begin a new book or Substack post.

The productivity myth

I am incredibly lazy. I have published 17 books in 12 years. To many people - people with proper jobs - that sounds prolific. How do you write so much? Where do you find the time? If you break it down, though, it works out as about 150 words a day. I’m not exactly a writing machine. I waste a lot of time, and procrastination is my constant companion. I like to think it’s part of the creative process. It’s really not, but I’ll keep pretending it is.

Writing is the easy part

If you’ve ever written a book – or even tried – you’ll know it’s bloody difficult. But compared to trying to sell your book, writing is genuinely the easy part. The market is more saturated than ever, algorithms are becoming more complex, marketing opportunities are shrinking while getting more expensive, and readers’ attentions are being pulled in a thousand different directions. With so many distractions, getting your book noticed often feels like an impossible challenge.

I still don’t call myself a writer

I am still intimidated by the word ‘writer’ and never refer to myself as one. I rarely call myself an author either. Being a writer implies I know what I’m doing (I don’t), and being an author implies someone else trusts that I know what I’m doing (they don’t). When people ask what I do, I tell them, ‘I write books.’ Because no matter how bad my writing, or how few people read my words, I do write books, so that’s what I stick with.

I’d rather people not know

If I had my way, nobody I know would read anything I’ve written. Friends, family, neighbours - I’d prefer they stay blissfully unaware of my work. Thankfully, most of them are. My books aren’t available at my local bookshop, and that’s the way I like it. Nothing against local bookshops - I love local bookshops and would like nothing more than for my books to be available on their shelves. Just not the shelves of MY local bookshop. I much prefer selling to readers I’ve never met – there’s less awkwardness that way.

I’m bad at predicting what will sell

I am really bad at predicting which books and which posts will do well, and which won’t. I reluctantly published Not Tonight, Josephine thinking very few people would read it. It has become my best-selling book in its time. Conversely, I was convinced The Self-Help Bible would be my most commercially successfully. Hardly anyone has read it.

It’s the same with Substack, I almost didn’t publish this post about The Cat Next Door, because, well, it’s basically just a load of photos of a cat, but readers seemed to love it (I should have known. Cute cat pics! Duh!). Or last week’s bonus post about mine and Rachel’s movie debut. Other posts that I thought would really resonate seemed to fall flat.

I’ve got high hopes for this one …which is probably a bad sign.

But I’ve learned to see failure as part of the process. You have to take risks to grow, and sometimes that means failing.

Writing is a lonely pursuit

As a photographer, I spent a lot of time with people – even if I wasn’t building lifelong bonds, there was at least interaction. As a writer of books, there’s almost nothing. I have become more introverted and more socially awkward and have to force myself to actively seek out human interaction to keep me sane.

It’s not all doom and gloom. I’ve made some incredible friends and connections over the years through writing. It’s a really supportive community (especially here on Substack) where people truly understand the ups and downs of this strange way of life. I’ve learned so much from those who generously share their insights and experience, and I try to do the same whenever I can.

Learn from others – without envy

It’s easy to compare myself to more successful authors and feel deflated. But I’ve learned to let those doing better than me inspire me, rather than demoralise me. Sometimes I forget that to many, I’m one of the successful ones. It’s funny how perspective works.

Don’t expect financial stability

If you’re after financial security or a steady paycheque, don’t become an author. This career is a financial rollercoaster. To illustrate this rollercoaster, I thought I would share my royalty graph for the last 12 years.

As the graph above illustrates, success in this field comes in waves. You have to ride them without getting too cocky on the peaks or too disheartened by the troughs. The trick is to stay afloat, keep paddling, and hope the next big one rolls in soon. And when it does, you’d better be ready to catch it.

I’m ready! Any day now, surely?

Regrets?

I have no regrets about taking the leap from my previous career to write full-time. It’s extremely tough, lonely, and financially unrewarding, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Well, apart from all of those ways.

Readers are everything

If it weren’t for readers – whether you’ve picked up one of my books or subscribed to my Substack – I wouldn’t be here. Your role is crucial. Whether it’s reviews, ratings, recommendations to friends and family, or even just clicking that heart at the bottom of this post, it all makes a massive difference. Not just for my ego (well, a little bit for my ego), but mostly to tell those pesky algorithms that people are engaging with what I write, which makes it more likely to be shown to others.

Substack has been a whole new learning curve

Speaking of engaging with readers, Substack has been an entirely new challenge for me. Writing here has been different from working on a book - even though most of what I write here will end up in a book - there’s more immediacy, and the feedback loop is tighter. I get to see, almost in real-time, what resonates with people and what falls flat.

And it’s been refreshing. As I said above, writing is inherently antisocial, but Substack has been a bridge between this solitary work and real-time connection with readers. It has helped me feel less isolated in this unpredictable and often lonely career.

The future? Uncertain, but I’m not done yet

Will I still be writing books in another ten years? It’s hard to say. I hope so. But the publishing landscape has changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to shift faster than ever. The future of books is very uncertain. AI is here to stay, and it won’t be long before robot-written books become common and widely accepted. Writing non-fiction might give me an edge for a while longer, but I know I won’t be able to compete with the machines forever.

But for now, I’ll keep writing as long as I have something to say – and as long as you’re here to read it.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you. Whether you’re a long-time reader or just passing through, your support means the world.

And hey, don’t forget to click that heart.

To those of you new to me or my writing… thanks for stopping by!

I write weekly posts here on Substack about a mixture of topics (travel, adventure, life). Some are free for all to read, others are for paid subscribers only. I hope you’ll stick around.

The first six months of my posts were compiled into my book Reconnecting…

My other 16 books are all available on Kindle, paperback and audiobook.