Behind the Books Bi-Weekly Update 18 May 2026

Hello! This is my bi-weekly update on publishing. I hope you haven’t missed me too much, but here I am again with another catch-up for all you wonderful people who are dying to get into the industry just as much as I am. So, without further ado, here’s another segment of the blind leading the blind!

I’ve had a bit of a shuffle recently in how I work and when I work, and I’m starting to understand why I’ve been struggling at times: I’m craving structure more than I realised.

Before I was unemployed, structure was inherent in my life. Even at university, although you’re independent, you still have responsibilities and expectations, lectures, library days, societies, friends, and before you know it your schedule is packed without you even trying. Now, with this endless cycle of job hunting, it’s the complete opposite. There’s one main goal, one task, but it never really ends.

It’s like sitting the same exam every day. The question changes slightly each time, but it’s always based on the same text you’ve already studied. Now imagine doing that every single day and as soon as you finish the last one you start again and again and again. The repetition becomes the challenge, not the content.

I’ve somehow become quite the expert in cover letters. I could probably write one in my sleep, although at this point that would feel more like a nightmare. Where I used to have dreams about being chased or falling off cliffs, I now have dreams about failing interviews, or producing a terrible CV.

So, getting to the point: I’ve made a proper timetable. A very structured one. If it could tell me when to blink and breathe, I probably would be tempted to allow it. I hate to admit it (as a night owl who tends to work late), but it’s actually working. It’s made a noticeable difference. Time doesn’t feel like it’s slipping away quite so aggressively anymore.

Weekdays are for work. Weekends are for not working. I’ve built in breaks and other tasks that still connect to job hunting, LinkedIn updates, tidying my website, posting on Bookstagram, chores, reading, things like that. It feels more like an actual life again, rather than just a constant loop of applications.

The best part is that my day now ends when everyone else does. When my family comes home, I’m not rushing back to my room to squeeze in “just one more application” because I’ve already done what I needed to do. It’s flexible enough not to feel overwhelming, but structured enough to keep me on track.

Of course, I do slip sometimes. The frustration of job hunting still gets to me, and I can fall out of rhythm. But I can’t really stop.

I’ve also started taking a more speculative approach to job searching. The “hidden job market” feels more realistic in some ways, less visible, maybe less competitive. It is a risk, since there might not be anything formally available, or you could just catch a company at the wrong time. But even a small conversation, a bit of work experience, or a new contact can come out of it.

Anyway, this ended up being more of a ramble than anything else. Not much of a conclusion, just trying to keep going, stay on top of things, and not lose momentum.

And to all my lost bookworms,

Stay Steadfast x