Are you an Authopreneur?

Last week I was thinking what would be the best way to spend the past weekend while my other half goes snowboarding. His trip is not over yet - he has booked three nights away, leaving me for four days on my own. Completely alone, except for the company of my two darling dogs. To take loneliness and sheer boredom out of the equation, I carefully planned down to the last detail what I would do with my precious time. I could mope about and pine away for him but that is not me; I like to use my time as wisely as I possibly can.

I am not a big people person. Being a writer I am usually on the misanthropic side, although I do have my friends and I love them to bits. But as a rule I am not fond of people in general.

So this side of me has made me think that writing is the best possible job for me. As an only child I have often been used to spending copious amounts of time alone, forced to become an independent thinker with a strong mind. Do I mind being alone? Hell, no, I think it's freaking marvellous!

Being alone forces you to become more sociable and outgoing if you are a people person. For me it forces me to try new things as I cannot rely on other people to entertain me. Sharing the company of others is great so long as you like the person. I've had jobs in the past where I worked with a few people I couldn't stand and simply hated it. But as I liked to be professional in all the work that I have done I was civil to them and just got on with the job in hand.

But having a job as a writer gives you so much more potential. You no longer need to rely on others to get jobs done, or be a 'team player' - often I find this description is a hidden code that really actually means you can do everyone else's job as well as your own! You can work the hours that suit you, and you can do as much or as little work on each day as you please. This is where the title of my post comes in. Being a writer actually means you can become an authopreneur! If you're a highly driven, motivated, and self disciplined person like I am, there really is no limit to your potential!

Because you're working for yourself you can be as ambitious as you want to be. You can choose your own targets, fulfil your own goals, all without having to rely on other people (apart from your copy editor and cover designer, of course). You can make all your own rules and break every single one of them.

So being a writer isn't lonely at all, it's only a lonely existence if you want it to be. It's one of the few jobs where no one else has the power to hold you back.