The Best and Worst Parts of Being a Full-Time Author

Here's what I’d consider the five highest highs and the five lowest lows... and I've spilled WAY too much tea.

When soliciting questions for my last AMA from my lovely subscribers, this one came in:

What is the best and worst part of being an author? (Especially being a writer for a living)

My answer wound up being ridiculously long, so instead of including it in the AMA, I promised to answer it in a separate post. Here it is!

Like any other career path, being a traditionally published author has its ups and downs. Before I wrote full-time, I worked in marketing at tech startups, and one major difference for me now is that the roller coaster feels way more intense. Maybe it’s because writing each book is such a big time investment, or because a slice of my soul gets injected into each one. Either way, it feels like more is at stake, with the potential to climb so much higher but also to fall so much farther.

I struggled to pick any singular “best” or “worst” thing, so I’ve listed what I’d consider the five highest highs and the five lowest lows. This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the pros and cons, though—honestly, that could be its own book.

Let’s start with the positives, shall we?

Some of the BEST things about being an author

1. Getting to write fiction as my JOB

On dedicated writing days, it feels like I’m getting paid to daydream full-time. I’ve always had a vivid imagination—whenever I’m falling asleep, riding in a car or on public transport, or taking a shower, my brain will concoct the most intricate stories, some spanning years.¹ Now I make a living from doing that. That’s wild.

I love revising even more than drafting. Pulling words out of nowhere can feel like a slog at times, but molding the words I’ve already written and watching the story take shape—with fully realized character arcs, twists, and mysteries—is such a gratifying feeling. I can spend 10 to 12 hours revising and not even realize time has passed.²

2. Hearing from excited readers

There are lots of reasons to want to write books, but entertaining people tops my list. So when I hear that something I wrote brought someone joy and gave them a reprieve from the stress of day-to-day life, that’s my drug. Especially when they tell me they couldn’t put the book down and read it in one sitting, or when they react to specific characters and events in the book. It’s so surreal—I remember scribbling notes about those characters and typing those scenes right there at my desk, and now, somewhere out there in the world, someone’s having an emotional reaction to it. How cool is that?!

It gets even more surreal when I reply to someone, and they write back, “OMG I can’t believe you replied!!” Meanwhile, there I am, rotting on the couch with Tostitos crumbs all over my sweater. That part makes me giggle.³

I also love meeting readers IRL. It’s surreal (I keep using that word, but it’s true!) to sign books for people and have them want to take a photo with me, and to know they took time out of their busy lives to come see me. Someone once came to one of my launch events dressed as one of my characters. That was so cool I nearly passed out on the spot!

3. Getting good news

The peaks of publishing’s roller coaster are few and far between, but they shoot you to the stratosphere. Like when my literary agent offered representation, or when a publisher offers to buy one of my books, going to auction, getting a new foreign rights deal, selling a TV option, or finding out Under the Surface was selected for the Indie Next List and Junior Library Guild. Incredible moments.

The moment I’ll never get over was when an email from R.L. Stine popped into my inbox with a blurb for my debut novel, All Your Twisted Secrets. It’s a locked-room thriller about six teens who must pick one of them to kill, or they’ll all die, and he said: “Talk about frightening page-turners! I kept reading chapter after chapter. I had to know what happens next! And trust me—the scares just keep on coming!”

I remember reading Night of the Living Dummy in a tent in my backyard when I was eight years old. As a teen, I read every book in the Fear Street series, often multiple times. And now, here was the genius himself in my inbox, having loved a book I wrote. I remember exactly where I was sitting at work when I read the email, and how I started laughing because I didn’t know what else to do with my body. I like to think about that moment during tough times.

By the way, for a limited time All Your Twisted Secrets is on Kindle Unlimited!

4. Getting to befriend fellow authors

This part is wild. Whether we hang out IRL or chat every day on Gchat, WhatsApp, or Discord, these friendships mean the world to me. I’m humbled by how brilliant my friends are, and incredibly honored they want to be friends with ME. 🥹

It’s also really funny going to a bookstore with my husband, pointing to a book, and saying, “Oh, yeah, we were just talking about XYZ thing yesterday,” and he’s like, “WHAT IN THE WORLD?”

5. Flexible schedule

I’ll admit, I miss some things about having an office job, especially seeing my work friends every weekday. But sometimes my body gets up to its chronic shenanigans, and it’s unpredictable. My last two jobs were flexible and my tasks were possible to perform remotely, but you know how it is—if a pain day comes on a day stacked with meetings, it’s rough having to make the call between rescheduling everything and just… bearing it. Maybe that’s an easy choice for some folks! But I’m a chronic people pleaser with a guilt complex, so.

Now, I don’t have to worry about any of that. I own my schedule, and can work from home—even in bed—whenever I need to without feeling like I have to ask for anyone’s permission. And if I’m feeling really unwell, I can swap a weekday for a weekend day, or raise my word count goals the following week to make up for it. This peace of mind will be the hardest thing to give up if I have to get an office job again.

Some of the WORST things about being an author

I’m going to be so real right now: I’ve spilled way too much tea in this section. I wish I knew this stuff before I started publishing, but at the same time, it’s hard to speak on it publicly.

For one thing, I don’t want to seem ungrateful. I know how lucky I am to have made it this far. But every stage of an author’s journey presents different challenges, and the goal posts are always moving. For another, I HAVE SIMPLY SAID TOO MUCH. This edges on stuff I should keep in the group chat. If I post this publicly, I’ll have to simply diminish and go into the west.

But I do want to be honest without sugarcoating anything, so I’ve decided to get into the nitty gritty in a section exclusively for my VIP subscribers. This way, we can chat openly and honestly in our small community… without me needing to hitch a boat to Valinor. 🤓

Here’s what I’ll dive into:

1. Lack of control or meritocracy

2. Instability and uncertainty

3. There’s always a new way to get rejected

4. Comparisonitis

5. Trolls, trolls, everywhere…