Hello again

A reintroduction after some time away

Hi, friends! I’m back from my summer hiatus. The kids have returned to school¹, and my normal newsletter schedule is set to resume: New posts every other Tuesday, plus AMAs for paying subscribers at the start of each month.

Speaking of subscribers, a lot of new people hit ‘follow’ while I was taking some time away. First and foremost, if you’re one of those people, thank you, and welcome! I’m so glad you’re here! If you’d like to catch up on what I posted before you joined, here are some of my most popular pieces from the past year:

Does pursuing success make authors unhappy?

Enjoyability over all else

"Fake it till you make it"

How much do authors make a year?

How to pick your narrator(s)

Developing—and choosing between—book ideas

Reflections a decade after debuting

The exclusivity effect

As you can see from this list, I tackle a wide range of topics via this newsletter—writing advice, publishing insights, author updates, and general creativity/#writerlife reflections.

What I post is typically timely to what I’m tackling in my own writing or dealing with in my personal life. That said, if you ever want me to cover a certain topic, drop requests in the comments! I’m always looking for suggestions.

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Eleven-year-old me at a summer writing camp

A moment of perspective

As I was pulling together this post, I found myself reflecting on all the highs and lows of my career—a side effect of pulling that popular posts list together, perhaps.

Either way, it hit me: I am literally living my dream. Sure, being an author isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and it certainly doesn’t pay a dream salary or guarantee happiness. But I truly fantasized of this career as a child. I’ve been writing stories my whole life, and in middle school, I even went to writing camp during the summer (see above photo!)

That version of me—middle school Erin—would probably pass out if she knew what awaited her.

I’m trying to hold on to that type of joy as I move into another year of newsletter posts, and writing in general. It’s very easy to focus on the hard parts of this career, to obsess over all the ways it can be better. And I’m not saying it can’t be better, or that we should stop keep talking about the tough parts of publishing. Quite the opposite. Talking about issues is the best way to work toward improve things. But… I also need to remind myself, maybe even daily, that eleven-year-old Erin would not believe my career title today. She would be gobsmacked.

I’m gobsmacked still, when I really think about it.

And that’s the feeling I want to hold on to most.

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Looking ahead

I intend to keep writing about writing — the publishing industry, the act of creating, the nuts and bolts of craft. But I also want to know what YOU want more of.

Which leads me to… polls! If you can spare a moment, please vote below.

Did you make it through all those? Thanks. You’re a trooper.

If what you want most out of this newsletter wasn’t hinted at in the above polls, or you simply have a suggestion for how to improve this Substack, please drop your thoughts/requests in the comments!

Until next time,

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Erin Bowman is the critically acclaimed author of numerous books for children and teens, including the Taken Trilogy, Vengeance Road, Retribution Rails, the Edgar Award-nominated Contagion duology, The Girl and the Witch’s Garden, and Dustborn. A web designer turned author, Erin has always been invested in telling stories—both visually and with words. Erin lives in New Hampshire with her husband and children.

1. My littlest is in Kindergarten this year, which means that I will have a Mon-Fri writing schedule for the first time in NINE years. It’s bittersweet to see him off to school with his sister, but I have to admit, I’m pretty darn excited to get my full workweeks back. (I debuted in 2013 and by daughter was born six months later, so nearly my whole career as a published author has happened while writing on a part-time schedule.)