We recently connected with Austin Ryan and have shared our conversation below.

Austin, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Before I worked for myself writing romance and editing for other romance authors my day job was writing and editing as a contractor for a start-up. I liked the work, I got a lot of excellent feedback on my writing, and I got to do several memorable projects. The downside was that as the company was growing, the job got to be too stressful. I struggled more and more, and it eventually came to a head and I ended up completely burned out. I couldn’t do much of anything for a good 7 months, so that experience really taught me to listen to my body. When I’m tired and stressed now, I take a day off. When I have brain fog, migraines, or the flu, I take the day off or ease my workload, whereas before I would have pushed myself past my limits. As much as it felt counterintuitive at the start, listening to my body and taking breaks when needed has actually made me much more productive and a better writer and editor. It’s easy to burn out as creatives because we often make a living with what we are passionate about. I live and breathe books and writing, but if I don’t make myself take breaks, I get too sick to work.

Austin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

CanvasRebel interview

I run my own editing business, Ryan Edits LLC, and also write romance novels (fantasy inspired by Scandinavian folklore and contemporary romantic comedy).

When I was little, my brother used to complain that I had been born with a dictionary in my head. Coupled with my love of reading and writing, I think I was born to be a manuscript editor. I didn’t know that profession existed when I was a kid, but if I had, I probably would have taken the hint when my favorite thing to do in college was helping my classmates with their creative writing papers.

I work with both indie authors and traditionally published authors, and while I’m great at finding the missing story ingredients in a developmental edit, helping an author’s voice and language shine in a line edit, or using that dictionary in my head to catch typos, I honestly think my best quality as an editor is the encouragement I give my clients. I love to see my clients grow into themselves as authors, to find their edge, and understand that what they bring to the table isn’t a unique story idea, but the fact that THEY are the one telling the story. Every author I work with sees the world, and their story, in light of their own experiences, and this unique viewpoint is why their story will be unique, too.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes! I love Joanna Penn’s books on the business and marketing side of being an author, I have learned so much from her and it’s benefited my career immensely. Lately I’ve been binging a podcast by Tara Pratt called “ADHD Fest: find your fire, find your flow” that has several really good episodes for entrepreneurs and intuitive workflow.
In a similar vein to my big lesson about listening to my body and brain when they get tired, the more I learn about paying attention to my intuition, the more I’ve realized that, at least for me, listening to my energy levels and intuition has made me a better, more productive writer, and it’s been so much easier to balance my creativity and work. It’s way too easy to work yourself into the ground when you love your job!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, my goal with my business has always been to be able to work my hours around my child so I can be there for him as he’s growing up, as well as being less dependent on staying in one location. I have family and friends in several countries, so building a business where I can work from anywhere has been very important to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ryanfictionedits.com
• Instagram: @authoraustinryan @ryanfictionedits