From Writer to Author and Back Again

Author Brittany Daniel sits with WomenWerk to share her story.

I spent most of my life being a writer. Since the age of 13, words were a way to showcase my creativity. Writing was something I did on purpose even without purpose; it was something that just came natural. To say the least I loved it, however as easy as being a writer was I never imagined the work required to become an author.

Throughout my journey here are a few things I learned.

1. You have to focus on being a writer FIRST. This is something I had to remind myself of constantly in the beginning. I was so busy being an aspiring author that I was distracted from actually writing. Turns out my end goal was overshadowing the process and because of this it took much longer to finish than expected. It’s like I had forgotten that I was a writer and my job was to create and develop. I was so consumed with being able to call myself an author that I had lost sight of my immediate responsibility which was to write.

2. Being an author is more than who you are, it’s what you do. Once the writing is done the real work begins. As an author you are the one who polishes, edits, promotes, designs, and in my case even publishes. Now is it worth it? Absolutely! However being 100% responsible for anything can wear a girl out. I quickly learned that here is where it pays to network. I had to connect with fellow authors for resources, English majors for editing, graphic designers for cover ideas and the list goes on. Being able to solicit help and advice is what solidified my position as an author.

3. Writing a book should be personal and serve a purpose. In writing my first book I had to remember my love for writing. I had to ask myself why, who and what. Why did I want to write, who was I writing to, and what purpose did I want to serve? This was key in keeping me motivated and on task. It was a constant reminder that what I was doing was bigger than myself.

4. You don’t have time to doubt yourself. Like most aspiring authors there were definitely those times where I second guessed myself. There were times where I questioned my ability and even considered throwing in the towel. I almost allowed fear to take over however, I had to push through. I wanted to write and nothing was going to stop me; not circumstances, criticisms, or my invalid emotions.

In the end I went after my dream doing something I love and wouldn’t change a thing. Truth is I’m still that girl who just likes to write, only now I have author abilities. If you ask me, I went from writer to author and back again.

Don’t forget to get your copy of my new book:

Love, Happiness, and all that Other Sh*t; A Girlfriends Guide to Living a Life Fulfilled

Now available on Amazon and Kindle!!

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