I’ve got ducks quacking all over the place. Image courtesy of CC MacKenzie, WANA Commons.
In today’s digital world, authors have a tough job. In order to stay competitive, we’ve got to blog, manage our social media networks, promote our books, engage with readers, network within our industry and somehow get in a decent night’s sleep. Throw in a family and kids, and you’ve got the recipe for some crazy making – and zero time for writing.
Here’s the million-dollar question that’s been plaguing my mind: With all those balls in the air, how and when does an author actually have the time to WRITE? I mean, isn’t writing the very thing that got us here in the first place?
The Golden Age of Social Media
Back 10 years ago, back before the golden age of social media, I was writing nonstop. Sure, I had the big corporate job and all, but outside of working hours, my husband and I pretty much had a lot of free time at our disposal. So I wrote – before work, after work and on the weekends – pumping out two novels and a screenplay in about five to six years.
During those years (between the novels, the screenplay and corporate freelancing), my husband I were blessed with two sons. And finding time to write got harder and harder and harder. And then last fall, I started blogging, tweeting my tail off on Twitter and face-booking – all while editing LITTLE 15 for release in January.
Hitting my Limit
Needless to say that over the last couple years, I haven’t had much time to write a new novel. And that scares the you-know-what out of me. Because writing is what got me here in the first place; writing novels is my passion, not tweeting, face-booking or even blogging. Writing novels stirs the fire in my soul and if I don’t get back to it … if I don’t make a conscious effort to figure out how to make it a priority again in my life, then I might has well close up my blog, take LITTLE 15 off the market and go home.
But you and I both know I could not – and would not – ever do that.
So that’s why I’ve put together a plan to make writing my next novel a priority – a plan that I believe can also help other writers, facing the same time crunches as me:
1. Set a start date – even if your ducks aren’t quietly lined up in a nice little row.
Mine was Monday, August 27 – the day my kids officially went back to school. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up writing those first words on my new manuscript (a.k.a. MS) until Thursday of that week. And that’s OK. The important thing is that I’m actively working on a novel again – even though I don’t feel 100 percent ready (I still have more research to do! The plot needs tweaking! In fact, I’ve got ducks quacking all over the place!). But as I told a fellow writer last week, it doesn’t matter if you’re ready or not – you’ve got to just begin where you are and not where you think you should be. You’ll never be ready. I’ll never be ready, because this third time around, I know better. I know the energy writing a novel takes. And I’ll admit, it scares me. But fear can turn into a fire-breathing dragon if you let it, so I’ve decided to trust the story and begin writing it down.
2. Reevaluate your commitments.
During the summer I made the decision to take a break from teaching Sunday school during the 2012-2013 school year. This was a tough one. I always told myself that if I was doing God’s work, He would help me accomplish all the things that I needed to get done. But I don’t think God wants me exhausted, either – especially because I’m a mother. And since my no.-1 priority in my life is to be fully present for my sons, it’s imperative that I make temporary adjustments in my schedule for writing this next book. I can always go back to teaching Sunday school next year or the year after. Just like any new fledgling career, there comes the time when you must reevaluate your priorities and focus – and do your best not to let guilt get in the way.
3. Learn to say no.
I came very close last week from trading one volunteer commitment (teaching Sunday school) for another. The PTA had a couple open board positions at my son’s school. And I got excited. I love his school and I really like the person who was recruiting me. But in the end, I knew that if I took the position, I wouldn’t be fair to myself. I have a job to do. I have a book to write. And it’s OK to say no.
4. Protect your writing time.
Set regular office hours. When people know you work from home, they often don’t realize that “dropping” by can be a big disruption. But it is. Writing requires a tremendous amount of focus, and even the UPS guy ringing your doorbell can break your stride. So tell your friends and family that they are not allowed to stop by during your scheduled work time. Turn your ringer off. Let them machine answer the phone. This is your work space, this is your work time and by golly, you’ve got a job to do.
5. Put social media and blogging – second.
Sorry, but I’m writer who blogs, not a blogger who writes. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy blogging and connecting with my readers. So much so that I could easily slip into a routine of doing nothing but. Blogging has expanded my reach and platform as an author, improved my writing skills and has helped me cultivate new friendships. But I can’t let it overtake my world. Not if I want to write that next best-seller.
On the other hand, blogging and social media are now permanent parts of an author’s job description. And actually, blogging and social media have helped open doors and create new opportunities for authors that never existed before. Importantly, social media and blogging have helped bridge the gap between authors and readers. No longer do we need a big publisher to facilitate that relationship for us. It’s given us more control. So we can’t drop the ball. In fact, we must step up our game, while also churning out books. We must adapt, we must evolve. We must find ways to Do. It. All.
For those of you who follow my posts regularly, you’ve probably noticed some subtle changes to my blogging and the frequency of my posts. Don’t worry – I’m not going anywhere. I love what I’ve built here and it will continue it, but I’ve got to start finding new and better ways to deliver quality information in shorter, my effective increments. In other words, I want to add innovation into my blogging and really press the limits of my creativity. That’s why I’ve created the Note to Self series and will be looking for ways to bring you move, with less. I figure that this is really a win-win for both of us – if you get more from me in smaller, easier bites, then perhaps you’ll have more time to read my stuff. I like to think of it as a slight adjustment, although you’ll still get me in heavier doses, like this post, from time to time, too.
6. Set a deadline for your first draft.
Whether or not you have an agent or publisher breathing down your neck, it’s good to set a deadline for your first draft. I self-impose deadlines on myself all the time. (Whether I always make them is another story!) For this next book, I’d like to have a rough first draft in my agent’s hands by the end of the year. I originally set it for May, but decided to up the ante a bit. I might not reach it – only time will tell. But if I can deliver that first draft by the end of the December – no matter how rickety it might be – I will have pushed myself beyond a personal limit. We’ll see how it goes.
7. Take your writing seriously (so others will too).
Writing is my job. I can’t blow it off every time a friend invites me to lunch (although it’s always tempting). But it’s not all about caving to other people, either. We writers have to be careful not to cave to our own ways of procrastination. Are you surfacing the Internet instead of researching the time period for your book? Are you more preoccupied with getting Freshly Pressed than meeting your daily word count on your MS? (Fine, I’ll admit it – I secretly would LOVE to get Freshly Pressed!) Writing takes time – and energy. It’s not something that can be done on the fly. It takes considerable concentration and focus. And it also takes guts – guts to put yourself out in a place where most people wouldn’t dare go. So go and do your thang. Push the envelop on your creativity and give it the time that it deserves. And trust me, after a few weeks of putting in the work, you’ll start to see your page count grow, one word at a time. (I say that to you just as much as I say that to myself.)
How do you ensure that writing outside social media and blogging stays a priority in your life? How do you balance blogging with novel writing? Which in your opinion should come first?
A couple nights ago, my 8-year-old son Ian gave me this important piece of advice.
