One year after my major career change from full-time mom to full-time writer: reflections and lessons learned

It hit me yesterday: it’s already been a year since I made the dramatic transition from full-time stay-at-home mom to full-time writer.
 
Last May, I was fretfully writing this blog about our daughter’s foray into daycare, scarcely enjoying my newfound freedom after spending 15 months at home with J.
 
I knew that daycare would be healthy and beneficial to all of us, but it was tough to swallow at the time.
 
Today, J. is thriving, and so am I. 

J. enjoys doing daily art projects at daycare

Taking the time to see a dream to completion—finishing my very first book—was finally a reality.
 
Some days it was thrilling. Some days it felt like a burden. And other days it was so inspiring I could hardly believe that it was my life.
 
By the end of October 2016, I had put the finishing touches on the first draft of my manuscript. Simply exhilarating.
 
Then, I realized that writing three days a week was not going to be sufficient time to research, query and secure a literary agent, write a blog every week (no exceptions), build my social media following, write a book proposal, and essentially learn all there is to know about the publishing industry.

I made another decision.
 
It was time to go FULLY full-time, and so I did. Was there guilt? Yes. Am I glad that I did it? Absolutely. Because there is no question about it: building a successful writing career as an author or freelancer is a full-time job.
 
Here are a few things I have learned about building a writing career over the past year:

1. Challenges are key. Without setting ambitious goals and deadlines for myself, on a weekly basis, it’s far too easy to get lost in research, online courses, books, and YouTube videos. I cranked out the most work when I was actively preparing for the San Francisco Writers Conference in February. I knew that I wouldn’t have any excuses for being unprepared when I pitched my book to agents face-to-face, and that knowledge fueled my fire.

2. I should have joined Twitter years ago. If other writers or authors out there are hesitant to join Twitter, like I was, I highly encourage you to jump on the bandwagon as soon as possible. I procrastinated on joining for far too long. And, you know what? I absolutely LOVE Twitter! The character limit is actually a bit freeing, because there is only so much you can squeeze into one post. It’s a community of millions of intelligent, funny and curious people. Plus, I have built a following about a million times faster on Twitter than on Facebook, honestly, with very little effort. I simply Tweet about things that I find interesting, useful, humorous, shocking, etc. Facebook is still necessary, but my heart belongs to Twitter.

3. All it takes is one ‘yes’. I know, I know—cheese alert! You can’t deny the truth of the statement, though. When I wanted to get more publication credits to my name, I started with guest blogging. And then I pitched an article to The Write Life—I now have two articles that they will publish in June and July. And I will keep moving forward from there. Success builds upon success, although not necessarily as quickly as you would like it to. 

4. I still need to make time for ‘life’. I used to lament the ‘workday’ time I spent at Target, the grocery store, or putting away laundry. Until I realized that these activities are not only necessary for me and my family, they can also be a ‘break’ when I need to take a time out from my computer screen. I also make time to have coffee with friends, to sweat through Zumba class, and to check out an occasional sale event. It’s all part of what makes my world keep turning.

5. My career = my choice. It is so liberating to think that I have the ultimate say in where my career goes. I’m limited only by my own imagination. Will I write more books? You bet. Will I take up travel writing? I would love to! Will I get a coveted byline in The New York Times? That’s the plan. I’m calling the shots, and I feel so fortunate to be in that position.
 
How about you? Have you made a major career or life change? What have you learned from the experience? I would love to hear from you

You may also like these blogs by Megan Sharma:
For writers: All your writing fears, squashed!
A real, imperfect day in the life of a writer: me
Your writing conference checklist: how to make it worth every minute and every penny (takeaways from the 2017 San Francisco Writers Conference)
The write stuff: An author’s favorite books and authors
Writing tips: Cutting down on word fat and other newsletter best practices
All about writing: writing 'til it hurts
Writing tips for email: In 30 seconds, this message will self-destruct
Public speaking tips: How to move your audience from callous to captivated
Video production tips for content managers: Lights, Camera, Action! Celebrating the Spotlight
How to be the perfect employee: 46 tips that may or may not get you fired
How to be the perfect wife: an amateur tells all
100 believable excuses to help you avoid doing practically anything