Endings bring new beginnings...

Change can be liberating.

Hi, I'm Carol, and I'm a writer living in the beautiful shire of north west England in the UK. Welcome to Letters of Insight where I share reflections about my writing and passion for creativity, nature, books, and slow, joyful living. ♡

Dear Reader,

After nearly 40 years, I'm stepping away from freelance writing. I've shared my reasons for making the decision in my latest video…

.. but I thought I’d elaborate further here.

For a while, I've felt at odds with my writing commitments. Most of my time has been spent either securing commissions, working on content production for magazines / clients, and marking writers’ assignments. It's what I've done for years but I've found it's become more challenging, sourcing projects that resonate with me and trying to bring in enough income to contribute towards our living costs. The gaps between commissions have widened, and there has been the constant uncertainty of when (and if) I'd get paid or whether the income would be sufficient.

I've always known that being self-employed as a freelance writer was a precarious way of making a living. When I started out, back in the mid-1980s, there were a plethora of opportunities, and the rates per word/project were good. Fast-forward to 2023, and the freelance writing scene is certainly very different. Some of the magazines and websites I used to write for don't exist any more and many clients are now using AI generated words to create content. Of course, there are still plenty of opportunities to secure regular, well-paid writing work but not in the sectors that appeal to me.

The precarious income isn't the only reason I've decided to step away from freelance writing. Writing can be mentally exhausting, and after spending considerable time each day facing the screen, producing hundreds of words, I just haven't had enough energy, time or inclination left in the day to focus on my own writing projects. After Light Weaver was published in 2012, I had hoped to plough straight into writing the next book. Sales from this first novel were certainly not enough to support me or even pay for my annual consumption of tea, and the challenge of securing paid writing related work took precedence. This has dominated my life ever since. Until now.

In his book, Dancing with the Gods, Kent Nerburn writes: 'If your art can't support your life, your life must support your art.' I knew that if I wanted time and some financial stability to write my next book, I had to make a significant change. In this case, I had to stop freelance writing and find a part-time position that would provide me with a fresh start, a change of scene, a stable income and freedom to write new stories. Once I'd made the decision, I was offered a part-time role doing something completely different, and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I'm enjoying the work, and it's providing me with the stability needed to write what I want to write.

There is not always enough support for writers or artists to have time and space to focus (carefree) on creative projects. Worrying about the necessities of earning an income tends to be a major obstacle when it comes to creating anything. I realised that the only way I'm going to complete my next novel is to support myself by making changes that will place me in a better position to accomplish my goals. And here I am.

This new chapter has revealed a few insights…

+ When the time is right, the decision is easy.

+ It's never too late to take a different route.

+ Staying in a comfort zone isn't comfortable at all.

+ Embracing change can be liberating.

I'm now in a period of transition as I tie up loose ends and adjust to the changes but I'm preparing the way to focus on writing my next novel. I can't wait to share what the story's about.

Carol ♡