What The Hell Is An Anchored Author?

Many of the articles you find on my website refer to the term “anchored authors” and you may be wondering what that means.

Anchored Authors was a blog I ran from May 2008 to May 2009.  Even though it was blooming and receiving high praise and attention, for personal reasons, my time and energy became limited, with only enough to spare for either my writing, or the blog.  I’m a fiction author first, and despite the joy I got from helping other anchored authors, I was forced to shut down the blog.

Anchored Authors was devoted to fiction writers who also had day jobs (most of us!).  Its byline was “Strategies And Survival Skills For Fiction Authors With Day Jobs.”   From the blog itself:

What the hell is an anchored author?

If you’re holding down a full time job, while trying to write fiction, get it published, and dreaming about maybe one day having the sweet joy of quitting the day job to write full time, then you’re an anchored author.

You might not yet have completed a book, you could be shopping your first novel around, trying to find an agent, publisher or both, and still working for the man. You’re an anchored author.

You could be a published author with many titles to your credit, and these day feeling vaguely embarrassed about the fact that you’re still working the day job, and wondering what on earth you’re supposed to do now to make it to full time. If that’s you, you’re not only an anchored author…you’re also in the same boat as I am, except for one vital difference: I don’t feel embarrassed about the day job. To me, it’s a perfectly normal part of being a published author, and it has some strong up-sides.

The English language treats “being anchored” as both a positive state and a negative one. On the negative side, “being anchored” means being held back, unable to move away from the anchor. Being anchored is being weighed down. And a day job can feel just like an anchor weighing you down.

On the positive side, “being anchored” means having a safe mooring, that keeps you stable. It often implies that you’re tucked away on calm waters while a storm surges beyond the headlands. “Being anchored” gives you stability, a base to work from.

Your day job can be that safe base.

If you’re an anchored author, you’re in well-populated waters, as you’ll soon discover. This blog will provide you with strategies, tips and tricks on surviving the day job, structuring your fiction-writing career, and more.

Because of the impact of the Internet, and big on-line bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, a successful writing career doesn’t have to look like it did even ten years ago. I’ll introduce you to new ways of thinking about what “success” means for a fiction author, and strategies for reaching whatever version of success you would like to have.

Non-fiction authors and novelists who have made it to full-time will also find value in the time management posts. Better productivity equals more books – and even full time authors are not immune to the lure of finishing more books.

Anyone dedicated to writing for a living will find some tips and suggestions they can use. However, if you’re merely thinking about maybe trying your hand at writing, or toying with the prospect of banging out a novel on a laptop one summer, then read this blog at your peril. You will learn how long-term this game really is.

Only the most dedicated fiction writers have the stamina to make it even to the first completed book. Of the thousands upon thousands of novels that are started in one year, only a tiny fraction of those books are finished. Yet in the United States alone there is a novel published every thirty minutes, so even if you finish yours, you’ll need a stout constitution to get it published.

If you are committed to writing fiction, though, this blog will help you see your career in a new and more positive frame – one that comes with strategies, guideposts, and a realistic view of the fiction industry today.

Join in.  Get your feet wet.  It’s a friendly place.

First appeared on Anchored Authors in April/May, 2009

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Tracy Cooper-Posey © 2009. Cannot be copied or distributed without permission.