How Authorpreneurs Can Protect Their Mental Health
By: Laura Winter
Tags: Authors, Self Publishing, Authorpreneur, Mental Health, Writing

How Authorpreneurs Can Protect Their Mental Health

For the author who does it all, when and how do you turn it off?

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Hustle culture and entrepreneurial lifestyles have long been idolized by our generations. There’s freedom, power, control, and obsession with the ‘always on’ mentality. You have to be constantly growing, adapting, and changing in real time if you want to be successful.

And now writers have discovered their own term: authorpreneur. We are the writers who turn our work into a business, specifically the self publishing business. The authorpreneur is the author who runs every aspect of their publishing process, from writing to editing to marketing to releasing. We have adopted hustle culture and are obsessed with the minute details of how our process is contributing to our overall business.

But as a solo endeavor, how can we turn off our minds when things get overwhelming? There are things such as writer’s block (side note: I don’t actually believe it’s the writing that is blocked but rather outside forces, such as perfectionism, that keep us from writing), burnout, and overall lack of motivation that hold us back or put strain on our mental health. But what happens when it’s the business that has us pulling our hair out, falling into despair, or stressing out? We can’t just hand the reigns over to a partner while we figure it all out — we are in control of the ship at all times.

As an authorpreneur, I’ve faced my fair share of struggles created by my own head. Not only do I try to run my writing like a business, I also do so while juggling depression, anxiety, ADHD, and a few others. But in learning about my own mental health and the impact it has on running my business, I’ve been strategizing how I can help other writers balance the myriad of issues that can affect the business of writing, not just writing itself.

For authors who do it all, when and how can you turn it off and recover? Here’s how authorpreneurs can work to protect their mental health.

Prioritize writing, then everything else

Many of us get caught up in the long task list of things we have to do to be successful, which is why learning to prioritize the most important tasks can be a life saver.

Ultimately, the most important thing you should be doing is writing, because that’s the foundation of your authorpreneurial business. If you don’t have something written, nothing else matters.

Look at the task list for how you run your business. What should come next? For some, connecting with their audience is the next step. Perhaps you run a Patreon and deliver something to your supporters. Maybe you have a weekly post on Instagram or Twitter where you reach your fans. Or you might believe the next step is polishing your work and preparing for publication.

Understand the logical steps in your process and learn what needs to come first, second, third, and so on. It doesn’t have to be done immediately.

Plan ahead and create breathing room for yourself

Once you’ve figured out where everything fits on your to-do list, plan ahead for when you’ll do everything.

Writing should come first, so find a planner (I’m a fan of the Passion Planner (affl.)) and figure out when you’re going to build writing into your schedule. Be realistic. If you write 1K words a day and you want a 50K word novel, you’ll need about 2-ish months to complete your book, assuming there are days where you don’t write or something comes up. After that, you can start scheduling other things like covers, social media promos, or publishing details.

Planning ahead doesn’t always mean you’re going to stick to the schedule. Notice above that I carved out 60 days for your 50K novel. That gives you flexibility. But there are also days you’re going to write more than 1K words. Or maybe you write 500 but also design a cover. You can sprinkle in other tasks and get things done by stacking other priorities. Wiggle room gives you breathing space in case you miss a day or something comes up.

Consider also that you might have the intention of starting a podcast or blogging on the side. During this time, you can also be planning ahead for a launch or collecting ideas for your new project. On day one, you don’t have to have everything figured out, but planning ahead can help you be more prepared when you do decide that your schedule can add on another task.

Small chunks add up to big results and less overwhelm

Like prioritizing, breaking your tasks into small portions is much better than trying to tackle an entire project at once. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It’s common for authors, and especially new ones, to try to have everything done at once. You have to build an entire website, have it running, have a storefront, deliver merch, have a blog for your characters, promote on social media, host a podcast, record an audiobook, write a sequel… I’m exhausted just thinking about this, and I don’t do half of it.

Prioritize what comes first. If you decide that building a website is important, focus on first finding a platform. You don’t have to have the entire thing running immediately. Create one detailed page and leave the rest as tasks for another day.

Set start and end times to relieve stress

As a workaholic and obsessive productivity guru, it’s hard for me to know when to turn off. One thing I’m still working on implementing is an official end time. Besides, I should be focusing on my business at all times because it’s my business. But designating a time where I wrap up my last task of the day and walk away from the computer screen has been instrumental in helping my stress levels. I decide that at a certain time, I’m not working on any writing or publishing task until the next day. The screen turns off, I open up a paper planner to write my next day’s task, and then I walk away.

Knowing that from 9AM until 5PM I’m working helps prepare my mind and body for everything else. Before 9, I focus on the animals, getting my husband out the door with all of his things, and setting myself up for the day. After 5, I wrap up my last task, feed the dog, and prepare for the next day. It helps me wind down, actually get sleep, and come prepared in the morning.

I also have decided to take weekends off. Not everyone can do this, but I know that it’s for my best mental health to shut off. There are still times where I’ll work — specifically in the mornings when my husband sleeps in. I come downstairs and tackle nonfiction projects or administrative tasks like scheduling posts for the week. That way, I don’t have to worry about them during the week and my focus can stay on writing.

Pursue creative hobbies that are fun

I’m not saying writing isn’t fun; in fact, it’s still the best part of my authorpreneur job. Like most writers who turned their writing into a business, I started writing as a hobby because I loved it. I had fun.

But I can’t tell you the last time I did a hobby, or a creative project, just for fun. My mind wants to turn everything into a business, or at least a means to a business. If I want to paint, I need to be good at it so I can sell them. If I want to work on graphic design, I better figure out how to make a good book cover.

Instead of trying to turn everything into a means to fuel your business, find a hobby you can just do for the pure joy of it. Remove the pressure. Paint at a wine night and join your friends. Learn how to knit imperfect scarves and sweaters for your cats. Let go of judgement or perfection and just be goofy and loose. Do something fun for yourself.