author branding, author platform, Bayou Bound Books, gothic literature, southern gothic horror Isabelle McGee author branding, author platform, Bayou Bound Books, gothic literature, southern gothic horror Isabelle McGee

My Writing Process Does Not Exist and That Is Okay

A lot of authors out there have a writing process. Artists have a painting process. Creatives of all kinds seem to have these carefully structured routines with blocked off hours and dedicated creative windows and systems that keep everything moving forward on schedule.

If you came here looking for that from me I am sorry but I genuinely cannot help you there.

My full time author schedule is relatively nonexistent and I have made peace with that.

Here is what my day actually looks like. I wake up -- whenever that is, and it could genuinely be any time -- make my coffee, sit down at my desk, check my emails, and respond to what needs a response. After that everything is chaos. Beautiful, productive, completely unscheduled chaos.

I do not wake up at a certain time. I do not go to bed at a certain time. Some nights I am asleep by 10pm and up early ready to tackle the world. Other nights, because I spent years working night shifts and have always been a night owl at heart, I am going to bed at 6am and waking up at 3pm. And honestly it is what it is.

I have tried blocking out my schedule almost hour by hour. Breaks at specific times, creative work in specific windows, the whole system. It does not work for me and I think I finally understand why.

I cannot sit down and feel forced to be creative. I will be creative when I want to be creative. That is just the truth of how I work and I stopped fighting it.

Editing is the exception. Editing I force myself to do because if I do not create a deadline for myself I simply will not do it. There is no natural creative pull toward editing for me. It is all discipline and mild dread and self imposed consequences. But everything else -- the writing, the content creation, the building -- that happens when it happens.

My day looks like working for an hour or two and then going to hang out with my fiance. Then getting back to it when he is busy with his hobbies. Then working again late into the night because something clicked and I cannot stop. I probably work more than eight hours most days but the majority of the time it does not feel like work because I am doing something I actually love.

That is the thing nobody tells you about pursuing your dream full time. When the passion is real it does not feel like a job even when it is technically labor. Even when it is unpaid labor for stretches that would make a reasonable person quit. You just keep going because stopping does not feel like an option.

So no. I do not have a process.

I have a dream. I have a passion. I have coffee and a desk and a fiance who puts up with me disappearing into my work at completely unpredictable hours. And somehow, in the middle of all that beautiful chaos, things get made.

That is enough for me. 🖤

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Merch, author branding, Bayou Bound Books, gothic literature, southern gothic horror Isabelle McGee Merch, author branding, Bayou Bound Books, gothic literature, southern gothic horror Isabelle McGee

The Bayou Bound Books Merch Is Here and Here Is How You Can Help

Building an indie publishing brand from scratch is one of the most rewarding and humbling things I have ever done. There is no big publisher behind me, no marketing team, no safety net. Just me, the stories, and the people who show up for it.

If you have ever wanted to be part of what I am building here, here are a few ways to do it.

The free ones matter just as much:

Repost my content. Share a book link with someone you think would love it. Leave a review on Amazon if you have read one of my books. Mention Bayou Bound Books to a friend. Word of mouth is how indie authors grow and every single time you put my name in front of someone new it counts more than you know.

And if you want to wear the bayou:

I have merch available now and I am genuinely proud of how it turned out.

The black shirt has the Bayou Bound Books logo on the front and a full swamp scene on the back. Spanish moss, cypress trees, a skull on a stack of books, moonlight, and the words "Where the stories rot beautifully." It is dark, it is Southern, and it is everything this brand is about. It comes in both a classic unisex tee and a crop top so you can wear the bayou however feels most like you.

The grey shirt is a little more understated. The brand slogan "Ink dipped in soul, bound by the bayou" sits on the front where a pocket would be and the back features a hand drawn bayou house with Bayou Bound Books across it.

There is also a coffee mug in three sizes for those of you who do your best reading with something warm in your hand.

Everything ships directly to you. You can shop at bayouboundbooks.com.

However you choose to show up, whether that is buying a shirt, sharing a post, or just being here reading this, it matters. This brand exists because people like you keep showing up for it and I do not take that lightly. 🖤

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