My adorable little five-year old crawled into my bed this morning to snuggle, and he started the conversation with, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a publisher.” He continued with talk about book cover design and that he wants to change his name in case he ever decides to write a book. He then decided he would write one about robots.
In the end, I was quite amazed at how much he knows about the publishing industry. As the day has progressed, I have begun to think about how much change this family has endured now that I have become an author. Before I became consumed with the life of Alissia Roswell, I home schooled my children and was a full-time mom. Now, I spend the majority of my time at my desk typing at the computer, and this fall will be their first year in a public school. My oldest daughter is a bit nervous about this, but I believe she will adapt.
Then there’s my husband Daryl. He is doing more around the house and is having to get used to less homemade desserts. Although I still love to bake, my time is more limited in the kitchen. Luckily, I have two daughters that share my passion of cooking, and I can sometimes talk them into cooking dinner or baking something sweet, yet healthy.
Social media has become a necessity in my life for marketing and networking, and I now find myself answering emails, tweeting, and checking my Facebook more often than I would like. I’ve got to learn time management when school begins since that is when I plan to focus on book two of the Alissia Roswell series. I have a time limit and plan to stay on schedule.
Although our lives have drastically changed now that I have become an author, I’m pleased by these changes in my family. My children are becoming more independent, and my husband is getting more involved with running the house. I never planned to write a novel. In fact, I did not know myself until the week I started typing. The story came to me, and it had to get out. I was driven to write, and at first it was for myself. I did not plan to try to have it published until about halfway through, when my friend and I realized it was a great story worth sharing.
I believe a lot of families go through changes like ours. You may not have become an author, but it could be something else. I would love to hear about it in the comments section if you would like to share your version, and I look forward to the discussion.
Our family has experienced similar changes. I find it interesting that your son is already so knowledgeable at five. Your post reminds me of our own family experience. My journey as an author began when I wrote my grandmother’s WWII memoirs in 2011. Since then, I’ve written two other novels (fiction this time) and a few short stories. After I completed the first novel, my oldest daughter (then 11) asked if she could finish her book that she started at 7. I helped her format the book and put it on Amazon as she asked. Other than a little editing, I didn’t change anything. We were pleasantly surprised when her book became a hit. Ever since both of my daughters, Jessica Arnold and Lisa Arnold have published their stories for children using our own publishing company. I also home school my daughters and so far, I am able to continue. My daughters also love cooking, which is wonderful. We love our lives as authors, and we love discussing book ideas. Congratulations to your family on the transition from a family of authors!
Wow! What a great family! I’m impressed you can still home school. My eleven-year-old daughter will soon be typing book reviews on this site, and although she has started writing a book (around the same time I began), she has yet to finish it. If your daughters are interested in telling about their lives as young authors, I would love for them to type out a guest post. Let me know if they’re interested.