[TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING]
Hi everybody I'm Joey Paul, and I'm an
indie author and
welcome back to my channel. Today I'm
going to be talking about being a
disabled author, I've talked about this
on my blog,
talked about it before on the channel,
and because videos with the disability
focus seemed to do so well with you guys,
I thought I would talk about what it's
like to be a disabled author.
My five things that have had an impact
on me,
so number one: personal info is demanded.
This is one of the downsides of being
disabled in the public eye.
People get curious and they often demand
that they be told what's
wrong with you. I avoided it for a long
time but eventually after getting
the question so much, I did a whole video
about it.
I know of other authortubers who have
had to do the same,
and it's not just limited to online
stuff, I've had it at cons as well and
it's just
awkward. It's is something you have to
get used to because for a lot of people
they don't see it as rude. I mean I could
tell you stories about the times I've
been asked for private and personal
stuff
just because I happen to be disabled in
public, but that's a rant for another
video.
The reason I mention it here is a
twofold, maybe it helps educate some
people who don't realize how rude
they're being, or don't understand why
disabled people
don't really want to be asked the same
question over and over.
The other reason is that it's not always
a bad thing I've met so many other
disabled writers and authors because
I've been open about my conditions.
I've also met some amazing people who
have become close friends because we
shared
not the disability itself but the
experience
I can name a few like Dal Cecil Runo, a
fellow authortuber who connected with me
through twitter before she made her
channel. She and I clicked on
so many levels and I adore her work.
Being able to connect with people with
disabilities is one of the positive
sides of being online,
I mean there are a ton more but being a
disabled author also allows me to show
that a disability
doesn't mean that you can't be published,
and I know I'm not the only one,
there are loads of us, some a lot more
successful than me,
and it's through being able to read
their stories that I've become okay with
both being disabled
and being visibly disabled in the public sphere or places like authortube.
Number two: access is an issue.
As you all know I've done four cons and
plan to do more in the future.
I want to preface this by saying that
every single convention
I've done the organizers have been
excellent at making sure I have
everything
I need, but it's not just outside spaces
it's
online too, I know I'm not the best at
including image descriptions on my
instagram feed.
I try to do it on my blog but I don't
always manage.
I would also say that I do captions on
all my youtube videos and have done
since the beginning,
but not many people do in the authortube
sphere. I know Teh Buggy does and Liselle
does,
I think Markus does as well, but most
people rely on
craptions which are the auto-generated
ones.
It makes it hard for me to watch because
I have hearing issues.
So while it's not always an issue and I
have been able to join the community in
a lot of ways,
there are others that are kind of cut
off from me. Like writing in a cafe,
it's great if I have the time and the
place has access, but the majority of the
time I'm just writing at home
because I know I won't have the space
and access I need to work.
I'm realizing now that I sound quite
bitter about things, and I'm not really.
It's more that some of these points are
things other people don't think about,
so I've got to be me and point them out.
Number three:
writing every day equals no spoons.
For those unaware a spoonie is someone
with a chronic illness who identifies
with spoon
theory which I've linked below. The bare
basics a spoon represents the energy
required to do one thing,
every spoonie has limited spoons in
their day, and something big
will cost more and it's all about
finding that balance.
So you might not be surprised that one
of the biggest pieces of writing advice
that grinds my gears is the whole: write
every day.
Some people can do that, they don't write
massive amounts every day, but they
have to write every day,
because of having a full-time job and
only grabbing an hour here and there
to write. I have no problem with people
doing it if it works for them,
but so often it's parroted as the only
advice that makes you a valid author,
and that's just crap. I can't write every
day,
I don't have the spoons for it, am I
still a writer? Hell yes!
As is anyone else who struggles with
doing everyday spoonie or not!
One thing I've had to work through was
working every single day is not
sustainable.
You are a human being and you will need
breaks. As someone that is pretty
productive and also disabled, I have
struggled with the idea that I have to
be
super productive to be valid, and I feel
like that's something they get spread a
lot in writing circles and on authortube.
So let me make it clear you work to your
own ability,
and you are valid. You are a writer if
you write,
you are an author if you're published
through whichever route,
and not being able to write every day is
okay.
It's just about taking care of yourself
physically, emotionally, mentally, and
that's not a bad
thing. Number four: self-care comes in
many forms.
For a long time as I've just said I've
struggled with taking time off,
because I heard all over the internet
about how I needed to be on the go,
all the time. It's really only been the
last year or so since I started
doing bi-monthly goals, so about two
years now
that I've insisted on having at least
one day off
every month. Since the beginning of the
year with health stuffs and all,
I've cut down my writing to the point
where I have usually about three days
off a month,
and that's my way of taking care of
myself, it's
my way of making sure that I don't burn
out, but self-care
does come in many forms. It was during
NaNo 2019 and watching Teh Buggy's
daily vlogs that I really started to
learn what self-care means to me.
I'm unable to leave the house often but
I do make sure to do things like getting
my hair done,
although not during the plague, or
settling for a day of youtube and
reading, or just doing something fun for
the day that isn't work related,
because I've been close to burnout I
don't want to end up back there.
So along the way of my writing journey
and my author journey
I picked up a few things that work for
me, my biggest problem was a lot of
self-care things
were things I either couldn't do or had
no interest in doing.
So part of getting better taking care of
myself was finding things that worked
for me,
like a lazy afternoon in bed or watching
a TV show or film I love, or going out
for a drink with my mum,
all these kind of things worked, it's
okay to take your time to find what
works for you
and then take the breaks you need. And
number five:
every experience is different. This video
might seem like a little off the wall,
a bit disjointed, and a bit out there but
there was a reason for doing it.
I wanted to highlight that while the
majority of my experiences as a disabled
author have been positive,
there are some hurdles. There are some
issues that I
faced because of my disability, I don't
want to make a video as a way to start
drama,
nor is it a way to ask for sympathy, but
just to show people that every author
experience is different. Even those with
the same or similar disabilities will
have a different experience,
and that's okay because everyone should
be allowed to experience this author
life
in their own way . In August I hit my 15th
authoriversary and I did a video about
it then which I will link up in the
cards,
but when I look back at the past 15
years with almost 18 books published,
I do so happy for the experience. The
highs, the lows, and
everything in between so I'm thanking
you all for coming along the ride with
me,
and basically giving you some ideas
about what it's like to be
disabled. So there we have it those are
my five things that
really stick in my mind when I think
about being a disabled author.
I know some of them might have seen a
bit complainy and a bit ranty but
you know I'm just being honest. So for
those other disabled authors out there
what's something that really sticks in
your mind from your experience?
Let me know in the comments down below,
and if you're not disabled are there any
questions you have for me?
Also let me know down below. So that's
all I've got time for today,  if you want
to support my channel you can comment,
like, or subscribe. I post new videos on
Thursdays. You can find me all over
social media,
and my books are available everywhere. And
don't forget to pre-order Cramping Chronicles: The First Twinge,
and if you do pre-order don't forget to
grab the SWAG.
All the links for which are listed below.
Thanks for watching and remember to keep
writing! Bye!
