There are many facets to an authors life but I think the biggest two are promotion and writing itself. Promotion is essential to get the word out about your work, but if you don’t have any work to promote it’s just an act in futility. Shortly before my book Grandma’s Pear Tree was released I began to earnestly promote the book. I created a website, began a blog with my best friend and jumped on the Merry-go-Round of social media with Facebook and Twitter.
After a little over a year of promotion I found myself spending more time on Twitter and Facebook than I did on writing. This really came to light as I began to do school visits and the one of the most common questions I faced was:
“When is your next book coming out?”
I have some pretty fancy ways to answer that question but the truth is, I don’t know. I remember reading an article about Kirby Larson Author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky. Following her win Ms. Larson was asked about tips for writing and the one that stood out for me was “Keep Writing.” I imagine the pressure to create more work is infinitely greater once you have won a huge award, but I think her tip is truly valuable.
So what is an author to do? We need to write but we also need to spend some time of our day doing promotion as well. Here is how I currently juggle my promotion/writing time:
- Drop my son off at school
- Answer any correspondence or emails
- Facebook and Twitter follow with any responses or messages for the day (I give myself 20-30 mins)
- Telephone calls for any promotion
- Write, write, write
- Pick up son from school
Love the Cat in the Hat illustration. It’s exactly what I have felt like these past several weeks as I struggle to find balance again between writing and my new job.
Recently, I’ve had to go back and reset my priorities. Writing being at the top of the list. Had to let go of the social media for now, but I can feel myself settling into my new routine, so hopefully I’ll be able to get back to keeping up with everything.
The upside is I’m surrounded by some AMAZING, creative people and energy at my job. And I can edit my novel during my lunch hour. Yay!
Great post! I was happy to see it!
Glad to hear I’m not the only one struggling with my schedule. Good luck with the new job and yay that you can edit your novel at lunch.
Thanks for commenting,
Sue
This is a good post, Suzanne. I deal with the same juggling act, which is quite challenging. I’m not organized at all, so I go with what I’m inpsired to do at the moment. Setting goals does help, though. I figure that as long as I’m doing something positive to move forward, it’s better than doing nothing. Baby steps works for me.
I love baby steps, I think that is why I set my writing goal to 30mins. I figure I can hang in there for 1/2 an hour and then if it just isn’t working I will skip on to something else.
Thanks for visiting and commenting,
Sue
Good post, Sue! Juggling is, indeed the name of the game, and it’s a different game for every writer. In my case, it’s juggling my writing with running a business with my husband. Fortunately, we have a deal: I write for two hours every morning before I go to work in the business. I have to be diligent in setting priorties or I’ll “lose” what little time I have. And I make sure NOT to go online until I have written. I find I have much more focus when I stick to that unwritten rule. As for promotion? That varies from week to week, but writing always comes first. A bookseller once told me, “Your best promotional tool is your next book.”
Anne,
Thanks for a great reminder of what is truly important. I love the quote and it’s a great inspiration to keep writing.
Sue