Guided meditation, dressing for my mood, dog walks, reading, reviewing my Notion project management tools.

daily rituals

Writing small town romance, reading on the couch with my dog, in the gym, laughing with my Mr.

YOU CAN FIND ME:

Toxic positivity, talking sh*t, being negative, doing things because everyone else is.

I'm NOT ABOUT:

Kind reality checks, sharing knowledge, dad jokes, the four day work week, abolishing greyhound racing.

I BELIEVE IN:

The journey back from burnout revealed a critical gap in the indie publishing world. Most authors enter the business of writing (yes, it is indeed, a business) with no formal training in running a mini enterprise and drown in administrative tasks that steal away your precious writing time. You face constant pressure to follow "successful" authors' methods while battling imposter syndrome and self-doubt. And it doesn’t help that the loudest voices in the industry often promote approaches that work for very few, leaving you struggling to force yourself into systems that weren't designed for you.

Author Ducks emerged from this realization with a clear purpose: to help overwhelmed authors understand that there's no single "right way" to succeed.

What authors need are personalized systems–ones that work for their individual needs and circumstances.

This is a story about an author (okay, it’s me, Melanie) who found herself ensnared in the common indie author trap of trying to emulate successful authors' methods. In pursuit of the industry's standard metrics of success (first six-figure, then seven-figure income goals), I eventually burned out completely and quit writing for 18 months.

This breaking point led to a crucial realization: the conventional approach of goal-setting and following others' formulas wasn't the answer.