A Day in the Life of an Author Who Refuses to Relax ☕📚
(Or: How I Publish Like a Machine While Parenting 3 Kids, Herding 3 Cats, Surviving Legal Admin… and Still Rebuilding My Life)
People love asking,
“Laura, how do you publish so many books?”
As if I’m about to reveal a secret coven, a cursed quill, or a deal with a morally grey fairy king.
But here’s the truth no one puts on Instagram:
I’m doing this with:
✅ 3 kids (who need things constantly and always at the exact moment I click “Publish”)
✅ 3 cats (who behave like they pay rent and I’m the tenant)
✅ legal/admin stuff (because life loves paperwork more than it loves peace)
✅ my health + mental health (managed day by day, not magically fixed)
✅ financial pressure (yes, sometimes living off peanuts—literal and metaphorical)
✅ and the quieter part: I’m rebuilding after escaping domestic violence
So yeah—this is a “day in the life”… but it’s also a comeback story with tea stains.
And if you’re reading this thinking, “How is she still standing?”
Same. Some days I’m standing out of pure spite.
7:12 AM – The Kettle Knows My Name
I wake up.
The kettle is already judging me.
First tea goes on. Then the household activates.
One kid needs a missing item that definitely existed yesterday.
Another wants a snack like we’re running a hotel.
The third is either angelic or chaos—there is no middle ground.
The cats begin their morning routine:
- scream
- stare
- climb something illegal
- pretend they’ve never been fed once in their lives
And in the background, there’s the invisible admin:
Appointments. Forms. Safety planning stuff. Legal threads that don’t just disappear because you want peace.
So I sit down at the laptop like:
Right. Let’s build a future anyway.
Because that’s the thing people don’t understand:
When you’ve come out the other side of something dark, the goal isn’t just survival.
It’s a life you actually want to live.
8:03 AM – Amazon Upload Olympics (aka: Administrative Parkour)
Today’s goal: 46 books.
All formats. Ebook. Paperback. Hardcover.
Because I apparently enjoy living on “hard mode.”
This is where batching saves my sanity.
I don’t upload one book then wander off like a whimsical poet.
No.
I plant myself like a woman possessed:
✔ Title
✔ Description
✔ Keywords
✔ Categories
✔ Files
✔ Cover
✔ Repeat x46
Tea number two.
Interruption arrives by book #5:
“Mam? Where’s my—”
“Mam? Can you—”
“Mam? The cat—”
And here’s the real part: some days my brain is not running on “motivated”.
Some days it’s running on “functioning”.
Some days it’s running on “please don’t crash.”
When you’re managing mental health, you don’t always get to pick your energy level.
So I do what works:
Small steps. Timers. Lists. Breaks. Water. Tea.
And ruthless kindness to myself when the day gets heavy.
At book #17 I forget what year it is.
By #32 I’m bargaining with God, the router, and Jeff Bezos.
By #46 I feel like I’ve run a marathon… in pyjamas… while someone yelled “Mam!” every six minutes.
11:41 AM – Draft2Digital: The Formatting Hunger Games
Next: D2D.
Four bookstore titles going live, bringing me to 10 total.
But first… formatting issues.
Margins acting feral.
Page breaks having opinions.
One file looks like it was formatted by a haunted printer in 1997.
So I:
- rebuild
- re-export
- re-upload
- stare at it with pure Irish stubbornness
Victory.
Also somewhere in here:
I answer a legal email.
I fill out a form.
I chase something that should be simple but isn’t, because systems are slow and life is complicated.
And yes—sometimes I’m doing all this while counting coins, stretching groceries, making peanuts look like a full meal.
Not poetic. Just real.
But passion doesn’t vanish because money is tight.
Sometimes passion is the only thing that keeps you moving.
1:02 PM – Lunch? Allegedly.
Do I eat?
Yes.
Do I remember what?
No.
Probably toast.
Maybe a biscuit.
Possibly standing at the counter eating something small while reading an email that begins with:
“Further to our previous correspondence…”
There should be an award for surviving adulthood without screaming.
1:34 PM – IngramSpark: Boss Level Publishing
Five books uploaded.
All formats.
Another one is prepared and sitting there like:
“Upload me when you’re ready, queen.”
Three more queued for tomorrow.
This is pipeline management, and it’s how you build something steady when life is anything but.
Because when you’ve escaped chaos, you don’t want to live in chaos forever.
You want systems.
You want control.
You want a future that doesn’t depend on someone else’s moods.
That’s what this is for me.
4:10 PM – Editing Like a Menace
Three files ready for D2D tomorrow.
Possibly four if I get cocky.
Another three ready for Ingram.
This is where I feel like a proper professional and not a goblin with WiFi.
Everything organised.
Folders named.
Versions controlled.
Then a cat walks across the keyboard and tries to publish something called: “aaaaaaaaaaaaa;;;;;;”
Honestly? Could be a bestseller.
6:22 PM – Marketing Even When Tired
Two reels posted today:
1️⃣ How I do it all
2️⃣ Where to find my books
Because you can’t just make books.
You have to tell people they exist.
I post.
I close the app immediately like a Victorian woman after sending a risky letter.
And then I go back to life: kids, cats, dishes, brain management, and the invisible weight people don’t always see.
8:07 PM – Existential Reflection Hour (aka: The Quiet After)
Today’s receipts:
- ✅ 46 Amazon uploads
- ✅ 4 D2D bookstore titles
- ✅ 5 Ingram uploads
- ✅ 1 Ingram prepped
- ✅ 6 files edited & ready
- ✅ 2 reels posted
- ✅ 3 kids cared for
- ✅ 3 cats managed (barely)
- ✅ legal/admin handled
- ✅ mental health tended to
- ✅ healing still in progress
- ✅ author still here
Is it glamorous?
No.
Is it powerful?
Absolutely.
Because this isn’t just productivity.
This is rebuilding.
This is me choosing a life that’s mine.
What Actually Makes This Work (Helpful Bit)
1️⃣ Batch Everything
Upload days. Editing days. Marketing days.
Stop context switching like a caffeinated squirrel.
2️⃣ Build Pipelines
Always have:
- stuff ready
- stuff scheduled
- stuff in draft
You never start from zero.
3️⃣ Use “Low-Energy Systems”
On rough days:
timers, short sprints, one task lists, “good enough”, and breaks without guilt.
4️⃣ Treat It Like a Business
Because it is.
And stability is a form of safety.
5️⃣ Don’t Romanticise Struggle
You can be passionate and exhausted.
You can be ambitious and healing.
Both can be true.
Final Thoughts
People see:
“Wow, she publishes so much!”
They don’t see:
- the kids’ needs
- the cats’ chaos
- the legal paperwork
- the health management
- the rebuilding after DV
- the days where “showing up” is the win
But I’ll tell you what I know:
I’m proud of the work.
I’m proud of the grit.
And I’m proud that I’m still making art with my whole chest, even when life is stingy.
Now if you’ll excuse me…
I’m going to stare at a wall and emotionally recover.
Tiny safety note (because I’m not cute about this):
If you ever feel unsafe again or need support, you don’t have to white-knuckle it alone. In Canada, Victim Services and local women’s shelters can help with planning and supports, and if you’re in immediate danger call 911.