A Full Time Author

I have been a full time author since I closed my consultancy company in August 2025. I am delighted I made the move. I have been writing now for about ten years but its so refreshing to be free of business concerns, But I still never seem to have enough time to write, research and market.

I am very privileged to be a member of the Zoom group of South West England Indie Authors. We support each other in our complex journeys to produce books and understand the increasing difficult IT required for production and marketing. We also meet up for coffee mornings occasionally. For me face to face is so much better than talking to a screen. Many of the authors have become good friends.

All the authors I know had other careers before writing. I don’t think any of them were writers at the start of their careers. This means many have bags of life experience which they can weave into their writing.

I have had some very helpful (Author) Beta readers for my new, about to be published, book:The Rivers of Eden. They have been so kind and generous with their time and effort in giving such brilliant advice. I am currently incorporating many of their ideas and good advice.

I am often asked where my stories come from. I read many books written about the period of the history I am trying to capture, some of which give me inspiration and ideas. Sometimes I get stuck and I try really hard to get out of my rut. It can take days to find a way forward. I have been in this situation for a few days now and my writing has been held up. Sometimes I get inspiration whilst I am dozing, not asleep and not awake, and the ideas start flowing: but not this time. Recently I was fast asleep in the middle of the night when the solution came to me in a dream. It was the perfect way to move my story forward! How extraordinary!

Nigel Messenger February 2026.