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by Elanor ‘Bronwen Leigh’ McBay

At the beginning of 2025 I entered the brave new world of being self employed – for the second time!

The first time: I had just moved to Bournemouth and worked my notice at UCL (where I was a Cartographic Illustrator) before deciding to set up my own cartographic freelance business. I did this alongside raising my daughter as a newly widowed loan parent and so it wasn’t easy, and ultimately the business never really took off. I finally went back into the workplace in about 2015.

Being self employed this time I had more knowledge, more time (as my daughter is now working herself), and a huge desire to follow my heart and become an author. I had been told that authors did not like doing their own social media the previous autumn. At the time I was working for a charity on their social media. At first I dismissed the idea, but I began to realise that setting up a business to help authors with their social media would immerse me in the writing world I was so keen to become a part of. Plus there would be the bonus of using my skills to help others.

Write Buzz Media was born. Slowly at first, and with nervous trepidation. My first client was a wonderful writer I knew already and she helped me work out how to go about this new idea, what I could offer and how to develop that. She even helped me come up with the name!

I had been writing a blog on Substack since 2024, but now my work was with authors I felt closer to my own goals. I was submersed in the world of writing just as I had hoped. I was getting to know and help authors as I tentatively found my own voice and began work on my first novel.

We all know that only very lucky authors get away without having a day job. I certainly needed something to pay the bills having no other income and limited savings (I had left the charity job at the end of 2024). But was it crazy to think I could set up a business and write a novel alongside that?

Well friends, over a year later I have built the business, slowly but steadily, to paying about a third of the bills! It’s so hard to ask authors for the rate I need because they are having to balance their books too. And when you are an author, or any creative person, there always seems to be someone who wants to cash in on your creativity. I don’t want to be that person.

I do now have a few regular clients, and a couple of small businesses too. I definitely need to be more pro-active and perhaps branch out into writing-adjacent businesses to fill my work schedule and pay the bills before my dwindling savings run out.

I have to believe it will work out – there’s no hope if I don’t after all. It’s been so much fun so far and I really hope to keep building on what I can offer people. And, it has allowed me to write which was rather the point.

I am very close to finishing my final line edit on the book. This weekend I plan to print it out and read it through on paper for the first time – before sending out to a couple of lovely friends to proof read next week. Then there’s the whole KDP learning curve to come next month before launching in July.

I suppose I can actually call my experiment a success in that I did what I set out to do – I set up a business that I could manage alongside writing. Between those two income streams (and I’m not so naïve to think book sales will be easy – but I will be actively promoting it), I hope to eventually be able to live month to month without dipping into my savings.

And isn’t is so important to celebrate the small wins along the way?

I purposefully immersed myself in the writing world and I am loving it. I am swimming along with the current, building my strength and my dreams around me. I will now do whatever I can to protect this life – because I do believe I am finally following my true calling. And I have to also believe that the financial rewards will come, because they must.

If you would like to know more about my business: writebuzz.media

If you would like to know more about my writing: bronwenleighauthor.co.uk & @bronwenleigh2 on Instagram as well as Bronwen Leigh on Substack.