First of all, let me assure you that there’s been no death, injury, or other misfortune to prompt this post.
Secondly, it seems pertinent to confess that I chronically over-commit to things. I constantly have multiple large projects going on at the same time, besides ongoing commitments like my blog, this newsletter, etc.
When I took a hiatus for the summer, it was really nice to set all of that aside and let it run in the background for a while—which was a little bit surprising, because usually I’m anxious and antsy for the duration of hiatuses like that.
When I started the hiatus, it was with the understanding (and announcement) that it might be extended further if the need arose. When I came to the end of the hiatus, I was excited to dive back into things, so I figured there was no problem letting the end date be the end date and coming back to work on my writing, etc.!
But over the first couple of weeks after returning to writing work I felt super stressed out, multiple significant obstacles came up on the business back-end of things, our household is working toward moving, and I was seriously questioning whether things were so hard just because running a business is hard and I was meant to push through it, or whether God was telling me to put my writing-related work on the back burner for a while.
So I prayed about it, I got some wise counsel, and ultimately… I decided to take an extended break from the writing sphere. I wasn’t initially happy about it—I had just started things back up, it meant figuring out how to put certain things on hold, and I haven’t taken this long an intentional break from writing-related work since I started a decade ago—but God has given me so much peace since I set the pressure of writing stuff aside, which has confirmed for me that this is the right choice for this season.
What does this mean for my projects?
You’re probably wondering what this will mean for the things I had in the works—especially those things that were already in motion.
1) I’m honoring my existing commitments to the best of my ability
This means that the Worldbuilders Guild will still be open to the waitlist through the end of November, I will still be adding the new content that I had planned through the end of the year, and I will continue to honor the lifetime memberships that have been purchased. After November, the Guild may be a lot lighter on new content, challenges, etc. and much more tightly focused on personal feedback and mentorship, but I will still be providing that personal feedback and mentorship throughout this sabbatical. And I’m willing to refund any existing members who believe the Guild is no longer all they signed up for.
2) This doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t be writing
This sabbatical is intended to take the pressure off. I won’t be marketing, creating on a deadline, etc. But I also won’t be preventing myself from working on projects that I want to work on, at the pace I want to work with. I will probably be working on projects “in the background”—particularly the Lightning duology, as I am excited about re-outlining and re-writing Thunder—and you might even see scattered blog posts here or there. For one thing, taking all of my own projects off my plate freed up time for me to do more beta-reading and ARC reading, so you will see a review on November 4th for Bethany Meyer’s upcoming And Everything in Between short story collection! (Beyond that, I make no particular promises as to what may or may not go up on the blog.)
Hopefully, this sabbatical will give me the opportunity to refill my creative well, rediscover the joy of writing, and ultimately have more (and better) work ready to share when I come back.
3) Most of my published projects will still be available
My books will still be available on Amazon, and The Worldbuilding Toolbox will still be open for enrollment through the duration of my sabbatical.
The Worldbuilders Guild will not have its wider launch until post-sabbatical, and I’ll be closing direct book orders sometime between January and March. I also won’t be getting new stock between now and then, so what books are available now are the only books that will be available for direct purchase until I return from my sabbatical. If you’d like to order books directly from me before the shop closes (or stock is gone), you can do that here. Lost Girl is already gone, but all of my other books are available for the time being. (Note: I can only ship within the U.S.)
4) My inbox will still be open… but I may be slow to answer
My favorite part of this work is getting to connect with readers and authors like you, so I will not be closing my inbox to messages. But I also can’t promise that I’ll respond as quickly as I otherwise would, since the bulk of my attention will be on other responsibilities. If you’re okay with that, I would still love to hear from you!
This applies to comments on the blog and on The Worldbuilding Toolbox, also.
How long will I be gone?
Unfortunately, I don’t know. Presently, I believe it will be at least a year, but it’s all up to God what circumstances crop up between now and then that could make it longer or shorter. Whenever it is, you will be the first to know.
In closing
I’ll miss connecting and sharing my work with you, but I believe that God is calling me to slow down and focus on my family for a while. If you’d like to stick around and wait for my return, I’ll be happy to reconnect! If you’d rather unsubscribe, I completely understand that, too; no hard feelings.
May God bless you in whatever season you’re facing.
I bid you all a very fond farewell (for now).
Have a great day,
Ariel
