How Life Changes as a Published Author

A guest post by Abigail Shepherd

A friend asked me the other day if I thought people would be intimidated by the fact that I’m a published author. I had to admit that I hadn’t thought about it. But I said I hoped not.

Well, I can now tell you that they’re not. I know, it’s weird! I mean, come on everyone, I have a BOOK out! Someone out there has actually paid money to turn my words into a BOOK. But, in my experience, most people have no idea just how hard that can be to achieve. How ridiculously unlikely. Some will even say things like ‘I’d like to write a book if I had time.” Grrrr.

Abigail’s new novel is out in Paperback and eBook now! Check out the link below.

The thing I did find myself wondering about was whether people would feel impressed, rather than intimidated. If some would suddenly get really friendly so I could have all the fun of snubbing them. (Not that I would. No. Of course not.) But that hasn’t happened either. Normally those sorts of people just ask if they can have a free book. Again, grrrr.

So then, to answer the statement made in the title, actually daily life doesn’t change all that much. The biggest change I’ve noticed is that I have an awful lot more to do. For most people, the fact that you have a book out isn’t all that important. And that’s fine. It doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter because you know what you’ve just accomplished. Your life-long dream. And your real friends and family will be proud and happy for you. They will unhesitatingly spend their money on at least one copy of your book, probably more. And in my experience at least, the online writing community will always be there to support you.

So, don’t expect to become an overnight celebrity in your community. But do expect to be a hard-working author, with a book to show for it. Oh, and start working on your next one right now. You don’t get to stop writing.

Currently living in the Highlands of Scotland, Abigail has had numerous short stories published, most recently in Drabble, The Flash Fiction Press and Mystery Weekly. Her first teen novel, Victoria’s Victorian Victory, is available on Amazon, as well as her short story collection entitled My Year of Stories. When she’s not writing she’s usually to be found reading, napping or sampling a good wine. Or sometimes all three. She blogs at bewritingblog.wordpress.com and can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @abiwriting.