There are few things quite like spending months wondering whether your life is about to change, only to find out that, actually, you're going to have to figure out a different plan.
That was roughly where I found myself after a publisher passed on my gothic novel.
For nearly a year, there had been conversations about my manuscript and the possibility of publication. And while I knew nothing was guaranteed, it's difficult not to imagine what might happen when something you've worked so hard on starts to feel like it could become real.
Then it didn't.
And suddenly, I had a decision to make.
I could spend the next several months feeling sorry for myself—which, to be clear, had its appeal—or I could figure out what building a writing career actually looked like when nobody was handing me a roadmap.
So I created Author Hard, a 30-day social media series documenting my attempt to make meaningful progress as a writer.
Not to become a bestselling novelist in a month. Not to magically acquire a book deal.
Just to stop waiting for something to happen and start finding out what I could do myself.
Why I Started Author Hard
One of the stranger parts of pursuing writing professionally is how much of the process happens without anyone watching.
You write. You revise. You submit. You wait.
Sometimes you hear something encouraging. Sometimes you hear nothing at all. And occasionally, after a very long time, you hear no.
It's easy to feel as though your writing career hasn't started because you don't have a published novel sitting on a bookstore shelf.
But I was still writing. I was still working on my craft. I was still trying to find opportunities for my work.
I wanted to see what would happen if I treated those efforts as something worth documenting, rather than something I had to keep hidden until I had an impressive announcement to make.
What 30 Days of Building a Writing Career Actually Looked Like
Author Hard wasn't a month of sitting in a beautiful library, drinking coffee, and feeling inspired.
I work full-time in motorsports. My writing life has to fit around a job, everyday responsibilities, and the unfortunate reality that there are only so many hours in a day.
That meant finding opportunities where I could, making decisions about what deserved my attention, and learning that effort doesn't always produce an immediate result.
Over the course of the challenge, I documented what it looked like to keep pursuing writing after a disappointing setback.
One particularly meaningful moment was preparing for and completing my first podcast interview with Present Poetry, where I had the opportunity to talk about my writing and poetry.
And here's the part I think matters: I applied for that opportunity myself.
Nobody discovered me out of nowhere. I wasn't invited because I had a book deal or a huge audience.
I found an opportunity and put myself forward.
That might sound small, but after spending so much time waiting for a publishing decision, it felt significant to make something happen through my own initiative.
[Add two or three other specific Author Hard moments here—submissions, research, projects, or steps you documented—so readers can see the full scope of the challenge.]
What I Learned About Starting a Writing Career
1. You can make progress before you're published.
This sounds obvious until you're the person trying to do it.
It's tempting to think that publication is the point at which you're finally allowed to take yourself seriously as a writer.
But there are opportunities to pursue, relationships to build, skills to develop, and conversations to have long before that happens.
Publication is a goal. It isn't permission to begin.
2. Being proactive doesn't guarantee an outcome.
I think this is important to say because the internet loves a good success story with a neat little lesson attached.
Applying for something doesn't mean you'll get it. Submitting your writing doesn't mean it'll be accepted. Putting yourself out there doesn't mean an opportunity will appear immediately.
But choosing not to try makes the outcome fairly predictable.
The Present Poetry interview happened because I applied. That doesn't mean every application will work out. It means this one did, and I'm glad I gave it a chance.
3. A writing career has to fit into an actual life.
I love writing. I also have a full-time job.
Those things coexist, sometimes more gracefully than others.
If you're trying to build a creative career alongside work, school, family, or other responsibilities, you probably don't have unlimited time to devote to it.
Neither do I.
One of the most useful things about this challenge was being reminded that meaningful progress doesn't have to look glamorous.
4. Rejection isn't the end of the story.
I'm not going to pretend that having a publisher pass on my novel was secretly wonderful.
It wasn't.
But it also didn't erase the work I'd done or mean I had nothing left to pursue.
My manuscript still exists. My ideas still exist. And I still want to tell stories.
That's worth something, even when the next step isn't obvious.
Was Author Hard Worth It?
Yes.
Not because 30 days transformed my writing career into something unrecognizable, but because I ended the challenge having done more than simply wait for another opportunity.
I made an effort to find them.
I also came away with a clearer sense of what I want to keep doing, what deserves more attention, and how I want to share this process with other people.
And maybe most importantly, I have a record of what this particular chapter looked like.
Not the polished retrospective I'll write someday when everything has worked out.
The actual middle of it.
The uncertain, slightly chaotic, still-figuring-it-out part.
What Comes After Author Hard?
The challenge is finished. The writing career isn't.
I'm continuing to work on my fiction, explore opportunities for my writing, and share the books and stories that inspire me along the way.
If you're also trying to build a creative life while managing everything else, I hope this is a reminder that you don't need an impressive announcement to take your work seriously.
Sometimes the next step is just finding one thing you can do—and doing it.
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