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After working for 16 years in city government, Susan Lynn Kingsbury left her job as a manager for code enforcement to become a full-time freelance writer. That was more than a year ago, and there’s no turning back now. Already a published author even before making the leap to full-time writing, Susan’s articles have appeared in publications such as Cruising World, The Ensign, and Writing Etc. She maintains a rigorous schedule of writing two monthly columns, book reviews and news stories for a local boating newsletter, the Arrowhead Log. When not working on short stories, essays and columns, Susan concentrates on book projects including a police procedural, focusing on corruption within city government, and a personally meaningful project, “From A Woman’s Point of View, My Husband’s View of Sailing.” A member of Sisters In Crime, a professional organization for mystery writers, and the National Association of Women Writers (NAWW), Susan furthers her career not only by drawing upon personal inspiration, but by networking with and learning from her writing peers through coursework and informal writing groups. She recently completed the Writing for Publication certificate program at the UC Riverside, and also holds a master’s degree in criminal justice and a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership/public administration. With the support and inspiration of her husband of 11 years, Ron, an Inland Empire police detective, and their combined family of six children ranging in age from 10 to 26, Susan continues to build her writing career. And perhaps even more importantly, she now sets her priorities that mean not only more time for family but also more time for Susan to pursue her dreams. Did you always know that you were meant to be a writer? As a teenager, I wrote constantly in my diary, poems, newswriting for the school paper. Then as a young mother I kept journals for my children, recording first words and even the most mundane occurrences in our everyday lives. But when I went to junior college to study journalism, a teacher told me everything that was wrong with my writing and never told me I had potential. I then thought I couldn’t write, and that I just wasn’t talented enough to follow my dream. How did you overcome your discouragement? For one thing, I never stopped moving forward with my education. After a few years, working full time for city government and going to college at night, I obtained my two-year degree. I earned additional degrees and my career flourished. I was occasionally promoted by transferring to different municipalities, and finally landed a management position. But it really happened without my even knowing it; preparing all the research papers, reports, memos, ordinances, action plans and budgets had forced me to use the writing talent I’d had all along but hadn’t acknowledged. What made you consider making a career change to freelance writing? I knew I had to do something for myself, so I started the writing certificate program at UC Riverside. Weekends, evenings, and days off, I was at my computer, pounding out short stories, writing up article ideas and chapters of both fiction and non-fiction. After I became a published author, I knew I was a writer. Then at that time in my life, I realized that something had to give. And now looking back, I don’t know how I even used to manage. How did your previous work schedule make raising a family difficult? Before I retired from my career in city government, I was in a position where I’d have to start working 60-80 hours per week, plus more weekends. And Ron’s assignment was highly demanding, with unpredictable hours. Even though he wanted to be there, and often tried, I never knew whether or not I could expect to have help at home with the kids. He was willing, but his hours were just out of his control. For me, scheduling had been the biggest problem to deal with in raising our family. Did your husband ever put any pressure on you to either keep or leave your job? Ron never told me to quit. It was always up to me, and we were very fortunate with the timing of everything. We were both so totally involved with our own jobs that we really didn’t know each other any more. And with me realizing that what I wanted to do was write, well, the moment was perfect, and Ron supported me in my choice. How does the flexibility of being a freelancer now help you in raising your family? Our kids have always been involved in extracurricular activities water polo, baseball, softball, roller hockey, dance, and more and we’re always running around, especially on weekends. Now, I set my own schedule and honor my priorities. I can be there for baseball practice, be here when they get home and be sure that the homework gets done. Setting your own schedule, isn’t that a challenge in itself? As a freelancer working from home, there’s definitely a lot of discipline involved. And if I want to be available for Ron or the kids, sometimes that means I do my own work until 2 in the morning. But that’s my choice, and having that choice is what I like. Are you satisfied with your life as a writer, as it’s turned out so far? Our quality of life is so much better now, and I think that’s the main reason I like what I do. All of my relationships are better, even with our kids who’ve already moved away from home, because I have the time to really talk with them. And most of my published work has so far dealt with sailing, an activity that’s brought us all closer together as a family. So, what is a “woman’s point of view” of sailing? Well, our youngest two kids love sailing, and they go with us most of the time. The older ones like to come, too, when they have time. I think it’s important for families to have something that they do together. All of us are close, but the four of us that sail together regularly are now especially so. You get away from everything, the hustle and bustle even the television and it’s a release that each of us needs. n Nancy Sidoruk is a Lake Elsinore-based contributor to Inland Empire Family Magazine. |
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