A Thunder of War Steve McHugh – Guest Post: A Full Time Writer.

There’s thunder on the horizon, and the lightning of war is about to strike.

After years of struggle, Layla Cassidy has finally mastered the dark powers that threatened to control her and turned them to good. She’s ready to fight, but the next battle will be her greatest test yet.

The forces of Avalon are growing ever stronger, reinforcing their dominance with almighty displays of brutality. When Abaddon comes close to crushing Layla and her friends, it’s clear that the thunder of war is about to give way to lightning—and that they have no chance of surviving it alone.

The final battle against Abaddon is drawing closer. Now Layla and her friends must fight for themselves—and the future of the world. To win, they will need every power and ally they can muster. But even with all their strength, will it be enough to stand against the impending doom?

Purchase A Thunder Of War HERE.

Being a Fulltime Writer.

I published my first book—Crimes Against Magic—in April 2012. It was self published, and by the end of the year I’d been picked up by my publisher, 47North, to relaunch the series and publish the rest of the books. I didn’t start to write fulltime until Christmas 2015. I’d written 5 books by then, and had several more in the pipeline.

As of the 6th November, I will have had 10 books, and 1 novella published in about six years, so, I thought I’d share some advice about going fulltime as an author.

1. Do not quit your job when you get your first book deal. I cannot say this enough. Unless you’re getting millions to write, you need to take a step back and breath. It’s awesome to get a publishing deal, but lets say you get a 3 book deal. Well, you can divide your advance into anything from 3 to 6 parts. You’ll get part upon signing. Part from handing in each book, and maybe part when you publish depending on the publisher. That’s a lot less up front than your advance total, and you’ll need to be paying that back before you actually make more. Seriously, don’t quit your job.

2. Ensure you have books in the future. Authors live in a contract to contact sort of existence, and while it’s wonderful when you get that new 3 book deal, eventually it’s going to end and you’ll need a new deal for more books. Ideally, make sure you have a deal in place before you quit.

3. Get an accountant. Seriously, get one. They will save you a fortune in tax and deductions.

4. Embrace the fear. Going fulltime is both exhilarating and terrifying. Use that to ensure you get on with work. It took me a few months to get my head around the idea that while I’m off that doesn’t mean I can just go play Witcher 3 whenever I like. I should have been writing. Now, I can write 5000 words a day, so I soon caught up, but it’s too easy to slip into the “I don’t have to go to work, I’m going to binge watch TV”.

5. Buy the most comfortable chair you can. I know a lot of people swear about using a standing desk, but I like to sit down and write. My first month, I bought a cheap chair, and regretting it a few months later. Buying a good chair costs money, but it’s so worth it.

6. Don’t forget to see people. Writing can be quite insular, and writing from home even more so. Remember to go see your friends and loved ones and have actual conversations with actual people. It’s not healthy to work all the time.

7. Enjoy it. Going fulltime to do a job I love is not something most people get to do. The fact that I can continue doing this after 3 years is a wonderful feeling. Occasionally, I’ll just sit there and smile. And then I remember I have a deadline and have to get on with it.

Hopefully at least one of those will be of benefit to anyone considering a career in writing. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, but also the hardest and most time consuming. I highly recommend it to anyone who is able to.

Steve McHugh is the author of the popular Hellequin Chronicles, and Avalon Chronicles. The third and final Avalon Chronicles book, A Thunder of War, is out in kindle and audible on 6th November. He lives in Southampton on the south coast of England with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time

with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games.

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One Response to A Thunder of War Steve McHugh – Guest Post: A Full Time Writer.

  1. Anne Cater says:

    Thanks so much for the blog tour support Liz x

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