{"id":790,"date":"2025-07-31T14:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T20:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/?p=790"},"modified":"2025-07-31T13:17:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:17:50","slug":"running-a-business-as-an-indie-author-who-just-wants-to-write-in-bed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/2025\/07\/31\/running-a-business-as-an-indie-author-who-just-wants-to-write-in-bed\/","title":{"rendered":"Running a business as an indie author who just wants to write in bed"},"content":{"rendered":"
2\u20133 minutes<\/div>\n\n\n

There exist two versions of me: one wants to write barefoot in bed with three open notebooks, bad posture, and a playlist that sounds like emotional damage (aka Taylor Swift). The other is supposed to be running a business<\/em>. Building a brand. Engaging with readers. Creating content. (shudders<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guess which one wins most days? Exactly. The one in three-day-old pajamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The dream vs. the feed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I pictured being an author, I imagined quiet mornings, poetic chaos, emotional breakthroughs at 2AM. What I did not<\/em> imagine was spending 45 minutes debating whether to post a reel with a random sound or a trending one with the caption “Hot girls self-publish.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running M.B NOVELS means I am technically an entrepreneur \u2014 which sounds glamorous until you realize it includes writing captions for TikToks and posts for Threads, building landing pages, editing book blurbs until they sound like ads instead of art, and pretending I know what “conversion rates” are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Spoiler: I don\u2019t.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Creativity has to wear a blazer now (and they’re not even in style)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s this quiet tension in being both an artist<\/em> and a business<\/em>. One part of me is writing about grief, trauma, heartbreak \u2014 the kind of stories that feel like secrets. The other part is on Canva, trying to make a post about fictional murder go viral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s emotional whiplash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You write something that feels sacred\u2026 and then you have to turn around and sell it. Package it. Pitch it. Suddenly, the book that took years to write needs a 5-second hook and a bold font.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No pressure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I struggle to find a balance between social media and my writing. I don’t even post on my personal page. But now I’m stuck in this recommended schedule of two reels a week just to maybe<\/em> catch a sliver of virality. (I’ve given up on the schedule.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal? Get someone to click. On my profile. Then the link. Then the book. Then buy<\/em>. And if the universe is feeling generous, maybe even follow<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a whole digital obstacle course \u2014 and all I really wanted was to write sad stories in peace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

What no one told me about “building a brand”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

They say, “build a brand so your readers connect with you.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if your brand is complex female characters who feel too much and sometimes kill people<\/em>? What if your vibe is more “literary breakdown” than “girlboss”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m still learning to balance the two. To let the business side exist without letting it crush the writing. Because at the end of the day, I don’t want to perform<\/em> being a writer. I just want to be<\/em> one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preferably with a cup of chamomile tea, terrible lighting, and no one asking me to make a carousel post about “my writing routine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running a business as an author is hard. Especially when your brain is more story-driven than strategy-focused. And the numbers and I are simply not one. But I’m doing it \u2014 messily, imperfectly, and on my own terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing who? I\u2019m busy writing murder scenes in bed. And hoping to seduce the algorithm before I lose my sanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Montse<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Montse navigates the tension between artistic expression and business demands, struggling to balance creativity with marketing strategies while yearning for peaceful writing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134972872,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[782781751,410272838],"tags":[7758714,178,12586,183,1747,3330,349,59708],"class_list":["post-790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pen-punch","category-the-curator","tag-bookish-thoughts","tag-books","tag-entrepreneur","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-fiction","tag-publishing","tag-writing","tag-writing-tips"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfZGWd-cK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2378,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/2026\/06\/11\/the-to-do-list-can-wait-i-just-had-an-idea\/","url_meta":{"origin":790,"position":0},"title":"The to-do list can wait; I just had an idea","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"June 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"There are two versions of myself: one focused on productivity and the other drawn to spontaneous writing, revealing how procrastination can foster creativity and insight.","rel":"","context":"In "Bold Banter"","block_context":{"text":"Bold Banter","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/category\/pen-punch\/bold-banter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":902,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/2025\/09\/11\/the-kink-is-in-the-rewrite\/","url_meta":{"origin":790,"position":1},"title":"The kink is in the rewrite (and I like it rough)","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"September 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"First drafts are unrefined and inadequate; rewriting transforms them into art through a process of intense, often painful, revision that ignites creativity.","rel":"","context":"In "Confessions of a Writer"","block_context":{"text":"Confessions of a Writer","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/category\/the-writing-life\/confessions-of-a-writer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":806,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/2025\/08\/03\/writing-through-the-things-i-wasnt-supposed-to-feel\/","url_meta":{"origin":790,"position":2},"title":"Writing through the things I wasn’t supposed to feel","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"August 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Montse reflects on overcoming emotional repression through writing, embracing complex feelings like anger and grief, and finding freedom in expressing what was deemed forbidden or unacceptable.","rel":"","context":"In "The Curator"","block_context":{"text":"The Curator","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/category\/pen-punch\/the-curator\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1089,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/2025\/11\/06\/writing-is-an-exorcism-sometimes-the-demon-is-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":790,"position":3},"title":"Writing is an exorcism… sometimes the demon is me","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"November 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When I sit down to write, it's not always gentle muses whispering poetic lines into my ear. Sometimes it feels more like a hostile takeover. The demon shows up uninvited, dragging all my unresolved grief, bitterness, and emotional hangovers into the room. Suddenly, I'm not just writing... I'm exorcising. And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pen & Punch"","block_context":{"text":"Pen & Punch","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/category\/pen-punch\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":799,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/en\/2025\/08\/07\/the-male-gaze-could-never-survive-my-pen\/","url_meta":{"origin":790,"position":4},"title":"The male gaze could never survive my pen","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"August 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The male gaze never stood a chance. Not in my books. Not in my characters. Not in a single sentence I've written for as long as I've been conscious of my existence. Because I don't write women to be admired. I write them to be understood. 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