Tag: Alex J. Cavanaugh

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IWSG

#IWSG October 2020: A Working Writer Sometime Needs Leave Without Pay

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

To me, a working writer is one of two things, depending on how you look at it. 1) Ideally, a working writer is someone who makes a living as a writer. Writing is the work that pays their bills. 2) More commonly, I feel, a working writer is someone who works another job while also writing full-time whether it pays off or not. By full-time I mean, it’s just as much a part of their daily life as their paying job, and not a hobby they pick up when the mood is right, or vacation time is plentiful. (To clarify, there is nothing wrong with that. Writing should fit into your life in whatever manner suits you best.)

I think a working writer is supposed to look like someone who has a steady income stream consisting of: book sales, branded merch, guest articles and appearances, affiliate links and endorsements on their blog/vlog (or in this day and age, their podcast), and is at some level an influencer, even if it’s just within their local community.

I used to see myself as a working writer, but I recently had to take a leave of absence without pay (Just temporary. I’m back to work now.) I’ve struggled to read, struggled to write, and struggled to stay connected via my personal blog/platform and social media. I’ve struggled to see the point in sharing my words when I feel that so many of mine, and the words of other black people and people of color, seem to just go completely unheard by the powers that be.

So, the answer to this month’s question is also my insecurity. I’ve continued to cling to a few small supportive groups where I feel mine, and other struggling voices are not only heard but appreciated. Perhaps one day, down the road, I’ll be able to write an IWSG post where, as a working writer, I’ll be offering encouragement to someone else, whether a working, aspiring, or hobbyist writer.

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Thank you, again, for the WEP 1st-place award for the Long Shadow contest. If you’d like to see the guest article I posted at the WEP blog, click on the image.

Though I’m not reading as much as I like to (hardly at all) right now, I’m still excited about the release of Frozen Crimes, the 5th book in the Disaster Crime Series by our very own Chrys Fey.

BUY LINKS: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes

I’ve read the whole series and followed Chrys for years. Whenever I regain my reading strength, this will be at the top of my TBR.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I’m still here.

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What does being a working writer mean to you?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Jemima Pett,
Beth Camp,
Beverly Stowe McClure, and
Gwen Gardner!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #37).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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#blacklivesmatter IWSG

#IWSG September 2020: Go ahead & skip me this month. Talk’n about #blacklivesmatter here.

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

I’m not in the right mindset to answer this question or post right now, but I’m here doing the best I can. Here’s a list of black authors I’ve been reading instead: Kwame Mbalia, Ibi Zoboi, Piper Huguley, and John Lewis.

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My insecurity– My voice and all the other black voices will continue to go unheard by the people who decide who gets to live or not. I work hard to improve my writing skills every day, but at the end of the day, my black voice still doesn’t matter.

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Thank you, WEP for the winning award for the long shadow contest. I truly appreciate all the encouragement and support.

Now, on to the personal updates.
Did you read the title of this post? This is your last chance to escape before reading or seeing something that might make you uncomfortable; and yes, I’m going to talk about being black in America.

I’m making a last-ditch effort to follow my dreams but since I’m a realist, I don’t expect much. I try to teach kids that sometimes they just can’t have what they want, and I’m no different. I’m never going to stop dreaming, but at some point, I’ll have to start facing reality. I guess I’ll start after this. (If you can upload pictures to Facebook and want to help me with a virtual book fair to raise money for We Need Diverse Books, check out this link.)


I have no expectations that the world will change anytime soon. My ancestors were dragged to this country against their will and forced to endure labor and treatment not even inflicted on animals. It’s been almost two hundred years since half this country died fighting so people with dark skin could be treated somewhat close to humanely, and to this day, the color of my skin is a threat punishable by death. Yeah, hope your year, decade, centennial, or whatever is going better than mine. As a human being, you deserve better than this.

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Sorry (kind of) to be a downer.
I really do sincerely hope things are going better in your life than the overall situation in this country.
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
PJ Colando,
J Lenni Dorner,
Deniz Bevan,
Kim Lajevardi,
Natalie Aguirre, and
Louise – Fundy Blue!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #38).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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IWSG Virtual Book Tours

#IWSG August 2020: Keep Writing with Fey + More

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: Quote: “Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don’t write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to be.”

Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn’t planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

I’m skipping the IWSG question this month to focus on personal updates and a very exciting book release and blog hop. (Yes, I know this is a hop within a hop.) I’ve been a big fan of Chrys Fey for some time now, originally falling in love with her Disaster Crimes Series. I really enjoyed her first book of Sparks and have looked forward to this publication for quite a while. I feel it’s the kind of book that speaks to so many, no matter their creative outlet. So, let’s get to it.

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Keep Writing with Fey Blog Hop: Share your story about writer’s block, depression, and/or burnout and how you overcame it or what you are currently doing to heal.

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I began to show the first real signs of burn out back in 2015. At that time, I was blogging literally every day of the week and working to complete my third novel, after publishing a collection of short stories. I somehow managed to release my third novel in 2016 with a pretty decent online launch event and then… well- nothing. I began to slowly pull away from my self-imposed blogging regiment to focus on developing my skill as a writer. That’s when I had the realization that my writing had dramatically improved to the point where I no longer felt comfortable with my previous works being “out there” for the world to see and judge.

At that time, I simply stopped promoting my work and focused on skill-building and occasional blogging, continuing to reduce my number of daily, then weekly, and eventually monthly posts. There was a period of almost a year where I didn’t write and just barely “phoned in” my blogs. By 2018, I’d unpublished my first two novels and chose to focus on publishing children’s books and honing my skills, all the while hating myself for not being better and being more successful as a writer. I realized that I needed to do a complete rewrite of my original novel series, even if I never republished it, simply because the story means so much to me. Yet, as of today, I only have highly detailed outlines and sporadic completed chapters for three books in a series that may never see the light of day again.

Two years ago, I quit one day-job and started another, which was a tremendous help to me in getting through a very long bout of depression. At that point, I’d been in a job that I literally cried on the way to every day for 10 years. And after 5 years, writing stopped being the great escape it had once been. In the past, being able to write had helped me to cope with how much I feared and loathed going to my job, but it soon began to add to the pressure I felt. I didn’t feel safe at work and not being able to create at home left me feeling painfully inadequate. Freeing myself from that horrible day-job was only one part of my healing process. Prayer, family, and reading for pleasure took care of the rest. Even the IWSG and WEP helped play a part in getting me through the worst. Now, I have a job I enjoy and feel much safer in, but unfortunately, it requires a greater time commitment than my previous job and I now struggle to find the time to work on long-term writing projects.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to complete another novel, but at least I am able to write again- short fiction, poetry (if you can believe that), children’s books, and the occasional blog. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m way better off than I was. I still struggle to fight the depression that tells me I’m a failure for not writing or completing a novel, but I have resolved to do what I can do and find success in the little things.

If you’re dealing with depression or burn out, I encourage you to read this book and or reach out to a support system or community, where you feel safe, to help you get through it.

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Catch the sparks you need to conquer writer’s block, depression, and burnout!

When Chrys Fey shared her story about depression and burnout, it struck a chord with other writers. That put into perspective for her how desperate writers are to hear they aren’t alone. Many creative types experience these challenges, battling to recover. Let Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer’s Block, Depression, and Burnout guide you through:

∙ Writer’s block
∙ Depression
∙ Writer’s burnout
∙ What a writer doesn’t need to succeed
∙ Finding creativity boosts

With these sparks, you can begin your journey of rediscovering your creativity and get back to what you love – writing.

BOOK LINKS:

Amazon * Nook  * iTunes 

Kobo  * Goodreads 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips on how to reverse writer’s burnout. https://www.chrysfey.com/

Click the linky list to follow the Keep Writing with Fey blog hop or scroll down to continue with the IWSG monthly hop.


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Now, on to the personal updates.
I feel like I said a lot in my blog hop contribution so I’ll skip the personal updates this month. If you’d like to see reviews for what I read in the month of July, please visit the Lit Carnivale blog. The video below is my monthly wrap-up.

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Think you might check out Chrys’s book?

I’d love for you to share your response to the IWSG monthly question if you’re up for it.

It may take some time, but I promise, will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Susan Baury Rouchard,
Nancy Gideon,
Jennifer Lane,
Jennifer Hawes,
Chemist Ken, and
Chrys Fey!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #38).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter