Hello Lovelies!
It's been a few months since my last blog post where I announced my social media break.
In that post, I wrote how I felt that while I was creating and consuming content on these platforms, I was becoming increasingly distracted from my actual ambitions as an indie author.
I am happy to report that my decision to deactivate my Instagram, TikTok, Threads & Bluesky accounts was a successful move for me.
Removing the easy distraction of multiple platforms that are designed to keep us scrolling on/through the day allowed me to repurpose that time to reflect and recalibrate to working in ways that align with what my actual indie author ambitions are.
While my indie author ambitions remain the same in broad brush strokes - to have my first cozy-ish mystery book published this year AND to find ways to build a set of sustainable income streams that would work for my life as a chronically ill mum - the ways that I want to work in order to reach these goals have become more refined.
Writing more - and posting less often
I found - in no surprise to anyone - that in regaining some headspace, I was able to write more.
I made more progress with my main project and have began the process of using Atticus formating software for my edited chapters. This is still slow progress, but a huge step forwards in terms of breaking the procrastination I was feeling around learning the software and the fears I had in confronting the rewrites.
I have also been writing more in terms of adding to my personal essays on Substack.
I've really enjoyed the return to writing longer form pieces, less often. I like that these pieces also have a longer shelf life on Substack. I've felt much more at ease with writing to my own pace.
I've read more again too; picking up books from my TBR pile and also recharging my Kindle (*NB this is an affiliate link - if you click & try Kindle using this link I will get some commision via Amazon Associates)*and digging into my library of writing craft books I have amassed there. I even logged back into my languishing Goodreads account and set myself a book challenge goal. I hadn't felt able to do that for a long time as I was feeling completely overwhelmed with consuming far too much content.
Consciously creating: figuring out sustainable income streams as a chronically ill mum
The break from social media was also extremely helpful in terms of the second arm of my indie author ambition.
I had felt completely burnout and a bit defeated about my capacity to create a set of sustainable income streams that work for me as a chronically ill mum.
Social media brings comparison as we scroll though everyone's highlights - this can be enjoyable and useful at times. However, it can also be damaging if it makes us feel behind or not able to work in the ways that are espoused as 'success strategies' or hacks.
In taking my break, I was able to find some distance from the pull to compare and compulsively search for 'what is working'. This has been essential for me because I live with chronic pain and fatigue as well as being a mum - I have to find flexible, online, less energy intensive ways to generate income.
It had felt like an impossible challenge, but the past few months have resulted in me getting back to a place of creativity and energy.
I've established my own shops on FourthWall and my Payhip site - selling digital products and little tools and treats to keep writers motivated. This is something I have wanted to do for years and had always talked myself out of it because I was 'afraid of what people might think of me'.
What specifically was I afraid of? Being judged for not being able to 'get back to how I worked before' i.e. returning to academic work or coaching.
In comparison, my little printables and treats feel kind of frivolous; but I am also reminding myself that is kind of the point - I need a bit of joy back in my life.
It is very early days with this part of my new business, but I feel that this is a sustainable potential income stream.
This has been the major change for me this year - instead of trying to 'get back' to what I did before, I'm changing to focus on the kinds of products, platforms, and promotional strategies that I can manage.
Will it work? I don't know yet; but I do know this approach feels sustainable and that is a welcome feeling.
Reactivating my social media accounts, but not business as usual
Going into Q2 of this year, I made the decision to reactivate my social media accounts - but with some key differences in how I will use them.
It makes sense for me to have a presence on these spaces because of the potential they have for aiding discoverability and engagement.
The differences going forwards are in my use of these platforms:
- I have a new bio that makes clear that my active use on these platforms will be far less often.
- I am logged out of these platforms and do not have the apps on my phone.
- I am experimenting with creating - and batching - some content related to my indie author work and trying to keep what I do post to my writing work.
I know that the very nature of social media is to engage as a person - and that as a writer the line between personal and professional is very blurry. Still, I felt that in sharing my daily life, I was becoming pulled into sharing less about my books or words.
I hope I can get more of a balance back.
I am keeping my presence on social media platforms an open question - if I feel the 'pick the scab' negative doom scroll impulse, I may have to deactivate. But, I am also open to trying to live with having open social media platforms without having to be 'on' them daily.
Besides the indie author ambitions side, I do miss seeing my friends - many of whom I met online, on these very platforms - and I can't deny how lovely it has felt to take a quick peek back and see how they are doing. And to get the lovely 'welcome back' messages!
A final question mark remains over my plan to use Youtube as a potential long term income stream as I had outlined late in 2025.
I quickly started and then called time on my first attempt at the channel.
The theme and idea for the channel - sharing my indie author journey as a chronically ill mid life mum - remains a good one, I think. However, I was not happy with the quality of the film/sound.
That is a skillset (at a basic level) I would like to find the time to work on. I would like to return to this, but this idea has a pin in it until at least Q3 as I continue to focus on my book and the addition of my merchandise and printable shops.
Going into Q2: where my focus will remain
As we continue into the second quarter of 2026, my focus remains on writing more, posting less often.
I am continuing my rewrites of edits and formatting of my cozy-ish mystery and writing essays for Substack.
I will tentatively add some social media engagement, but that will perhaps be on a weekly - or even monthly - basis.
I know as an indie author, social media likely does have a useful role to play for me in meeting my ambitions.
I'm in a better place for myself at the moment with consciously creating what that role might be.
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