Back to Business #writerslife

After a very busy summer, school is back in session, and I have my writing time back. Woot!

Not that I've done any writing. Very little happened in front of the computer this past season. It's put me even farther behind schedule, but it has also give me a lot of time to think.

I thought I had a pretty good handle on this writing career thing. Loose as it might be at times, I had done my research. I'm smart. But nothing is working. Why isn't it working?!

Perhaps I've been too loose. I need to be tighter with my time management and what I put my time into. I need to seriously get down to business.

First, I'm going to put time limits on what I do and stick with them. Usually when I'm on social media, time gets away from me. No more. It takes away from writing time, and as a writer, the number one thing I need to be doing is writing.

Write in the mornings and write in the afternoons. Write. (Includes revising and editing!)

I need better covers. I created a new cover for The 13th Floor Complete Collection earlier this year, and it has perked up interest in it. (Anything from zero interest is an improvement!) My next task is to make new covers for the majority of my books. Yes, I realize there are a lot of them, but it makes a difference. It will be slow going, but one by one, I can do it.

I will be fixing my social media. First, this will mean a new website. I dropped my provider and I'll be setting up on Wix. I'm working on how to keep my domain name and transfer it over. Wix is not only free, but easy to use. I use it for my pen name and love it. I may move my blog to Wix too. I like Blogger, but it would be convenient to have everything in one place. Has anyone had experience with Wix's blog? Any info would be helpful, please.

Promos do help get new eyes on your books, and I want to participate in more. Yet after years of having books for free in promos, I realize it doesn't help. It's a momentary boost in my Amazon rank, but then it goes back down after the promo is over. It doesn't nab me reviews. Readers are much more likely to leave a review if they pay for something. 99c sales are better or 50% off. That way the readers feel they're getting deals, but they're still paying.

Write. Then write some more.

That's the plan. Rule the world. You and me. Any day. I mean, uh, consolidate, strict schedule, new looks, and write.

How do you handle the business of being of a writer?

Wicked Wednesday - tips for multi-tasking manuscripts

That's how I look when I try to do more than one thing at a time. I'm one of those writers who focus on one project and finish it before diving into a new one. Most of the time, I'm highly efficient. So does that make me crazy to want to attempt to work on two projects at once?

I see other writers who are brilliant at multi-tasking projects. I am in awe. But I know all of us are different. What works for one person might not for another. We don't know until we try, though.

Two projects. Yikes. I'm taking a deep breath here. I'm collecting advice from other authors who are successful multi-taskers.

- Create a schedule and stick with it. Sounds easy, but what if you're on a roll? Too bad. Stop and continue again tomorrow. Be firm with yourself.

- It helps if your projects are vastly different from one another. That way, you won't get tired of too much of the same thing.

- Keep writing. Don't edit as you go. Leave that for the revision stage.

- Don't neglect other aspects of your life. Make sure you have time to spend with family and friends, exercise, and sleep. You will be a happier writer for it.

- Finally, finish what you start. If you find your focus is off because you have too much on your plate, drop one project. 

Do you have any tips to share about multi-tasking projects?

Friday Five for August 7, 2015

1. I had a pleasant surprise when I found a new review for my most recent Dice & Debauchery book from a reviewer I hadn't submitted to myself! It's not a five star review, but sometimes that doesn't matter when the reviewer says she wants to read more from you. Check it out on Exquisite Reviews.

2. With my son in school full time, I've had a productive week. My house is clean, the lawn is mowed, and all the laundry folded. Oh yes, I did some writing too. I finished the first draft of a novelette. Another one of those stories that suddenly came to me with a rush of vivid persistence. There are two more stories to go with it, and I have them already done in my head.

3. I'm going to be starting my regular blogging schedule again next week. Monday will be promo day: guest posts from other authors, cover reveals, and reviews. Wednesday: the first Wednesday of each month will be IWSG, and the remaining ones will be Wicked Wednesday. I talk about all aspects of being a writer, give tips, and ask questions. Fridays will continue to be my Friday Five. Just a quick update of what's going on in my life.

4. I received one short story rejection this week. I'm working on a flash piece today for my local critique group. That will complete my 2015 short story goal of writing six pieces this year. If I can, I want to keep pushing on and do one a month.

5. My little guy has been loving kindergarten. I watch him get on the bus in the mornings and get the warm fuzzies. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

IWSG for August 2015

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

The awesome co-hosts for this month's IWSG: Nancy Gideon, Bob R Milne, Doreen McGettigan, Chrys Fey, Bish Denham, and Pat Garcia!

This week, my son started kindergarten. He's so excited. On the first day, he woke extra early and didn't even want to stop to give his poor mom a hug before he rushed into the classroom.

This week is also the week when I am now a full-time writer. I'm much more freaked out about that than I am my child starting school. Now I can't offer any excuses about lack of time or too much noise. There is no reason why I shouldn't be highly productive.

And that's scary. Maybe I'm setting my expectations for myself too high. But shouldn't I be setting them high? I don't know! And, oh no, won't everyone be expecting that much more of me now?

I need to breathe and slow down for a minute. If I make a schedule, I can stick with it. I hope.

Are you realistic in your expectations of yourself?

Wicked Wednesday - blogging about blogging

There has been a lot of talk lately about blogging. Is it losing popularity? Will blogs disappear while everyone tweets? Will Twitter give way to something faster and shorter?

Not everything I have to say can be said with 140 characters. I've been blogging for a long time. Not here on this blog, but over the course of ten years, I've had three of them. I'm nearing 1000 posts on this blog.

My blog is my number one tool for marketing and connecting with people. I'd give up Facebook and Twitter before blogging. Not only do I like writing posts, I love reading other people's blogs. I feel I really get to know people when they share little slices of their lives.

I do understand that people are getting tired of too many cover reveals, blitzes, and bloghops. Readers want either more personal posts or helpful ones with advice and tips. Shorter is also better.

Yet I want to support my fellow writers by promoting their works. I don't want to chase off readers, though.

The best way to do this is to set up a blogging schedule. This way, readers know what to expect and when. If they're not interested in certain things, they can skip that day and visit another.

My blogging schedule:

Mondays - Promoting other authors with cover reveals, blitzes, reviews, and guest posts.

Wednesdays - The first Wednesday of every month is IWSG, and the others will be my Wicked Wednesdays where I talk about writing, marketing, and publishing.

Fridays - This is my weekly update. Friday Five catches my followers up on where I am with my writing and gives you a peek into my everyday life.

There will be exceptions for special events, but I'm sticking with this schedule. It'll save my followers valuable time and me as well.

Do you have a blogging schedule?

Friday Five for January 3, 2014

1. Hello, and in case you didn't hear my cheer, Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Now it's back into the groove. I'm setting a schedule for myself for blogging and networking. I need a better balance between writing and everything else I need to do as a writer. I'm sticking to the blogging schedule I created last year which worked very well.

   Mondays - Reviews, guest posts, and other author promotions. (If any of my writer friends would like to do a guest post on my blog, please email me.)

   Tuesdays - Teaser Tuesday

   Wednesdays - IWSG and Wicked Wednesday

   Fridays - Friday Five

2. I managed to get myself on Feedly earlier last week. Yes, that's how long it's taken me to get a new reader since Google Reader went away. I'm slowly adding everyone on to my feeds. It's taking a while since I can't figure out how to import my Blogger list to it. My hope is this will make visiting blogs much easier for me. I do return comment when someone comments on my blog, but I need something to help me keep all my blogs organized.

3. I've also been organizing the people I follow on Twitter into lists. I've started this about four weeks ago, and it's helped greatly with keeping up with people that get lost in the main feed. I like it, too, because I can retweet more efficiently. Tip: retweeting helps those authors and you too. Sometimes they'll retweet you in turn. I've gained more followers in December than I have since the beginning of 2013.

4. I've been making excellent progress revising my current WIP. I'm excited about how it's starting to really shine. I'll be querying the manuscript this year to publishers. I already have a few in mind. I'm reminding myself to take a deep breath and not rush it. Sometimes it's difficult to do so when I really want to share it with the world.

5. I had a lovely and relaxing holiday. My husband stayed home for a week, and we made no plans whatsoever. Family visits were done in November. We went on family hikes, lazed around some days in our pajamas, and ate way too much junk food. My son was spoiled. He got the rocket he wanted from Santa. It was awesome! A great way to end a terrific year.

New blogfest badge and schedule

I LOVE this new badge! The artwork is amazing. It has the perfect atmosphere. I was happy to get permission from the artist, an extremely talented woman named Nina. I discovered Nina on deviantART. Please check out her site. Her artwork is beautiful. Some pictures are lively, some are dark, and others are simply breathtaking. Every piece inspires a dozen stories in my head.

Don't forget to sign up for the "What was your childhood monster?" blogfest to help promote the release of my novella, FEARLESS.

I added FEARLESS on Goodreads. It took a little bit to figure out. I also can't find where you can add tags for your book to list it under certain genres. Does anyone know if you can do that?

I'm excited to be doing a guest post on writing action scenes at Kathleen Doyle's Thirsty Thursday blog on July 31st. Pop by for a visit! Don't worry, I'll remind you again on Tuesday.

I have a big week lined up for my release. Of course, there's the blogfest happening August 7th - 9th.

On August 6th, I have an interview with Shelley Sly, a fellow writer and geek. I also have a guest post on writing fear at my hard-working critique partner, Cherie Reich's blog. You still have one more day to enter to win the entire Gravity trilogy by Cherie!

August 7th is the official release of FEARLESS. That day I'll be over at Tania Walsh's site with a post about monsters. Tania is awesome, and we share a love of mythological creatures. Every Monday, she has a fascinating post about a mythological monster.

I'll be visiting the lovely Aubrie Dionne on August 8th. We'll have a fun chat. In other Aubrie news: on July 30th, Aubrie will be revealing the cover to her newest sci-fi romance novel, Colonization. There will be a giveaway!

Finally, on August 9th, I'll be interviewed by M. Pepper Langlinais. Be prepared for something out of the ordinary. I can't wait to find out what she'll ask me!

Cloning device, please

I haven't written anything new this month. Usually I try to get at least something done. A short story or a few thousand words of a novel. It's not from lack of inspiration, but lack of time. And it's frustrating. I had two rejections last week and that only raised my level of frustration. I need to write more. I need to get more stories out there.

I only have a limited amount of time each day to do what I want to do for myself. I'm home alone with a toddler for the majority of the day. I can't do anything on the computer while he's awake unless he's doing something with me. I have emails and blogs to write, and blogs to read. I've been working on revising my latest WIP, getting it ready to submit.

I realize I need to balance my time. I've been trying to shorten emails and not spend so much time commenting on blogs. I'd like to comment on everyone's blog, but please understand, I need to write more. I need to take advantage of the blog post schedule option too.

Or maybe I just need an assistant. Oh, no, a clone of myself. Yes, that would be perfect.