What I Am Learning About Being A Part-Time Creator
Things don't always go as planned, but you still need to make plans
What is the point of your Substack?
I asked myself this question while I was driving to the office yesterday. As my truck rolled over the hills toward town, I considered what I have to offer here on Substack.
As I made my mental lists of accolades and skills, I realized there was a lot I could share. But, I had to consider the reality of being a part-time creator.
After all, I was driving to my day job office yesterday, about a 20-minute trip into town. And even if I didn’t have to go to the office, I still had an eight-hour day to work.
Even as I write this today, I am balancing breakfast for my family, writing, and starting up my work computer. A lot is going on.
But, I am learning that we can create side hustles and writing empires that succeed. After all, there are a ton of people doing it:
- . Kristina God is one of those with family and works to do on top of creating excellent content.
Then there is
, and his Solo Creator work that has helped him jump ship from his day job! He has been super helpful in learning the ins and outs of creator life as of late.Lastly, I have learned much lately from Eve Arnold over at Medium, who created the Part-Time Creator Club.
These are just a few people I have been learning a ton from, but there is a lot I’m learning because I want to focus more on self-publishing books.
So, along my journey, I have written down a list of things that I am learning, and definitely haven’t perfected when it comes to self-publishing books.
5 Important Considerations for Being A Part-Time Creator
As I was taking inventory of my current situation as a self-publishing author and a content creator, I realized there were five things I haven’t been doing well and that most in our situation need to focus on.
This is not a definitive list, and there is no particular order. However, these are five things from my experience and from what others have shared with me.
Creative Priorities
I have a hard time with priorities in general. And with my creative ones, it’s no different. It’s easy for me to identify my priorities. However, it is hard for me to stick with them daily.
I love starting things. I love shiny new objects. And because of this, I can quickly bounce around from one thing to the next. Especially when I get comfortable with something.
Yet, if I want to take self-publishing seriously, I need to focus on that, even though building my author platform and everything else is essential.
Ask The Hard Questions
Look, you need to know yourself. What are you about? What is most important to you? Would you be willing to create if you don’t make money? Are you willing to invest time, energy, and learning to improve?
You need to ask yourself the hard questions because they will define your success in the end. Your answers will give you a better idea of what to expect too. If you aren’t willing to put in the investment, you aren’t going to see huge success.
When I get into the hard questions, it fuel me. I find inspiration and motivation. Even if the answers aren’t what they might need to be to succeed. The key is knowing where you are and deciding where you are willing to go.
Understand Your Reality
Being a part time creator is hard. Shoot, most of us have day jobs, families, and other obligations that keep us from going into Monk-mode, or super creator work on a regular basis.
Yet, what I have found, is that when we embrace our reality, we can figure out how to make the time to get things done on our creations and find ways to succeed.
It’s not about eliminating things from life, it is about finding the time when we can create and thrive in our creative work. And embracing the fact that we are who we are and live in the situation we live.
Do The Work
Ultimately, we have to do the work.There is no way to get around it. Sure, we can hire it out. Sure, we can ask Chat GPT to do it. But it won’t be as effective as our personality, stories, and words.
Now, I don’t mean to act all militant about it. But the truth is that the work has to get done and you are the only one who can do your work.
So, are you ready to do the work? Are you ready to get behind the computer screen, put your fingers to the keyboard, and start spilling your guts? If so, then you are ready to do the work. If not, you might want to find something else to do.
Practice in Public
It isn’t enough to write 100 blog posts or ten books and leave them in your computer’s word processor. You have to put the work out there and see what sticks. At first, it is going to be a lot of failures.
But, over time, you will string together a lot more successes. Those will build on themselves in a platform, catalog of books, or whatever else you want to do.
Sure, there will be more failures along the way, but you will get better at learning and adapting from those failure. Most of all, there will be moments where your failures will help other people or they will even help you gain followers.
You need to put it altogether and do it in public.
Final Thoughts About Being A Part-Time Creator
One day, you might go from being a part-time creator to a full-time creator.
That is my goal. I want to make the jump where my writing supports my family. I’m a little ways off at this point, but every day is a step in the right direction.
However, it is going to take me being honest with myself and my situations. It is going to take focus on my priorities, doing the work, and practicing in front of everyone to do it.
But, ultimately, it will happen. I know it will.
What about you? Are you a part-time creator now? Do you hope to go full-time? Or are you full-time now? How long did it take to make the jump? Share in the comments below!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and helping writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack!
Start Here!
Are there other books to read? Sure are. I have two short lists of them in my Writer’s Starter Pack on Gumroad (It’s free, you should check it out). The only other book I want to highlight is my own.
It’s called Transform Your Medium Stories.
Initially written for writers on the Medium platform, the content of this book works for any online content. And it is a great short guide to help you write and publish your first book. So grab your copy today!
I identified with so much of this post. I also ordered your book. I'm looking forward to reading it and putting it into action. God bless, Cat
Keep at it.