Use Your Time Wisely - Tips for Writers

“Use your time wisely,” was the mantra of my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Wells. Make sure you use available time to work ahead and complete tasks. I can still hear her voice in my head. This applies to writers, too.

There is a lot of downtime or waiting time in the writing process. When you send queries to agents or publishers, you could wait weeks or months for the response (if there is one). If you’re traditionally published, there is also a lot of time between signing the contract and getting your box of books.

Use your time wisely. Write your next book. Many publishing contracts are for a series. If you’ve only written the first book, you will suddenly have a series of deadlines. There is also a lot of downtime after you send the manuscript to your editor and before you get proofs.

It took me close to five years from when I started my first Delanie novel until it was published. I’ve gotten faster over the years. I have a daily quota now when I’m writing a novel. I try to hit my word count during each writing session. It does make a difference. I wrote two novels, one novella, and three short stories last year. I also did revisions and edits to two other books.

Writers need to build their social media platforms when they start writing. Start a blog or podcast. Find ways to grow your email list. Build up followers on your sites. Agents and publishers do look at your sites to see how active you are on social media.

You need to balance your life and your writing time, but make sure you’re taking advantage of the downtime.

What's Involved in the Writing Life - A Post for New Authors

When I was younger, I thought writers worked in really cool places, wrote great books, and got lots of royalty checks. I had no idea about what it was really like -- writing, publishing, networking, and marketing. Here are some things I've learned along the way.

Blog/Website - You need to have a professional Internet presence. If you can't build and maintain it yourself, hire someone to help. If you do hire someone, make sure you can keep the content fresh. People don't return to your site if the content never changes. A blog (on your website) is a great way to have new content regularly. Decide what blogging schedule works with your writing life and commit to that. I used to blog three days a week, but it became too time-consuming. I post once every Friday now.

Social Media Presence - Time spent on social media sites can get out of control quickly. There are so many out there, and it takes time to develop relationships and followings on each of them. Figure out what works for you and your readers and focus your time on those. My primary social media sites are Facebook and Twitter. Previously, I used LinkedIn for my IT life, but I do promote my blog posts there now. I like Pinterest, so I hang out there for fun. I have a presence on Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, and BookBub.

Professional Photo - If you're going to invest in something for your writing career, get a good headshot that you can use for your branding. Put your photo on your website, blog, and social media sites. And if you haven't updated your photo in the last ten years, it's time. 

Press Kit - Put together a press kit (photo, short and long biography, book list) and make it accessible on your website. Have two to three biographies of different lengths. When you're asked to do events, the hosts want this information. Make sure that you keep your biography current.

Press Releases and Blurbs - For me, these are harder to write than the book. If it's not your strength, find help or resources on the Internet. You will need these. And it's better to have them written and ready.

Public Speaking - I enjoy panels, workshops, and interviews, but I've been a teacher, trainer, and Toastmaster through the years. I was surprised at the amount of public speaking that I'm asked to do. If you're shy or don't like to speak in front of groups, you may want to try Toastmasters. It's a friendly environment to practice in with constructive feedback. Many libraries and book groups ask for speakers. 

Time Management - There is a lot involved in the writing life. I'm in two writers groups and two critique groups. I work, blog, write, volunteer, and do family stuff. Sometimes, it's a challenge to balance everything. Watch your time. Make sure that you make time for writing and revising. Book marketing and social media can take up a lot of your resources.

Happy writing!

Holiday Time Management Ideas for Writers

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the December holiday season is fast approaching. It should be a time of celebration, but it's stressful when there are too many tasks and obligations. And somehow, my schedule always gets crazy in November and December.

Here are some ideas for managing to celebrate and still work on your writing and book marketing.

1. Create a bank of blog posts when you have extra time. That way, when you're in a crunch, you can use one that is already ready to go.

2. Schedule blog, Facebook, and Twitter posts in advance, especially for days you know you'll be busy.

3. Find an hour or two on your calendar and block it off as writing time. I cut TV/movie time when I need more writing or editing time.

4. Get up early (or stay up later) to write, blog, or post to social media. My house is really quiet in the morning, and I get a lot done before the family and guests are up and ready for breakfast.

5. Use your social media mobile apps. When you are standing in line, check your social media sites, respond to comments, or do a quick post or tweet. It's a great way to keep up with emails too.

6.Take pictures of the fun and festivities. They're great for sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest.

7. Use a calendar to keep up with the "must do's." Some electronic calendars (like Google) can be shared with others. There is also a variety of software out there to help manage tasks. Trello is a fun, easy one to use. You create electronic "cards" to manage projects or large efforts.

8. I try to get the holiday shopping done and wrapped early. It just takes some of the pressure off.

9. You can say no and not feel guilty. You don't have to participate in everything. I was asked to be a part of a cookie exchange one year. The idea is to bake one dozen cookies for every participant. I ended up baking ten dozen cookies. It's a nice idea, but I really didn't need the cookies I brought home. And it was more work and stress than value.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. With a little organization, it can be a fun season, and you can still have time to write and do your book promotions. Happy writing!

Thanksgiving Snuck up on Me...How to Balance Your Writing Life with the Holidays

I have been so busy lately with reviewing ARCs for our anthology (Virginia is for Mysteries Volume II - February 2016), doing the preliminary work for my debut novel, Secret Lives and Private Eyes (May 2016), my day job, preparing to moderate two panels, doing a book signing, and well, just life. I'm still wondering where June went, and Thanksgiving has come and gone.

And now it's time to think about decorating and presents. As a kid, it seemed to take years to get through the year to Christmas. Now, I blink and it's the holiday season again.

My normal day starts at 5 AM, and I'm at work by 7:15. I tend to work 9-10 hour-days and then write and do all the other things that come along. I don't want the holidays to fly by without enjoying them. Here are some ideas to help your writing life stay on track during the craziness that is this time of year...

1. Write blog posts in advance and schedule them. You can schedule Facebook posts and tweets too.

2. Get your holiday shopping and decorating done early. I'm doing a lot of online shopping this year. I hope to be done by the first week in December.

3. I use my TV time to do my social media updates. I also do quick updates in the morning during breakfast.

4. Take a good look at your free time. Are there time sucks? If you cut down on TV, game time, or perusing the Internet, you make free up some chunks of time.

5. I use my lunch hour at work to write and edit. That's five hours a week of extra writing time.

6. I record the shows that I like to watch on TV, so I can speed through the commercials. It does save some time.

7. I have a 35-45-minute daily commute twice a day to work. I listen to a variety of news programs on my satellite radio during the ride, so I don't usually have to catch up on news later. in the evening.

8. Look at your schedule and the activities that you've committed to doing. Are there things you can cut back on or jettison? I had to cut down on some of my volunteer work when I committed to writing.

Holiday wishes and happy writing!