Yesterday, I celebrated 5 years of being a full-time writer. I posted about it on my socials and received a lot of congratulatory comments. That is, until I saw someone said they were envious of me. Little did that person know, the actual reason I became a full-time writer was because my health had gotten too bad for me to continue working.
While writing has always been my passion and becoming published, way back in 2018, was my dream, during that time, I was suffering with immense pain due to having endometriosis. I was still working and didn’t officially retire until October of that year (at 38 years old) but I knew my days were numbered. So, I decided to make my dream into a reality and became an independent, self-published author.
Now, people may assume that I make a lot of money, especially since I’ve been doing this for five years, but the honest truth is I receive government assistance and have been for the majority of my adulthood. I’ve worked here and there since I was 16 years old, but over the years, being chronically ill takes its toll and I was never able to stay at one place too long. Whether it was physical or mental health reasons, I knew when it was time for me to go.
So please, don’t be envious of me. I’m not ballin’ whatsoever. The most I ever made at one time was about $10 and that's from selling 11 books in one month. And that was this month. Don’t quit your day job if you can’t afford it, unless you have a spouse that can support you. My spouse happens to be the US government and I get benefits from my state as well. I definitely want a divorce one day, and work hard with my books, when I’m able to.
My main goal, my end game, is to make enough to get out of debt and then buy myself a little cabin or cottage in a peaceful wooded area by a lake. And I just wanted to share that with my true blue BooBerries, because this isn’t something I would readily admit to the world. It’s not that I'm ashamed. I know I tend to share every aspect of my life. Nevertheless, I think I should keep an air of mystery.. but that's not me. I'm an open book. Yet, I'm private all the same. Thank you for listening!!
From your favorite oxymoron..
XO, Tara