Boundaries To Set As A Writer

Last year, I shared a few tips for setting boundaries as a writer to protect your writing time and peace of mind, especially during the holiday season.

Your time for writing and your headspace aren't the only things to safeguard as a writer, though!

Boundaries can help your writing in both the short term and the long run.

The specific boundaries and where the lines are drawn will vary from one writer to the next, but here are a few I have set (or intend to) for myself...

Time

Between day jobs, general human upkeep, other obligations, and all of the surprises life loves to throw at us, writers often only have a small window of time to work on their WIPs.

Even if it's only an hour here and there, it's important to carve out that time.

For me, that's reserving a smidge of my day off from my day job to work on writing-related things. It might also be learning to say no from time to time, especially if you've got a deadline looming; part of that is also learning when not to say no.

Writing, like any passion, requires sacrifice to make it happen. Small sacrifices, like losing an hour of sleep to write in the morning or waiting until you've finished your draft to finally check out that new show everybody's been raving about, and larger sacrifices like skipping the occasional date night or choosing not to pick up an extra shift.

That's not to say you need to dedicate every spare second to your writing (you shouldn't, frankly), but it's a good idea to set a boundary to protect your writing time and allow it to be a little flexible should the need arise.

Peace Of Mind

Your mental health is important to protect regardless of your career or hobbies, but it's especially important for writers.

We spend so much time inside our heads, so you have to make sure it's a good place to be.

Boundaries to protect your peace of mind can include not reading reviews of your book or asking a trusted friend to look at them and report back with specific elements (e.g., quotes to include in promotional posts on social media). Many writers journal or meditate to clear their minds. Going to therapy is also worthwhile if you're able.

Writing can be infinitely harder when you're confronted with imposter syndrome and burnout. Some scenes can be especially difficult and can take an unexpected toll.

That's why boundaries to protect your mental health are vital as a writer.

Personal VS Private

It feels like we live so much of our lives online, and that may leave you feeling like you need to follow suit. After all, you'll often hear that if you want to build a following (i.e., sell more books, etc.), you've got to be genuine, personable, professional, and chronically online and consistently posting.

However, know that you don't have to—and frankly shouldn't—post about every single thing. There are things to avoid for safety reasons, like your address and the license plate on your car, and things you ought to be cautious about posting about; for example, you might post about your kids without showing their faces. As a writer, you may also encounter things that you cannot post about for legal reasons until you are given the all-clear from your publisher.

Social media can be a fantastic tool for reaching new readers and connecting with your audience, but remember that even though you cannot control the algorithm, you are in control of what you post.

Setting boundaries between your public, professional life and your private, personal life is key to maintaining balance in the digital age.

And sometimes, it's also a matter of safety.

Budgeting As A Boundary

This one is especially important for indie authors.

One of the biggest draws of self-publishing is taking all of the major decisions into your hands. Everything from your editor to your cover's artist and its design is up to you.

The trade-off, however, is that the price tag is also in your own hands. With traditional publishing, those matters are typically handled in-house, including expenses; that's one reason royalties exist. Indie authors are responsible for footing those costs—and it can get expensive fast.

It's just one reason budgeting is one of the boundaries a writer should set. Those financial boundaries for how much you can feasibly spend in each area of publishing help you ensure you're creating the best possible work without frittering away your funds. It's also good to establish priorities, like allocating more funds to your cover art than your formatting because the former matters more to you.

This also applies to marketing, producing author merch, and traveling to bookish events, which both indie and trad-pub authors typically bear the brunt of.

Comfort Zones: How Far Are You Willing To Go?

Many writers have things that they are not willing to put on the page, and there is nothing wrong with that.

As an example, I do write open-door spicy scenes in my historical romances, but I won't write anything too erotic. Another romance writer might only be comfortable with writing scenes that fade to black. Or they might favor sweet romances where sex isn't mentioned at all.

I bring this up because a common criticism of some recently published books, particularly in romanatasy and New Adult rom-coms, is that the spice felt awkward or shoehorned in, added as an afterthought because spicy books happened to be trending like wildfire and the author or their publishing team wanted to get in on it.

I don't know if that theory holds water since I haven't read any of the books in question, but I do know this: if you're not having a good time writing something but make yourself do it because of external influences, your readers will be able to tell.

This also extends to things like gore and violence.

Respecting your comfort zone as a writer and setting those boundaries allows you to stay true to yourself and make your stories more enjoyable for you and your readers. Whether it's a personal preference, on religious grounds, for your mental health, or any other reason at all, knowing your comfort zone (and how far outside of it you are willing to tread) can make all the difference.

One Last Thing...

Maintaining your boundaries often means putting your foot down and holding steadfast to them.

There is something to be said for staying flexible, though. You shouldn't deny yourself of all non-writing, non-essential things because of your writing schedule. Your comfort zone may change, as may your financial circumstances and how they affect your budgeting. Even the kind of boundaries you need can shift.

I highly suggest staying open-minded. Life finds a way to get in the way. Find the balance between upholding your boundaries and leniency.

Having boundaries as a writer may sound limiting, but those boundaries can be a valuable tool to make sure you're not only able to have time to work on your books but to make sure they are the best they can be.

What boundaries have you set for yourself as a writer? Do you have any tips for keeping them? Let me know in the comments!