So, about a year ago, I posted a tweet that I would like to host author interviews and guest posts. I have since run a nice little steady stream of author interviews and I am please to bag my first guest post as part of this little ‘campaign’ of mine 🙂

Ryan Kirk is Team Asylum’s SPFBO9 Finalist with his The Last Fang of God. You can find The Last Fang of God reviews here, as well as all other Team Asylum SPFBO related content via the link provided in the introduction. But before it was apparent that Kirk will become one of the finalists, I happened to read Rune S. Nielsen’s interview with Ryan (interview), and when the words ‘writing full-time since 2015‘ were mentioned, I thought – stop! I want to know more! You don’t often run into indie authors who use the words, ‘full time writer’, you know? I simply HAD to get his story, and I am very grateful to Ryan for sharing his personal journey and lessons learnt! Invaluable! So, here it is… Enjoy!

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I’ll always remember the day my life changed completely. It was a hot summer day and I was reading outside with my wife. Unfortunately, my attention wasn’t on the book, but on a conversation I was afraid to have. I’d been laid off the summer previous and somewhat miraculously, landed on my feet. Now, less than a year later, I wanted to quit my new job. I wanted to dedicate myself to writing.

There was only one small problem.

We were trying to start a family, and were hopeful we’d have a little one in our arms within a year or so.

Not to be deterred, I tried to break the subject gently. “You know, dear, my books have been selling well. I’m making a lot more than I do teaching.”

She nodded, only half paying attention.

I’d thought for a long time about what I wanted to say. I’d mentally listed my reasons and prepared for a long discussion. But instead of any of that, I just said, “I’d like to quit and write full time.”

So much for a well-reasoned, persuasive argument.

My lovely wife, bless her, simply looked up from her book and said, “I’ll give you one year. If you’re still making a full-time income then, you can keep writing.”

The decision to become a full-time writer is a deeply personal one, and one that always involves trade-offs. Being a full time author is the most demanding and heart-breaking occupation I’ve ever had, as well as the most fun and rewarding.

When Liis approached me about the idea of writing a blog post about the decision to go full-time with writing, I was honored and a bit intimidated. What I’ve learned in the last eight years could fill a series of books, and it’s hard to narrow down what I think is most important for writers to think about as they’re debating the transition to full-time.

It’s tempting to focus on the mundane questions, such as money, health insurance, and the like, but everyone’s financial situation and risk tolerance is different. We’re all also willing to make different levels of sacrifice for our writing. Because of that, it’s challenging to say anything useful.

Instead, I settled on the two topics that I really wish I’d known more about before I made the transition to full-time–the two topics I don’t see addressed often enough.

Writing breaks the relationship between time and money

For most people working jobs, time and money are closely related. Generally speaking, if one works forty hours, one gets forty hours of pay. If one doesn’t work, one doesn’t get paid. It’s a fact I never thought much about before starting my business.

Writing books breaks this relationship, and I still remember how amazed I was when this first hit me.

My first book was selling well, and there was one weekday when I simply decided not to work. And I still made a lot of money. It was an intoxicating feeling, and a dangerous one.

From a business perspective, a writer’s job is to create sellable assets, such as books. Once the asset it created, it can earn money for as long as you live, and even after. I’m still selling books I wrote eight years ago, even though I’ve done little but marketing since then. It’s incredible, and one of the best aspects of being a published author.

Unfortunately, it also means there are no direct and timely consequences for poor decisions. It’s easy to take a day off, or a week off, because at first, nothing happens. There’s no boss to get angry, no timecard to fill.

When that happens, though, the consequences start to amass in the future. Sales will fall, readers will wonder where the next book is, and tasks will inevitably pile up. Worse, royalties for sales typically come months after the actual sale, so even if a struggling author gets everything together and gets back on track, the results don’t arrive for months, at least.

The flexibility of being a full-time writer is fantastic, and something I’ve greatly enjoyed, but because time and money are no longer directly linked, succeeding as a full-time writer requires much more discipline than I expected. It was a lesson I learned the hard way.

Making writing a profession

There’s another thing that changes I wish I’d been more prepared for, and that’s how my mindset around writing changed when I went full-time.

I still remember writing my first novel (which, I should mention, I never considered publishing as I was writing it. I was only writing for the joy of it). I would get up in the morning before work, make myself some tea, and write a thousand words. It was my daily routine, and I loved it. Diving into the world was fun, and a thousand words only took me 30-40 min.

Writing is still fun, but it’s also my profession. I can’t skip days because I don’t feel like writing, and to keep enough money coming in to keep a roof over my family’s head, I need to write three or four novels a year. If the story isn’t flowing, I need to figure it out, and I can’t take long. On top of the writing, there’s the constant promotion, marketing, and advertising that’s necessary to run a business.

In short, there’s a subtle but strong difference between writing as a hobby/side-hustle and writing as the occupation that pays your bills.

It was a challenge I struggled with a lot about three years into my journey. All I wanted was to take a long break from writing, but I’d just recently learned how dangerous the consequences of such a decision could be, so it wasn’t an option.

I found the fun again, but the lesson has always stuck with me.

Becoming a full-time writer has been the most difficult career switch I’ve ever made. I’ve spent more hours in the early morning and late at night at my computer than I ever expected, and I’ve lost more sleep than I have in any other job. I’ve dreamed about the mundanity and consistency of an office job more times than I can count.

But I’ve also met incredible readers and authors. I’ve made new friends, and have had the flexibility to be more present in my family’s lives than any other job I’ve ever had. I’ve learned more about myself in these last eight years than I think I did in the past thirty.

I’m in no position to give anyone advice, but I do know this. Whether full-time, part-time, or as a hobby, the world needs more stories. It probably needs yours, and in whatever manner you choose to pursue it, I hope you’ll share yours with the world.

– Ryan Kirk

Thank you SO much, Ryan, for sharing your story with us! I hope there’s a bit of hope, inspiration and motivation to take away for everyone. Swiftly learning from one’s mistakes, keeping a sober/two feet on the ground mindset in order to meet the goals, and having solid support, in Ryan’s case an admirably supportive significant other, seem to be important elements of success!

14702278Ryan Kirk is an author and entrepreneur based out of Minnesota. He is the author of the Nightblade series of fantasy novels and the founder of Waterstone Media.

He was an English Teacher and non-profit consultant before diving into writing full time in 2015.

For updates, more information, and to subscribe to a mailing list full of information, giveaways, and the latest new releases, go to http://www.waterstonemedia.net

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Finally, if you are a fantasy, scifi or horror author and would like to be interviewed, or like Ryan, share your experiences through a guest post, then please feel free to get in touch. Below is my pinned tweet where I have created a neat little thread with all of the interviews/guest posts to date. If BlueSky is the place you now float about, then you can find me under @liisp.bsky.social