The Hard Truth About Being a Career-Author
Meet Jacqueline Boulden, award-winning author who got her groove as a novelist after midlife!
I’ve lost count of the number of authors who didn’t get serious about writing books until midlife. Like, it’s overwhelming to consider how common this really is. I say this because it’s important to have realistic expectations for an author career.
Here are some truths that I’ve learned:
Most successful novelists didn’t hit their groove until midlife. Many didn’t even write a book or have one published until their 40s, 50s or later!
Whether you publish traditionally or independently, you can’t realistically expect to make a sustainable income from your books until you have a volume of work. We’re talking 5 books, or more! The key to being a career-author is writing book after book after book.
Every author I know, from the traditionally published to the going-it-solo, have to do their own marketing and do it well. Publishers might give a little support around the book’s release, but even the big houses expect you to have a platform and hawk your books. So don’t fear it. Embrace it. Learn all you can, and make it fun. (P.S. I teach classes on this.)
There is no one best way to have your book published. It took me a while to accept this because I came up in the time when self-publishing was verboten. But the truth is that today, self-publishing can be a fantastic and viable path! Publishing is a business like any other and whether an agent or publisher buys your book has to do with, yes, the quality of your manuscript but also about a lot of other things - namely, will it make them money, is it politically correct, and more. I created Scotia Road Books because I didn’t want to water down the Jewish in my books and also, I have a goal of writing a book a year - the industry likely can’t keep up with that pace. And, I want to help other midlife women writers do the same.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Meet Jacqueline Boulden
While the Make Meaning Podcast is on hiatus, I am featuring authors here! This week, meet a lovely prolific writer who got serious about writing novels at the age of 60!
Jacqueline Boulden has been a storyteller for as long as she can remember. She wanted to write a novel ever since she stayed up all night in high school reading Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. The reality of earning a living and a love of news sent her off to Utica University where she received a B.A. in journalism and public relations. Then she made several career moves around the country—earning several Emmy awards along the way—covering politics in Washington, D.C., NASA and the space shuttle program in Florida (including the Challenger accident), and fighting the wind for control of her hats during live shots in hurricanes and blizzards in Orlando and Philadelphia.
Jacqueline’s debut novel, Her Past Can’t Wait, won the 2023 Independent Publisher (IPPY) award for Best Regional Fiction, Mid-Atlantic, and the 2023 Global Book Awards Gold Award for Psychological Thriller. Her Past Can’t Wait has been named a finalist in several other competitions. Her second novel, Family Ties Family Lies, came out in January 2024.
Jacqueline lives in upstate New York with her spouse and their rescue dog, who’s teaching them how to speak Beaglish.
From Jacqueline: I often wrote poems, free verse, and short ditties. Writing was almost second nature. I was about twelve when I wrote a poem about the family dog who died. I was first published in the local newspaper when I wrote about the Apollo fire which killed three astronauts.
No one ever discouraged me. I was in high school the first time I considered writing as a career. I wanted to be an author because I loved reading books. I began college as a lit major and realized that wasn’t the path for me, so I obtained a degree in journalism and public relations. Two weeks out of college I began working as a radio reporter.
I still had ideas about writing fiction and dabbled in writing over the years, sometimes writing essays about my TV work and scribbling down ideas for novels, but never following through. After 25 years as a radio and TV reporter, it was time for a career change but I wasn’t sure what to do next.
I wrote full time for several months and completed a manuscript without knowing enough about what I was doing. Then I had to pay the bills. I worked as a video writer/producer for another couple of decades. At 60, I decided if I didn’t prioritize writing soon, it might not happen. I wrote another manuscript that I couldn’t interest an agent in. Then I wrote Her Past Can’t Wait and decided to publish as an indie.
I love putting my thoughts on paper. I’ve always loved telling stories. I love to read mysteries and thrillers, compelling stories about women on “A Hero’s Journey.”
I was still trying to interest an agent in my second manuscript when the #MeToo movement catapulted into the public discussion. I read and heard so many stories about women being sexual harassed, abused, assaulted, and didn’t hear enough stories about healing.
So I wrote a novel about a character who works with a psychotherapist specializing in a trauma therapy called EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a therapy recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the best for treating PTSD.
The novel, Her Past Can’t Wait, won the IPPY (Independent Publisher) Gold Award for Best Regional Fiction Mid-Atlantic. It’s set in Philadelphia, where I lived for more than 30 years before returning to my native New York state to be closer to family during Covid.
The hardest thing about being a career-author is the time I need to spend on marketing my book, especially as an independently-published author. The best parts are when I’m writing and the story flows through me. Also, the times I talk with people about my books. Hearing how my words resonate with them is profoundly rewarding.
My debut novel is about healing from trauma, especially sexual abuse. I am humbled by the women who lean in to whisper their stories to me when I’m selling books at a book festival, and by those who finish my book and message me that they have found an EMDR therapist to help them heal.
Jacqueline’s advice to aspiring authors: Read as much as you can. Write as often as you can.
Learn more about Jacqueline Boulden here.
Writing Opportunities for YOU
It was great to see some of you on my monthly free Writealong this past Saturday. Thanks for joining to write in community! If you missed it, add your name to the list here to be reminded of future writing dates.
I have two classes starting this month - Writing a Book and Getting it Done, and Mining Your Life for Story. See all of my upcoming classes here and use the discount code WELCOMEBACK for a 10% tuition discount.
Also, I run ongoing programs for writers, including a weekly Accountability Cohort and a powerful ongoing program called The Writers Community, which will have a few spots open in June.
Finally, I have 1 spot left in my Ann Arbor writers retreat, June 28-30, and 2 spots available in my Write in the Redwoods Retreat, October 20-24. Learn about both here.
Thanks for reading the Rebel Author Newsletter! I write this weekly to share ideas and insights about writing and publishing. If you find value, please consider becoming a paid subscriber and qualify for monthly book giveaways and bimonthly writing coaching calls! And if you care to share this with others who might find it valuable, I’d be super appreciative.