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Right now, I have what my kids call a “computer job”. I’m a senior executive at a tech company leading the marketing team. I make good money. I like my team.

And any day now I’m going to snap and quit my corporate job.

Don’t get me wrong, I love work. Probably to a toxic degree. I’m not sure who I am or what I’m worth if I’m not working. My first job out of college I worked 80+ hours a week, and I never slowed down.

I made big sales $$ in my 20’s. I founded a business in my 30’s. I’ve spent 17 years working, grinding, and building start-ups. I have the title and paycheck I want. I “made it.”

So why am I about to throw away my successful career to write?

The corporate burnout is real, aka the fun is gone

I know, work is work. It’s a job. It’s not about having fun. Except, it is. I do my best work when I’m having fun. When I have coworkers I can be real with, a mission I believe in, customers I can support, and cool problems to solve.

My job used to be that way. But it’s been less fun for a while now. Maybe since we did layoffs? Or before that, Covid? Or since the awful toxic boss?

I don’t know when the fun started leaking out, but at this point, the balloon is flat. I feel the Sunday scaries every. single. Sunday. 

I’ve hit the career ceiling in my corporate job

I’ve learned so much in this job, and I’ll always be grateful. But after seven years, I’ve plateaued.

My boss is actually pretty great, but she doesn’t know how to do my job. She can’t teach me how to get better at it. There isn’t a more senior role for me to get promoted to, so I’m not going to get a raise.

After working so hard for so many years to climb up this career mountain, I’m looking around and feeling this big anticlimax. It’s kind of cold and windy and lonely up here at the career ceiling I’ve hit.

I can afford to quit my job

I have saved up enough money to live on. I don’t have car loans or credit card debts. This is mind blowing and privileged, but it is a realistic option for me to just not have a job for a while. My husband is fully supportive (actually, it was his idea). If I want to quit my job. If I can afford it. What if I just…do it?

So, that’s the plan. This summer, I’m going to:

• Cook at my kids’ summer camp
• Recover from burnout
• Read tons of fantasy books
• Try writing my own novel

The guilty feeling as a woman leaving senior leadership

I keep thinking about the 2023 LeanIn.org study about how women are underrepresented in the workforce and how that’s getting worse. The study found women in senior leadership roles (just like me) are quitting at a higher rate than women are getting promoted into those roles.

Part of me feels guilty. Like I’m part of the problem. I’m suddenly adding to the gender inequality problem, instead of the other way around. That stings. I feel selfish for stepping away and giving up.

But mostly, I’m excited. I’ve worked hard for this. I deserve it. And, it’ll feel good to put myself first for a change. Maybe I am being selfish, but that’s ok.

Fantasy is selfish–and that’s its power

It’s not a coincidence that I’m drawn to reading and writing fantasy at the same time I’m lighting my successful-but-soulless career on fire. I could write a whole post (ok, I’m gonna) on the way that fantasy creates new spaces for desire, agency, and perspective. These are essential ingredients to personal fulfillment that I erase and suppress at work.

Yeah, I’m done with that.

It might be naive. It’s probably selfish. It will certainly be expensive. But I’m ready to embrace my season of fantasy, to spend a summer reading and writing and spending time with the people and things I love.

“Join bookstagram,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said.

I honestly can’t tell how it’s going to work out yet, but here are the common bookstagram setup mistakes I made when starting my book Instagram account – so you don’t have to repeat them when creating your own bookstagram content.

1. I Did Everything in the Wrong Order When Starting My Bookstagram

I wanted to build a social media presence for my writing project and was intimidated by TikTok. Instagram seemed easier for book lovers, but I completely fumbled the bookstagram setup process.

First, I grabbed a book-related Instagram handle and started following other bookstagram and romantasy accounts. But I had no profile picture. No first post planned. Just an empty, suspicious-looking account trying to connect with people – a classic beginner mistake for new bookstagram accounts.

Looking at my sad, barren profile, I panicked and started creating content…but not Instagram posts. Instead, I spent days writing book reviews I planned to link from future posts, completely avoiding the most important part: visual content.

2. My Bookstagram Content Creation Strategy Was a Mess

How hard could taking photos of books be? As any experienced bookstagrammer knows, book photography tips are essential. I pulled out my old Canon EOS Rebel and started shooting my bookshelf, expecting Instagram-worthy results.

The first photos I took were disastrous:

• Out-of-focus images that looked amateur
• Wrong dimensions for Instagram’s preferred formats
• Terrible lighting (too dark or glaring on book covers)
• Missing books I’d already reviewed (who knows where I put those??)

After days of struggling with my fancy camera, I tried my iPhone on a whim. The phone photos were dramatically better – sharper, better lighting, perfect focus. Days wasted when the solution was in my pocket the entire time.

3. I Had No Clear Point of View

Only when I started writing consistently did I discover my actual perspective. My message isn’t just “I like romantasy” or “this book good, that book bad” – anyone can drop generic opinions online.

What really interests me is world-building and escapism. How do talented authors create worlds I want to escape to and characters I want to befriend?

Meanwhile, my Instagram sat empty with a username and description that no longer matched my vision.

4. I Got My New Facebook Account Flagged as Spam

Because I created this new account with a fresh email address and took too long adding friends and posting content, Instagram’s algorithms flagged me as a bot. I had to navigate their dispute process (still pending).

You’d never guess my day job is marketing, because this was embarrassingly sloppy. Social platforms need warming up – connections ready, content prepared. I feel like a complete novice.

What I Learned About Creating a Bookstagram Account (After Messing it Up)

Create bookstagram content before setup: Start taking photos (or, even better, videos!) before getting too far into account setup. You’ll learn as you go and discover what actually works for your bookstagram content strategy.

Don’t overthink your first bookstagram post: Nobody’s going to see it anyway, and once you’re established, it’ll be buried too deep for anyone to find. Just start posting and improve with each new piece of content.

Have a bookstagram launch plan: Prepare 3-5 posts before going public, know which other book lovers to connect with, and be ready to engage immediately with the bookstagram community.

Use what works for book photography: Sometimes the simplest tools (like your phone camera) outperform fancy equipment. Focus on good lighting and composition for better bookstagram photos.

What about you? Have you struggled with how to start a bookstagram account? What bookstagram tips for beginners worked for you? Would love to learn from other folks’ experiences and share the best advice!

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Want more social media and marketing tips for writers? Join my email list (below) or follow my romantasy bookstagram journey at @bookswithloveandmagic. Next week I’ll be sharing how I improved my book photography with just my phone!

What happened in January? It’s somehow 2025 now. I turned 40. And, I read seven books.

I blazed through the Holly Black “The Folk of the Air” series in a few days. I picked up Gabrielle Zevin’s “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” a digital version of which has been sitting around on my iPad gathering dust. Why the heck didn’t I read that sooner?

I also picked up the sequels to a few series that I started back in December. “The Ever Queen” by L.J. Andrews was a disappointment. Way less fun and way more annoying than “The Ever King” unfortunately.

The second and third books in S.A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad Trilogy, on the other hand, were excellent. Ended the month on a high note for me, and I can’t wait to read the full series again.

1. “The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air #1) ★★★
   • Human children stolen to faerie land face drama as teenagers. Didn’t like the first chapter + narrator is annoying. Dark and tricky faerie world. Grew on me over time. Quick read, and then I bought the next book.
2. “The Wicked King” by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air #2) ★★★★
   • Peak of the series. Fun and entertaining! Faerie world and characters in it get deeper and more interesting. FMC ends up trapped by her choices, and mistakes have real consequences. Read this in one day.
3. “The Queen of Nothing” by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air #3) ★★★
   • This book felt rushed. Characters make dumb choices and plot points feel arbitrary. This one put the whole series in the “won’t re-read” category for me.
4. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin ★★★★★
   • Everyone told me I should read this. Lived up to the hype. Childhood friends reunite and develop video games, navigate life and loss. Different timelines and points of view interwoven with nerdy game references. Beautifully written.
5. “The Ever Queen” by L.J. Andrews (The Ever Seas #2) ★★
   • Sexy pirate book #2, way less fun than #1. This one dragged. The stakes felt contrived. The sex felt scheduled. The pet names got so. damn. annoying. Almost a DNF.
6. “The Kingdom of Copper” by S.A. Chakraborty (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) ★★★★★
   • Five years have passed since book 1. Nahri is flexing her healing powers into real political power. Ali finds new purpose in the desert, and matures into someone that I (reluctantly) had to love. Without giving more away, can I say, I adored this book and will certainly re-read.
7. “The Empire of Gold” by S.A. Chakraborty (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) ★★★★★
   • Characters and relationships shone through the series. Especially this book. Nahri’s final evolution is beautiful. She shifts from full-on con artist, to reluctant healer, to political mastermind. Everyone gets what they deserve in the end, against all odds. Love, love, love.
8. “The River of Silver” by S.A. Chakraborty (Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy) DNF
   • I was sad to leave Daevabad, so I picked up this book of short stories. Sadly, scraps and backstories from the books didn’t carry the same magic for me. Quick DNF after the first 2 chapters. Might try to revisit later.

December was a busy month. We traveled to Washington, D.C. for Christmas break with the kids. Nearly two weeks off work, including many days staying with my in-laws led to finishing more books than I anticipated.

1. “The Lotus Empire” by Tasha Suri (The Burning Kingdoms #3) ★★★★½
   • Sapphic fantasy romance with an epic climax. A rare treat, this trilogy got better with every book.
2. “Blood Mercy” by Vela Roth (Blood Grace #1) ★★½
   • This was a light snack. Ridiculous, cliched, fated mate vampire fun. Wouldn’t go back and re-read, but I didn’t hate it.
3. “The Ever King” by L.J. Andrews ★★★
   • Sexy fae pirates. Not good, exactly, but fun. I tore through it. One-dimensional characters. The FMC gave me a toothache, like too much sugar candy.
4. “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon ★★★★
   • I can see why some people find this dense. It is. Densely packed with beautiful characters, beautiful world, beautiful writing. Knocking off a star for Niclays. His chapters are unreadable.
5. “The City of Brass” by S.A. Chakraborty (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) ★★★★
   • Ultimate fantasy escapism. This book whisked me away and never quite released me. Clever. Heartfelt. Intriguing. Devoured it and will re-read, despite the lack of any spice. The characters and the story are too good.