A while ago, my brother-in-law sent me an article about the woes of writing. The title was something about why writing books isn’t a good idea. As a debut author, it was a terrifying read. (So terrifying that as soon as I finished reading it, I exited out of the article and vowed to never look at it again.) I started thinking, holy smokes did I just choose the worst career path of all time?

As of right now, I couldn’t completely financially support myself just by being an author. Let alone myself, my twins, my husband, and a high-maintenance dog. It’s definitely more of a passion career. Which is terrifying in itself. However, I’m lucky enough to be able to call it mine.

When I wrote my first novel, The Manhattan Mishap, I was working a full-time job as a fashion copywriter. Then the pandemic hit and lay-offs happened and I got pregnant and well, the rest is history. So, whether being an author is truly terrifying or not, I’m fully in it now.

READ MORE: The 5 Deadly Sins of Being a Chick-Lit Author

Of course, there are many more reasons why being an author is a terrifying career path to meander down. But these are the first three that pop into my head when I think about it.

3 Reasons Being an Author is a Terrifying Career

My books not selling

They say to do things for yourself. And to a certain extent, I write for myself—as therapy, as an escape, as an outlet for bubbling creativity. At the same time, it would be soul-crushing to have no one give a sh!t about what I’ve written. I get it, my books aren’t for everyone. But to be for no one? Yikes. I’m not sure my ego could survive that blow.

There are thousands of other writers

Nowadays, all you need is an Instagram account and you can call yourself a writer. (I say “writer” very loosely here.) Or a blogger. And what does being a writer/blogger mean? Just because you write lengthy captions or add text to your TikTok videos, does that make you a writer? I don’t know. Who am I to judge? All I know is that being a writer means something different to everyone who claims to be one. Which is another reason being an author is a terrifying career choice.

I’m a chick-lit author

And to top it all off, I’m a chick-lit author. So, not an author that people consider “literary” or “serious.” Seriously. In most author worlds, my chosen genre is a joke. It’s fluff. Just something brainless beauties skim while working on their golden glow in St Tropez. I beg to differ, but it still has me wondering if there is even a market for chick-lit fiction these days.

Terrifying career choice or not, I wouldn’t choose to be anything else. I love what I do. I love spending hours at my computer, pulling stories from my brain, and going over and over and over something I’ve written, attempting to make it as perfect as Hailey Bieber’s skin. Actually, that’s what an editor is for. And while we’re on the subject: does anyone know any freelance editors? I need someone to comb through and critique my novelette, The Fashion Girl Goes Home.

Contact me here if you’re interested.

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