A few years ago, my family started a tradition we dubbed “the office party.”
It was in the midst of the shift to working from home during the pandemic. We’d visited a new donut shop in town and had brought a box home for people to eat while they worked. We joked that it was like someone had brought a box of donuts for the company break room—only this time, the break room doubled as our kitchen.
The office parties have continued into today, but they’re far from the only tradition I’ve started around my work since leaving my traditional office job. In recent years, I’ve begun blocking out time in my calendar for accounting and planning my work week. I organize regular café trips with friends or family members to work, since I’ve found I focus better when I’m around other people. I’ll admit that I still struggle with setting work aside in the evenings and on the weekends, but I’m at least trying to find that elusive balance.
In our new advice column this month, our favorite agony aunt reflects on having made exactly these sorts of adjustments when she began her full-time author journey. Being your own boss is hard, as is finding a work routine that still allows you time away from your writing. The truth is that every author’s business looks different—because every author is different. Your personality may align better with some processes than others, as this month’s Mindset article explores. Some businesses may benefit from expanding into other mediums, but others may see more success simply following tried-and-true publishing strategies. Some authors may even prefer for their writing to stay a side hustle rather than become a full-time gig. Michael La Ronn, this month’s featured author, has proven you can still make a name for yourself doing so.
As indie authors, we get to decide every piece of our book business; that can sometimes feel like a blessing and a curse. But if you step back and consider what works best for you at every turn, you’ll build a business that’s not only successful but also sustainable—one that will keep you creating far into the future.
Now that’s an accomplishment that deserves an office party.
Nicole Schroeder
Editor in Chief
