experiencing burnout as a full-time writer

Mar 14

9 min read

I am not a full-time author (yet). I still have a hope that will one day be the case; but given the state of publishing as a whole, I also know it will be many, many books from now. In the meantime, I have spent the past 8 years as a full-time freelance writer. By day, I write blogs and webpages for my clients, hoping to drive traffic to their website. By night and weekends and any other time that I can squeeze in, I work on my own creative projects.

This is a conscious choice I made for my life. For the most part, I love it. But it definitely has its challenges. The main one being burnout.

I often see successful writers tell others who want to go full time, "No, you don't." I know why they do it: to make sure that other writers understand that being a full-time writer isn't all sunshine and rainbows. That it's hard, and it can feel like drudgery, too. I even went to a panel once where the authors speaking all extolled the virtues of non-writing jobs for "making them a better writer" and "giving them more life experience." That one struck me as a little bit Protestant work ethic-y (why should life experience only be gained through work?), but to each their own. Still, I hate when these well-meaning cautions start to veer towards fatalistic.

What's more important, I think, is preparation. Full-time writing may not be the right call for every writer, but it can be the perfect path for others. I would never take back my eight years of full-time writing, and I still hope to be a full-time author one day. But you should know what to expect, especially when it comes to burnout. So whether you're interested in freelance writing or becoming a full-time author, let's talk about experiencing burnout as a full-time author...and what might help alleviate it.

burnout factors for full-time writers

What's funny is that my decision to become a freelance writer was spurred on by burnout. I had been working in a series of office jobs for my early to mid-20s, all entry level dead end jobs and all kind of terrible. My mental health was in pretty rough shape. I wanted to quit my current job, but I didn't want to find myself in another job just like it. I was writing stories, but none of them were near ready to publish and I knew enough about the industry to know that there was a big gap between the first book coming out and quitting your day job.

I was also impatient. I wanted to write for a living, not get yelled at about failing to restock the coffee stirs on my lunch break. So I went on Upwork, I took a few $5 writing jobs just to get started, and I basically worked nonstop for three months until I built up enough of a clientele that I could kiss my office job goodbye. Finally, I was a full-time writer. Not in the way I dreamed, but a writer nonetheless. And I was my own boss. And I got to work from my bed in my pajamas while petting my cat and, and, and...

And burnout still happened. It was a different kind of burnout. It didn't come from poor office culture or feeling stuck in a job I hated, but there were other issues that I hadn't anticipated. Like scrambling to find work, or writing all day for other people only to find that I had little energy to write for myself at the end of the day.

Some burnout factors that I've faced as a full-time writer have been:

creative energy drain

What I write for work is vastly different from what I write for love. My books are high fantasy stories of adventure, mystery, romance, and all kinds of juicy angst and drama. My freelance copywriting...varies, but there were long stretches of time when I was primarily extolling the virtues of energy efficient roofs in blog form. (To this day, I have a hard time walking past a house without looking for signs of roof rot.)

But, even if the topic isn't my cup of tea, it's all that same creative muscle. I have to tell a story. I have to set the scene, I have to make sure I'm using the right words to convey the message. It takes up the same kind of energy; and unfortunately, that's meant that a lot of times by the time I finish my paid work and move on to my passion projects, I'm kinda exhausted with writing. I just want to take a shower and watch kdramas.

Full-time authors may not have this problem, since they're working on hopefully their passion projects...well, full-time. But that doesn't mean they don't get creatively drained. Doing any task - even one you love - for a long enough period of time can burn you out. And when you're on deadlines, or your audience is clamoring for the next book, it can exacerbate that feeling that you'd rather be doing anything but writing.

financial instability

Freelance writing - whether you're writing novels or writing SEO blogs - is a feast or famine kind of industry. I've had times when I took on way too much work and stayed up until 5 in the morning trying to finish it all. I've had other times when I could see the tumbleweeds rolling across my keyboard because that was how dried up work had become. And I'll be honest, when you start charging what you're worth, which you should, instead of just taking any job you can get your hands on...you often tend to get a lot more famine than feast.

You can imagine how that might not need to a very financially stable lifestyle. I'm very lucky to have a loving and supportive parent who is able to help me when I'm short on the rent and patiently accept my promises that one day I will pay him back. Others might have partners who are able to support them when they struggle to make ends meet. But not everyone has that kind of support network. Even in my situation, I find myself often overwhelmed with stress about groceries or going out with friends, with guilt about the amount of money I've had to borrow to stay afloat. I can only imagine those feelings if I didn't have the support I have.

As much as people love to glorify the struggling artist, it's hard to think creatively when you're worried about being able to buy cat food. Sometimes the struggle does not motivate you to work harder. In fact, if you're already predisposed towards anxiety or depression, sometimes the struggle just makes you want to crawl back into bed.

more than just writing

One common misconception about full-time writing is right there in the name: the idea that you're spending all of your working hours writing. That's not true for me as a freelance copywriter, and it's certainly not true for full-time authors.

Hell, even as a part-time author, I have to take chunks out of my week to post regularly on social media, promote my book, email bookstores about my book, and other forms of marketing. I have a marketing budget of 0, so my marketing is pretty simplistic and often lackluster. Authors who invest more into their marketing - or are just smarter about it - have a lot more to do every week or even every day.

As a freelance writer, some of my job is meeting with clients over Zoom, applying for new jobs, or back and forth emails to the effect of "Nope, I still can't log into Constant Contact. Can we try again?" Traditional authors may have to talk to their agent and their publishers, coordinate events at bookstores or conventions, and of course, they have their own marketing to do.

Some writers thrive this way, usually those who also have a good head for business. For the rest of us who put up with the business aspect in order to do the thing we love, there are times when the pressure to become an influencer can become...discouraging, to say the least.

isolation

Writing can be very isolating, especially if you don't have a good writing group. There will people in your life who, while supportive, don't really get it. They might be happy for you when good news comes, but struggle to feel your same level of elation. And when you're stuck on a plot point or worried that you're never going to finish the novel, you may not know what to do with those feelings.

It's also a physically isolating job, most of the time. Most full-time writers work from home. Personally, I love it most of the time. I love getting to blast my Spotify while I work, in whatever close are most comfortable for me, and pet my cat when she approaches me for 4pm cuddles. But sometimes it can get a little stircrazy. In these instances, I tend to go to the library or a coffee shop.

protecting yourself from burnout

Burnout is a miserable time for any creative, but especially when this is your full-time job and source of income. You may not be able to prevent it completely, but here are a few things I do to try to protect my energy and my love for writing:

set a routine

Even if you're working from home on your own schedule, it can help to have a schedule. Try to start work at the same time every day and finish at the same time every day. If getting dressed helps you feel more focused and professional, do that before you start work every day. If you need to work at a desk, make a habit of it.

It also helps to have set times when you do certain kinds of work. For instance, maybe you do your marketing and responding to emails first thing in the morning and then you move to writing. Making this a routine helps your brain know when to shift gears.

change your scenery

Conversely, if you're feeling stuck in a rut, try changing up your scenery. If you can't afford to work out of a coffee shop (mood, honestly), local libraries are free and can benefit from all the use they can get. My roommate likes to go to the library and work from a library computer rather than her own device to cut down on distractions. Changing your scenery may help to energize you so you can approach your writing with fresh eyes.

find a writing group

I have a chill little discord group that chats about writing and cheers each other on. I also run a weekly Shut Up & Write meetup (part of a natural organization that facilitates writers getting together to quietly write in company with one another). If you don't have a Shut Up & Write near you, contact them! Anyone can become an organizer. There are also writing groups you can find through social media. Having a group of friends that understands what you're going through and encourages you can help you feel a lot more excited about writing - it's basically what pushed me to finish my first novel.

have fun with it

If writing is starting to feel like a chore, having a little fun with it can help to spark that flame again. For me, solo RPGs were a godsend. Solo RPGs are games that you often play in a journal, writing out your character's adventures as you roll dice or pull cards. They're perfect for the creative who loves to game. But you could also try writing prompts or exercises, writing fanfiction of your favorite blorbos, or simply writing something entirely self-indulgent for yourself, whether you intend to share it or not. Connect with the part of writing that you love again, and the will to write will come back to you.

make a playlist to set the mood (or hype yourself up)

Maybe this is just me because I'm a playlist fiend. But writing music is essential for me in order to get in the zone. I have a few playlists on Spotify if you want to borrow mine:

rest when you need it

The truth is sometimes you're going to get tired of writing. That's inevitable. You can listen to "Non-Stop" from Hamilton all you want, but eventually you will need to stop. I know this personally because I am the second most non-stop writing person I know (looking at you, Mylee J. Miller). And here's the thing: you don't get to say no to rest. You can try to push through it, but eventually you will crash and crash hard. Your body is going to get the rest it needs, one way or the other...sometimes at the expense of your work.

So if you're tired or overwhelmed, step back. Get some rest, reassess, maybe set some boundaries. The sooner you do that, the sooner you'll be able to return to your love of writing without any permanent damage done.

Are you or have you ever been a full time writer? What do you do when you feel burned out? Comment below to let me know!