It's Time for Health Check of Your Writing Life

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Audits, regular check ups, and routine maintenance always make me cringe. They’re not my favorite things to do, but they are necessary and important. And I challenge you to do an annual check up on your writing life. Are the things that you’re doing helping to move you forward with your goals?

Platforms

  • Your website, newsletter, and social media platforms need routine care and feeding. When was the last time you posted or commented? Do you do things to actively grow your audience?

  • Occasionally look at your follower lists. There are accounts that follow and drop you when you follow them back. It’s a good idea to purge nonfollowers from time to time.

  • Make sure that all your links work on your sites. Test your contact me forms.

  • Look at your author headshot. If it’s from ten years ago, you may be due for a new one.

  • Look at the landing page of your website. Is it inviting and appealing? Can visitors easily navigate your site?

  • Search for your name on a variety of search engines. See what comes up. If you’re not in the first page of results, you need to work on your internet presence.

Tools/Services

  • Look at the tools and services that you pay for. Are they helping you market yourself and your books?

  • Make sure that you use this services enough to get your money’s worth. Are there comparable free tools available?

  • Check your accounts. Is “autorenew” set? If so, make sure that you still want the service before it’s time to reup. Chances are that you’re paying for things you don’t use.

Your Time

  • Time is precious, and you need to guard it.

  • It is okay to say no to things that you don’t want to volunteer for. It’s hard, but if you’re overloaded and overscheduled, you don’t have time to write.

  • Look at where you spend your writing time. Is it balanced with your marketing efforts?

  • Look at your numbers and what marketing efforts sell books. Scale back or jettison the ones that didn’t work for your book.

  • Look for pockets of time in your day that you can redirect to your writing time. When we worked from home during the pandemic, I dedicated my normal two hours of commuting time to writing, and it paid off. I was very productive with my writing projects that year.

  • Get organized. Stop spending precious time searching for things. Organize your desk, schedule, and computer files.

Take a few minutes to do a retrospective with your writing life. Look at what you’ve produced, marketing, goals, schedule, and expenses. Focus on a few things that will help you move closer to your goals.