Why Seanan will now be around more (and less).: seanan

Why Seanan will now be around more (and less).

Today was my first day as a full-time author.

Yesterday afternoon, I turned in my badge and left my day job for what will hopefully be the last time. I am finally in a position (thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act) to make a go of it. This means I'll have more time for work, more time to have a social life, and best of all, more time for glorious napping. I had a nap this afternoon. It was the best thing.

It also means that I'm going to be even more conservative, financially speaking. I regularly have to turn down conventions and speaking events that don't come with compensation for travel/lodging. I've been doing it up until now because it was a way to winnow things down to something I could handle with my available vacation time. Now...I can't afford it. I mean, right now, right this second, maybe I could, but in six months? In a year? I need to be careful, because I want to be able to do this, just this, the thing that I love, for as long as humanly possible.

Thank you all so much for supporting me as much as you have. You are why this can happen, and I am more grateful than I can express in words. I will do my very best to be worthy of your faith in me.

Because I know some of you will ask what you can do to help (and I am grateful for that, too), this is what you can do: buy my books. Buy my albums. When I say "here is a poster," or "here is a print," buy those, or point them out to people who will. Mostly, buy my books. That's what leads to royalty checks and more contracts, and wow are those going to be necessary going forward.

Again, thank you all, so much. I am so excited, and so relieved, and so looking forward to getting some actual sleep.

Comment amnesty is declared for this post! Because I want to spend that time napping.

Jesslyn Hendrix

January 17 2014, 18:47:06 UTC 3 years ago

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I am very happy for you, congratulations--good luck is not needed because you are simply that good. I'll continue my habit of double purchasing your books (Kindle/Audio).

Let me thank you in advance for all the enjoyment that I anticipate to come from future books.

anna_en_route

January 17 2014, 19:10:05 UTC 3 years ago

I'm really happy that you are able to do this =) I wish you many naps and much spontaneous travel when your financial security improves (I strongly suspect that it will)

Also....thanks Obama?

vixyish

January 17 2014, 19:38:34 UTC 3 years ago

Definitely thanks Obama!

peneli

3 years ago

basbleu

January 17 2014, 19:12:26 UTC 3 years ago

Fantastic! I wish you a year full of much sleep, long walks, and time to awake-dream (while writing lots of books, I love them)

loree

January 17 2014, 19:23:48 UTC 3 years ago

Cheers!

jarissa

January 17 2014, 19:40:49 UTC 3 years ago

Congratulations! My whole household is so happy for you!

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kassrachel

January 17 2014, 19:53:20 UTC 3 years ago

YAY full-time author!

And also yay napping.

ktsparrow

January 17 2014, 20:23:08 UTC 3 years ago

Huzzah! Raise high the roofbeams! And yay for the ACA making such things possible. It's been hugely helpful for me and mine and the heretofore crappiness of pre-existing conditions.

$Stef: girl\\cat hair$

morningapproach

January 17 2014, 20:31:56 UTC 3 years ago

w00t!! That is fantastic :D I am wishing you the best of luck, and I will definitely buy your books :)

gwynnega

January 17 2014, 20:38:39 UTC 3 years ago

I am so happy for you!

notalwaysweak

January 17 2014, 20:50:37 UTC 3 years ago

I am thrilled for you. Especially the part where you will get to experience sleep. I'm assuming you've mostly forgotten what that was like!

dulcimeoww

January 17 2014, 21:05:10 UTC 3 years ago

Wow, congratulations!

Being financially cautious because you don't know when or how much the next check will be is the hardest part of self-employment, and it gets old really fast. When I was about eight, my dad explained it to me like this: "Imagine a pool of water, with one stream flowing in and one stream flowing out. The stream flowing out is mostly going to be flowing out at about the same rate, but occasionally something will happen and the water will flow out even faster. The stream flowing in is pretty fickle, however. Sometimes it rushes in all at once, and sometimes it barely even trickles. The key to being responsible is to make sure there's always enough water in the pool so that it can't go dry." Betting on future income is a bad plan for the self-employed, and it is totally reasonable to limit conventions to paying gigs. It's less good for going out and personally finding new readers, or for networking, but it's a lot more responsible financially. It's easy to forget that selling stuff at cons has to pay for the con before it even starts to make a profit, and as an author I imagine getting stuff to sell is somewhat less financially feasible than it is for a little independent publisher like us (where we can just take some of the stock we already produced, but you have to go and get it for the purpose of selling).

gothrockrulz

January 17 2014, 21:10:59 UTC 3 years ago

Congratulations! Enjoy your nap, it's well deserved. :)

calico_reaction

January 17 2014, 21:14:18 UTC 3 years ago

Go you!

patoadam

January 17 2014, 22:00:20 UTC 3 years ago

Hip, hip, hooray, and huzzah! Congratulations!

cobrabay

January 17 2014, 22:28:36 UTC 3 years ago

Yay! And hurrah for naps and the ACA.

heavensgardener

January 18 2014, 00:52:13 UTC 3 years ago

Congrats!

salexa

January 18 2014, 00:54:48 UTC 3 years ago

Yay naps! Congratulations!

gwaihiril

January 18 2014, 01:26:33 UTC 3 years ago

Congrats! That's so awesome!

*adds all the books to my shopping list*

grenacia

January 18 2014, 01:56:08 UTC 3 years ago

Congratulations! You can do it! I'll buy more books!

January 18 2014, 19:55:34 UTC 3 years ago

Hmm, one I was going to buy was Velveteen vs. the Multiverse, but it seems to be unavailable at the moment in any edition except for audio, and the isfic site is down. I'll have to check back on that later.

gorgeousgary

January 18 2014, 03:15:30 UTC 3 years ago

Congrats on making the jump to full-time writing! I am sure you're both excited and scared. But there's definitely something to be said for not having to squeeze writing in around commuting and a full-time day job.

January 18 2014, 06:10:52 UTC 3 years ago

Also for what it's worth, my partner found he was spending a lot less money in general when he started working from home (no travel costs, no office clothing etc).

penumbral_heart

January 18 2014, 08:27:51 UTC 3 years ago

This post made me very happy for Seanan.
You deserve this, and I am excited for you!!! It is a big deal and I hope the Aeslin mice had a celebration with a giant spread set out for you.

I am thrilled you can rest more and concentrate on what you enjoy creating to make a living.

Naps are not always a luxury and I try to never take them for granted. Plus the felines are very keen on cuddling during naps! May you recover spoons faster or function more despite lack of spoons through the power of the nap.

Yay for Seanan.
pen<3

wfw_sj

January 18 2014, 16:48:39 UTC 3 years ago

Sweetie: Congratulations again, and all hail Saint Barry!

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