Friday dip - what does it take to make the change?
Thoughts to wash over you for the weekend
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Earlier this month I was interviewed for a business podcast - Cracking Copy - a brilliant podcast ‘for creative entrepreneurs and savvy business owners like you’. The fabulous Minnie McBride chatted with me, and whilst I talk about my transition from air traffic controller to author, what is took to make the change, and what writing life looks like for me now; the questions posed are equally applicable no matter what industry, sector or walk of life you’re in:
would you give up your job to follow your dreams?
what does it take to make the change?
I hope you enjoy listening, and I’d love to know what changes you would love to make in your own career, and what stops you (if anything!!).
Here is the show blurb: (thank you to Cracking Copy for the lovely write-up) 🙏💕
It’s been said that everyone has a book inside them.
But how many of us take up that challenge?
In this week’s episode, Minnie talks to the wonderful Emma Simpson, who did just that and gave up her high-paid job to be a full-time writer.
Emma talks candidly about how and why she decided to be a writer of narrative non-fiction.
She highlights the joy of being able to gather and share the stories of others and weave this into her own, very personal journey.
Emma talks about what’s important to her, what inspires her and how she connects with her audience through her authentic, insightful and beautiful writing, helping people feel uplifted and less alone.
She also talks about her creative process and regularly publishes new work on her Substack, Lemon Soul. And she spills the beans on whether there’s money to be made blogging.
Her first book Breaking Waves, is an exploration into the primal powers of femininity and water; with stories gathered from around the world that demonstrate the power of connection and humanity in an increasingly crazy society. She also gives an overview of other books in the pipeline.
Whether you are an aspiring author, you want to know if it’s possible to make a living writing, or you just want to listen to a wonderfully inspiring conversation with an incredible writer, then today’s episode is for you.
Some snippets:
On my creative process
‘I try to separate my environments - I know I’m bad if I sit in the kitchen!!’.
‘I join various writer’s groups [for online writing hours'], then that’s it: 9am-10am, I’m in a meeting, I can’t be disturbed. My teenagers can’t talk to me and ask me for a sandwich...’.
‘I take advantage of it when it comes. Sometimes I feel the words are queuing at my fingertips and I have to write’.
‘It’s quite organic, you’re listening to your body and writing when you feel at your most creative’.
‘I gather stories, I play with it. The agent and I do a lot of work together on where the narrative arc fits’.
‘You find you’ve got all this lovely stuff - but what is it? Is it actually a book? What’s the story? Where does it start? Why do we care? What’s the hook? Where does it end? What does the reader want to know?’.
‘I am quite no-holds barred. I am very raw’.
On what stops us making the change
‘We’re very good at putting limiting factors in our way, whatever they might be’.
‘How do I pay the mortgage?!!’.
‘There is always a way. Be creative in your way of thinking. It will be ok’.
On closing one chapter
‘I didn’t want to feel like I was letting people down. I hold great responsibility in being accountable for myself and my actions, and for delivering. One of the reasons I walked away [from my career] was because a lot of people depended on me but then I found I might not be able to live up to that because I was off sick for three weeks...’.
‘Mourning the loss of a career - you have to go through a huge grief process when you come out of a phase of life you’ve been attached to for over two decades’.
‘I [now] have to talk to myself and say ‘no; this is how it’s going to work for me’’.
On opening another
‘It wasn’t straight from air traffic controller to author...’.
‘I took a year’s sabbatical from my career to try and look after myself... I questioned what are different ways of living and working...We made a big family decision and moved house which gave me the freedom to start a new chapter’.
‘I had a very high paying career, and now I don’t. It’s very different and I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments, but what I have gained from that change is immeasurable’.
On the book - Breaking Waves
‘The common thread is stories, holding people’s stories and storytelling...in order to help others feel less alone’.
‘There’s a whole subject in the book about how we relate to our bodies as women...the sauna culture and how [variation] in body shape is normalised, bringing levels of self-kindness and self-worth’.
‘How the water has helped [those who have experienced trauma] come to terms with complex mental and physical health problems’.
‘The nature of fun and play and how we come together and communing around the water’.
On the book - Little Tufts of Tea
‘The idea for my tea book came about when I was writing Breaking Waves - there’s a chapter where I write about love languages...tea is a love language in my family.’.
‘What I really want to explore are the stories behind tea, and how we pass down our histories, our cultures, our traditions, our rituals in ways other than words’.
‘The significance of coming together and taking the time to pour some tea and show that act of care’.
On
‘I just fell in love with it’.
‘It’s so flipping easy to use! Within two minutes I had done [my first] one, and within a week I had ten people subscribing!’.
‘They have a very active help community which I actually haven’t had to use because it’s so intuitive’.
‘I’m a tiny tadpole in this pond at the moment...there are people who very openly talk about making six-figure salaries on Substack, like
and . It’s done in a very genuine and authentic way - they’re hugely helpful and really open about how much effort they put in!! Everyone who makes those figures has earned it. They’ve done their work’.
On why I write
‘The reasons why I took this path and what matters to me - it’s about connecting with people, putting authentic writing out there and making people feel less alone’.
‘The biggest feedback I get on my writing is that ‘you make me feel less alone’. I can’t want for anything more’.
‘That’s what you want to hear, that you’re making a difference to someone else’.
‘If my intent is to help people less alone, then I don’t want to marginalise that by making it inaccessible to people who can’t afford it. I like most of my writing to go out for free, and then I just say that if you want to support me, if you value this, if you can, I’d be hugely grateful’.
‘I’ve never been more content and at peace with the way in which I live my life and the way in which I’ve enabled my way of being to be compatible with my health and the demands of family. At the moment I’m just loving it!’
‘It’s a lovely, supportive community. I go to a lot events and often speak to famous authors and they are so generous, it’s such a generous community. I come away feeling ‘Wow, this is the right place and space for me to be’’.
The podcast in full can be listened to here:
I will launching an exciting new section of Lemon Soul in the New Year with more about what I’ve learnt from this whole transition, what life is really like as a writer, and hints, tips and guidance for anyone thinking of taking the plunge.
I can’t wait to share it and carry on the conversation with you.
Are you doing your dream job now? If not, what would it be? What stops you from making the change?
I’d love to hear
Love & lemons 🍋
Em xx
I’ve started listening and loving it already. Thanks for pulling out some of the highlights--I was hooked and inspired immediately.
Loved listening to that! Amazing news about winning an award, I didn’t know about that🤩✨