Tick Tock Goes the Clock – Are you Managing your Time?

One of the biggest reasons for not getting writing done is that we don’t have enough time. But time is one of the most democratic of commodities. Here’s The Unlocked Secret right up front today: Everyone gets the same number of hours a day. 24 hours for everyone! Yay! But it’s how we use them that make the difference.

Author Terri Main coordinates the Book in a Month group at the American Christian Fiction Writers site, and for the past two months I have enjoyed hearing all her wise words and inspiration. Today I thought I would pass along some of her tips for managing our time in order to get in more writing. 

 

1. Understand how you are already using your time. For one week, record what you did in every 15 minute time segment throughout your day. Some can be easily designated like 11 pm – 7 am sleep or 9 am – 5 pm work. But even there, you might put 9 am – 12 pm work, 12 pm – 1 pm lunch and 1 pm – 5 pm work. Others may change every 15 minutes or so. This will help you identify how you are using your time. 

 

2. Check your priorities. Looking at the time log you made, highlight in different colors different activities by priority. Use three priority levelsHigh – Must do for survival. Extremely important to family life. Something I’ve committed to as a moral, spiritual, physical, family priority. Something that I would sacrifice lower priority items to do. 

 

Medium – Of importance, but would sacrifice, if reluctantly for a high priority item, but would sacrifice a lower priority item to do. 

 

Low – Enjoyable, habitual or dragged into by others, but not personally important. Would not knowingly sacrifice anything else to do. 

 

Look at the colors. Is a lot of your time taken up low priority items like watching a TV show you were only moderately interested in seeing. Going to a Tupperware party for someone you don’t really know that well. Reading a tabloid story about some movie star who may or may not be seeing another movie star behind her movie star husband’s back who in turn is seeing another movie star. 

 

Those low priority squares are the first place to look for writing times. Then check the medium priority stuff. This is where things get serious. Giving up the low priority stuff is easy, but when it comes to something in the middle, you have to think a bit more. For instance, there is a sale on at the mall. There are some good deals. Not great, but you might save a bit. On the other hand, you are getting close to the end of your novel and an extra two or three hours would make a difference. There is no easy answer. You simply have to weigh the pros and cons of each and make a decision. But be sure you make the decision and don’t let the decision make itself. 

 

3. Beware of the Tyranny of the Urgent. I forget who coined that term, but I like it. Sometimes we do something because it must be done now and not because it is actually important. Don’t let a low priority item get in the way of your writing plans simply because something has to be done quickly or not at all. When faced with something urgent, ask yourself if it is also something important and if it is more important than anything else at that time. It might be a one day only sale, but is there anything at that sale which is actually a high priority thing you need to buy? 

 

4. If you can’t write an hour, write for what you can. This is sometimes a sticking point for people. Someone looks at the clock and says, “Oh, I have to leave for work in 20 minutes, I can’t write.” Sure you can. Writ for 15 minutes and then gather your stuff and head out the door. You may “only” get 300 words written, but that’s 300 words you would not have otherwise. Consider this. If you write 300 words a day five days a week that’s 1500 words a week or 78,000 words in a year. That’s a good sized novel from just 15 minutes a day and taking weekends off. 

 

5. Use the “in between times.” Sometimes, I think I spend half my life waiting for something. I may be waiting for a doctor’s appointment, a phone call, a business appointment, a train or dinner at a restaurant. With the various small computers like netbooks, ultrabooks, tablets and Chromebooks, you can spend that time writing, outlining, editing, researching or making notes. 

 

Consider writing during commercials on TV. Every hour of television has, on average, 20 minutes of commercial time. Just mute the TV and write during each commercial break which averages 3-5 minutes. 

 

6. Word sprints. A word sprint is a short time of concentrated writing. You set a timer and write for 15-30 minutes. You do nothing but write. You don’t have soda, coffee or snacks. You don’t listen to music. You turn off the phone. You just write and write as fast as possible. It’s amazing what you can do in 15 minutes of concentrated writing. 

 

A useful tool for this is Write or Die. It has both online and desktop versions. The program begins to flash and play screechy music if you don’t type something for a few seconds. Their motto is “It puts the prod in productivity.” 

 

Well, those are a few of Terri’s favorite tips. Hope they help you. 

PJ’s Top 10 Health Tips for 2013

Welcome! Tuesday’s Scribe here. This is an extra long post, but worth the read if you’ll bear with me. Being a Massage Therapist and personal trainer in the “real world” doesn’t exempt me from the laws of nature. That means that I am as susceptible as you are to the effects of gravity. As the image in my mirror reveals (it refuses to lie no matter how many spells I cast upon it), I can’t hide the addition of several pounds of holiday related “rolls”(ew). Yes, I too suffer from the intense attachment to chocolate that plagues even the strictest of gym rats. I’m PJ Sharon, and I, like many of you, am determined to do serious battle with my new found “writer’s bulge,” courtesy of my first year in publishing.

I know, I know…another diet, another fitness plan. Every January  the gyms are flooded with well-meaning but “weak-willed” souls who last about a month and then fall back into their old rut of unhealthy living. The truth is, living healthy is not rocket science. A healthy lifestyle is not a “diet” or an “exercise routine.” It requires a long term commitment to change. I wish I had the secret to turning on the “self-control” and “self-discipline” switches in the brain that some have and others struggle to find. There are many factors that influence us to take care of ourselves, but none is greater than healthy self-esteem. If you’ve tried and failed on your own and repeatedly lost and gained a significant amount of weight, I highly recommend you seek counseling to address the underlying issues that are keeping you stuck.

It may sound mean, but we all know when we put something in our mouth if it’s good for us or not. If you don’t know this, join Weight-Watchers and learn how to make healthier choices. Usually, we know when we are over-eating, and we definitely know when we aren’t getting enough rest (one of the leading contributors to weight gain). The trick is in catching the problems early. It’s infinitely easier to get back on track when we’ve gained only a few pounds instead of waiting until it’s ten or twenty…or fifty. It’s not hard to imagine why our clothes are fitting tighter than we like, or why we feel like crap from the sugar hangover we inflicted the night before by eating pizza, drinking that “extra” glass of wine, and then scarfing down chocolate ice cream for dessert. I’m not saying you can’t eat a piece of pizza or enjoy a glass of wine occasionally, but learn about portion sizes and find alternatives to these “fun” foods, saving the real deal for special occasions. And no…Friday night is not a special occasion. There are tons of creative ways to prepare foods that are healthy and delicious. Explore…get out of your rut!

I don’t know about you, but this being a grown up thing is a mixed blessing. Being an adult means that I can do what I want…eat what I want, right? Sure…if I want to live with the consequences. On the down side, there’s no one else to blame for my declining health or weight gain but me.  The bottom line is that I’m responsible for making good choices…about food, about my activity level, about cultivating healthy relationships, and about my work habits.

The first change I’ve made in the past few months is creating time to take care of myself by designing a work schedule that I can live with. That means regular office hours set aside to run my author business, and regularly scheduled work out sessions. Whatever I don’t get done in my office on any given day/night, I choose to let go and trust that I’ve done enough for that day. I will no longer sacrifice my “Healthy Me” time for social media or other tasks that will still be there the next day calling out to me. I know we’re all struggling to find balance these days, but honestly, none of it is worth dying over.

I’ve often told my clients that a healthy lifestyle is your best tool for success. I still believe that. I’d like to share some tips that I’ll be using to get back on track. I hope you’ll join me.

1)      HYDRATE- I’m not talking about ten cups of coffee or a liter of Diet Coke. I mean good old fashioned water. A good rule is to take your weight, divide by three, and that’s how many ounces per day of water you need to drink to stay properly hydrated. (Ie: A 150 pound person should consume 50 ounces of water per day). ** Fill a large water bottle first thing in the morning and drink it throughout the day, refilling as necessary to meet your daily ounce count. Feel free to add a slice of lemon. You’ll find you have more energy, you’re less hungry, and you’ll suffer fewer headaches, leg cramps, and muscle aches if you are hydrated. Trust me; your body will thank you!

2)      BANISH THE BREAD!-No not that!!!-White breads in particular break down into simple sugars very quickly. If you are sedentary, all that sugar gets stored as fat for later. But in this line of work, later never seems to come. Avoid white, starchy foods altogether. Switch from white potatoes to sweet potatoes, white rice to brown rice, and stock up on quinoa, cous cous, beans/legumes, and taboule, adding these complex whole grains and protein/fiber rich foods to salads or serving them as side dishes. Now most of us have already switched to “whole grain” breads, but if you read the label on your bread, you’ll likely find high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and a host of other additives and preservatives. **Try Ezekiel 4:9 Bread. You can find it in the refrigerator section of your grocer or local health food store. It has no flour! Instead it’s made from sprouted live grains like wheat, barley, millet, lentils, soybeans and spelt. It packs a whopping 4grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and is sugar free and fat free, and only 80 calories per slice. It tastes great, too!

3)      WALKING MEDITATION-Meditating is one of the healthiest and most difficult practices to cultivate. Most of us can’t sit still and empty our minds for ten seconds, let alone twenty minutes. But just twenty minutes a day of meditation can be life changing. It reduces your stress level, improves your immune system, and has so many health benefits I couldn’t possibly list them all here. Ironically, twenty minutes of walking daily does much the same thing. Imagine if you combine them! I’m all for multi-tasking, even when it comes to taking time to BE PRESENT! **Take a twenty minute walk daily. It doesn’t matter what time of day or even if you break it up into two ten minute walks, but do it—every day. While you’re walking think about your breathing. Feel each heel strike. Notice your arms swinging at your sides. Be aware of your posture, tuning in your abdomen and keeping your shoulders back. This conscious awareness of your body is as much a meditation as sitting cross-legged on a mat.

4)      STRETCH-I suggest frequent stretch breaks throughout the day. If you join a yoga class and go 2-3 times a week, maybe this isn’t as important, but if you are sitting at your computer for several hours a day, it’s beneficial and takes no time at all to stop for a few minutes every hour and stretch. If you don’t know what stretches to do or have some physical limitations that prevent you from exercising, seek advice from a physical therapist or qualified trainer.

5)      START WITH PROTEIN and FIBER-Starting your day with carbohydrates sets you up for blood sugar spikes and dips that will have you craving a candy bar before noon. Skip the bagel or the cold cereal and opt instead for an egg white omelet with veggies or a bowl of oatmeal or multigrain hot cereal with nuts, cinnamon, and fruit. (Cinnamon is a natural anti-inflammatory). Loading your breakfast with high protein, high fiber and nutrient packed foods will keep your blood sugar levels balanced and help curb cravings. A handful of nuts or a high protein yogurt (Greek yogurt is yummy and packs about 15 grams of protein) for your mid-morning or late afternoon snack will keep you from binging at meal times.

6)      VITAMINS-Due to soil depletion, over processing of foods, and our generally poor diets, most of us are vitamin deficient and don’t know it. Fatigue, weight gain, inability to concentrate, skin conditions, joint pains, neurological symptoms…you name it, vitamin deficiencies could be the cause. A daily multi-vitamin is a must and some people could benefit from other supplements depending on your individual needs. You may have to see a nutritionist or Naturopath to address this issue. Ask your doctor if he/she can perform a blood panel to screen for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Many women in particular are lacking in Vitamin D, which can lead to a whole host of ailments including porous bones and hair loss…eeek! It’s worth a blood test.

7)      STRENGTHEN YOUR MIND AND BODY-Lifting light weights, swimming, yoga, cycling, or even dancing around your house with the vacuum cleaner are all ways to burn calories and strengthen your core (the muscles of your trunk that offer a stable center for your extremities to work from.) In addition to strengthening muscles and improving your posture and balance, regular exercise strengthens your heart, releases endorphins that ease pain, and improves your mental attitude/mood. When you feel strong, you are more confident. If you need another convincing tid-bit, lean muscle mass burns calories more efficiently and your clothes fit better.

8)      AFFIRMATIONS-I’m a consummate goal setter. Not that I achieve all of my goals, mind you, but I make them, check in on them now and then, and adjust the plan accordingly. What I do know about goal setting is that I have to be able to imagine the desired outcome before I can make it a reality. I have to believe I can achieve it, and then I have to speak it into existence by making choices that lead me in the direction of achieving my goal. Affirmations are those positive messages that I speak to make my goals come to fruition. **Start every writing session with an affirmation. Ie: “I am an excellent writer. I am a bestselling author,” etc. Start every workout with an affirmation. Ie: “I am lean, healthy, and strong. I look awesome in size eight jeans”…you get the picture. See it, believe it is possible, and speak it into existence as if it is already the reality. Over time, your brain has no choice but to comply by making it so, and eventually your body will catch on.

9)      RELATIONSHIPS-“No man (or woman) is an Island.” Or so the saying goes. I don’t know about you, but I would be nowhere without the help and friendship of other writers, friends, family, and especially my dear husband. It’s easy to become isolated when so many of our hours are spent behind a computer screen. Connecting with and showing appreciation for the people in my life is something I don’t ever want to put off until tomorrow. There comes a time in every life when tomorrow won’t come for us or a loved one. **Don’t let a day go by without showing the people in your life how much they mean to you.

10)  GRATITUDE THROUGH KINDNESS-I’m a big believer in random acts of kindness. Nothing gets you out of your own head and gives you a lift as much as showing your gratitude for all that you have in your life by paying it forward. It’s much easier to see the good in your life when you recognize a need and fill it in someone else’s life. Volunteer, reach out to help someone in need, donate your time or money to a worthy cause. Get involved. We are all intricately connected in this world and there is no reason why any of us should feel alone.

Any other tips you want to share?

Blessings in the New Year,

PJ

2012 – How did I do?

Hello world! J Monkeys here. New Year’s Day is just a few turns of the earth away. Are you a resolution maker? Like Suze said on Thursday, NYR’s often get made and blown in just a handful of days, but what about goals? In the words of Pretty Woman’s Kit De Luca, “You got a goal? Ya gotta have a goal.” And they (you know them, right?) say that goals which are written down are significantly more likely to be accomplished than those that are not.

So, last year, I set some goals for myself. Check ‘em out. Before I announce my 2013 goals, I thought I’d see how I measure up for 2012.

1. Publish 6 Books: I’m behind, but not by much. Brook the Fish is complete and available for sale. The final version of DIY Publishing ~ Cheap & Easy will be uploaded to Createspace on 12-31-12. The final version of In the Woods will be uploaded to Createspace on 12-31-12. The next (and likely last) draft of illustrations for Dixie & Taco go to the Beach are available and awaiting my review. The first proof of Street Sign Scavenger Hunt will be ordered on 12-31-12. So that’s five nearly-finished books. I will absolutely have those done, and available for sale by 1-31-13.

When it comes to that 6th book, I’m less sure. The Fearsome Dane (a novella that goes along with my Livingston-Wexford Adventures) is 75% complete or more. My Genealogy Cookbook only wants for photography at this point. And I did create a personal organizer for 2012 which worked out so well that I’m creating one for 2013. The template will be available for sale by the end of January. Oh, and lest I forget, I’m about 1/2 way through the first draft of a new book as well. That’s five done in 13 months, with 4 others solidly in the hopper. Even though I didn’t actually publish 6 books in 2012, I’m happy with my progress and I’m calling it a win.

2. Sell Books: See, now, this was a poorly stated goal. I did sell books in 2012, so I could say that I met it, but I didn’t sell anywhere near as many as I would have liked. I had a marketing plan, I just didn’t follow it. I think that might be where I went wrong. But I sold books and I have better idea of what I need to do in the future so I’m calling it a win.

3. Lose 51 pounds: Sigh. Nope. Didn’t do it. On the flip side, I didn’t gain any weight either. In fact, I’m down 10 pounds from my January 1, 2012 weight. Not a win, but WAY better than 2011. Let’s call this one a draw.

4. Improve my credit score: Wow – sadly I REALLY didn’t make any progress on this one this year. With one thing and another, our credit score probably went down a smidge instead of up. Epic Fail.

5. Scrapbook 5 pages a week: Nope – I didn’t do this one either. But the spirit of it was to do things for myself, things that I like to do. And I have done that. My BFF-from-high-school-who-was-also-my-college-roommate and I have managed to get together for lunch 8 or 9 times this year which is GREAT! I’ve really missed her. Plus, I had not one, but two scrapbooking retreats in 2012 and I’ve taken the odd day for myself here and there. Let’s call that a win.

The total for 2012: 3 Wins, 1 Draw and 1 Fail. Not too shabby.

Today’s Secret: Write well defined goals and don’t forget to go back and see how you measure up. Remember why you wrote the goals that you did. Sometimes even when you don’t meet the stated goal, you might meet the spirit of it. Plus, they are your goals. Cut yourself some slack and take credit for the things you did rather than beat yourself up for those things you didn’t get to yet.

Today’s Question: How did you do with your 2012 goals?

And just for fun: here’s a link to a bit-o-fun for the year to come. Oh Alex…rumored to be Tarzan? I’d SO go see that movie!

Stop Thief!! Beating the Time Bandits

Happy Black Friday! Casey here.

Everyone knows there are only 24 hours in a day. And we all pretty much wish we had more time to get everything done.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t change the laws of physics. So unless you want to move to Venus (where a single day lasts 243 earth days not to mention it’s totally inhospitable), you have to use the limited time you have wisely.

You have to identify and eliminate Time Bandits. In order to do that, you have to be brutally honest about how you are spending your time.

Just like dieting, where everything you put in your mouth can land on your hips, every moment you spend playing on-line internet games, is one more moment where you aren’t writing.

Identifying Time Bandits can be tricky because it’s not alway immediately obvious that you are about to robbed of your precious writing time.

Here’s a real life example. This happens to me frequently on the weekends. It starts with an innocent question from my hubby – “Honey, what are we doing for lunch today?”

I look up from my laptop, where I am clearly at work, yet it is not perceived as work by anyone but me, and say, “I don’t know. Can’t you make a sandwhich?”

This response is met with a derisive snort. “How about _____ (insert, Chinese, Pizza, hamburgers, whatever)?”

Soon, the sons have emerged from their mini-man caves and start to chime in. Next thing, I know, I’m in the car on the way somewhere to eat. I have just lost, if I’m lucky, an hour of writing time.

Hold on. I know what you’re going to say – “just say NO.” And sometimes, I do. But, I also want to eat (hey, I’m human!) and I do like spending time with my sons (before they completely grow up and move away).

Clearly, for me, this is an area where I can combat the Time Bandit. In order to make up for lost time, I have to give up watching television (love that DVR) or not read before bed that day.

So how do you know if you are about to be hi-jacked by a Time Bandit? Please note, I am not adovocating that you must ignore all responsibilities or become a hermit.

1. Mundane chores are appealing. If you find yourself thinking that cleaning the tub (and you normally loathe it) then you have a Time Bandit. If you have teenagers, make them do it (bribes work better than threats) or learn to live with some dirt.

2. Social Media – I know this is obvious. But we’ve all experienced “the promise” where you swear to only spend a half hour and the next thing you know two hours have elapsed. Get a timer. Or in my case, I had to go nearly cold turkey to get back on track.

3. The Boob Tube – yes, I love it too. I have plenty of shows that will gladly rob me of my “precious” (writing, for anyone who doesn’t know who Gollum is). In the last two years, I have gone on a severe television diet. I avoid most shows that may tempt me and only allow a few favorites to DVR (any Haven fans out there?). I’m sorry to say, if you have hours and hours of DVR’d programs or are spending hours watching TV, then you have a Time Bandit.

4. Your family – see my example above. We all love our families BUT in order to be successful as a writer, you have to actually write. Sometimes, your significiant others don’t realize they are Time Bandits. You need to politely call them on it. Of course, there has to be compromise. Perhaps you can agree to have a nice dinner together instead of going out for lunch.

5. You – Yes, you are your own worst enemy. If you peel the mask off the Time Bandit, you might see your own face there (kind of like in Empire Strikes Back, when Luke sees his own face in Darth Vader’s mask). One thing I’ve learned is that if you are waiting around for the Muse to strike you, you’ll be waiting a long time. Treat writing like a job and write something, anything, until you get your brain in the place it needs to be to work on your latest WIP.

If you can write an entire book, then you can come up with creative ways to conquer those Time Bandits.

How about everyone else? Remember, the first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one. Please share your Time Bandits or your suggestions for managing your writing time.

Work Life Balance

Hiddey-Ho there Scribblers ~ J Monkeys coming atcha from sultry northern Connecticut.  Fellow Scribe, Jennifer Fusco posted on Facebook that she’s going to be tackling the subject of Work-Life Balance in some kind of public forum coming up and that got me to thinking…and trying out a balancing method that’s worked well for me in the past. 

Well, it worked on vacation…sure that’s a potential stumbling block, but I put it into practice today to see what might come of it, to surprising results.

Have you ever seen this movie?  It’s a Hugh Grant flick from a few years back.  Now I’m a huge Hugh fan…I have him singing from Music and Lyrics on my iPod and I thought the Pirate Captain from the recent kids movie Pirates had his speech cadence even though it sounded nothing like him.  Turned out I was right.  I’m that kind of dedicated fan.  Mr. Grant, you are welcome. 

Now this isn’t one of my favorites of his films, (that would probably be Music & Lyrics or Love Actually) but there is an interesting bit where he breaks the day down into 30 minute units.  Hugh’s character is a middle-aged rich kid living off the fortune left him by his one-hit-wonder father.  He’s idle and bored – hence the need to fill his time in manageable pieces.

So Hugh lives 30 minutes at a time.  Sometimes he’d spend two units on something, like racquetball or something.  I tried this on a WICKED restful vacation a number of years ago (pre-kid.)  I spent 5 days at a dude ranch in Arizona.  We woke up and spent a unit at breakfast when Cookie rang the triangle, then went for a 3-unit trail ride, took a unit long nap, ate lunch for another unit or two, napped another unit away, rode for a couple more units, frolicked in the pool for a unit, ate again – supper was at least two units, then played games until it was time spend a unit or more staring at a night sky filled with more stars than I’ve ever seen before or since.  I’ve never been so rested.  It was GREAT!  We lived one unit at a time.

So – today, I spent my free time (read that as kid-free time when I can actually accomplish something) by units.  I set the oven timer for 2 units (an hour for the math challenged) and did random housework.  When the timer buzzed, I set it again for another 2 units.  I spent these units working on a project for which I actually get paid (exciting thing!).  Upon buzzing, I put that project away and spent a unit inputting edits to my DIY Publishing book, then a unit folding four loads of laundry.  Finally, I spent a unit on lunch with a side order of  The West Wing (the Supremes from Season 5, one of my favorites) and headed out to the kids’ school for a few hours of volunteer time.

Now, I didn’t accomplish much of any one thing, but I did touch on many of the things I need to work on – housework, stuff I get paid to do, writing and not unimportantly, some me time.  That is what I call work-life balance, people.  Sure I have an overwhelming amount of stuff still on my plate, but hey – it was a good day!

Today’s secret: Sometimes, wisdom comes in strange places…or when you’ve got 30 different things to do – breaking your time up into focused chunks can help you keep those plates spinning.

Today’s question: How do you balance all of your responsibilities?

One Year Indie Published

Tuesday’s Child, PJ Sharon here. Thanks to all of you, I had a fun and successful launch day for Waning Moon last Friday. I can’t believe that it took publishing four books in a year for me to finally FEEL like an author. I think I needed to finally take the time to celebrate my accomplishments before I could really recognize them. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ve worked hard this past year, but being a goal oriented person, I tend to look at all that’s ahead of me and forget to be in the moment, appreciating all the blessings along the way. As a yoga practitioner, you’d think I would be a pro at remaining present, but it’s no secret that the writer’s life is far from balanced and that none of us can be totally zen about daunting deadlines and promo pressures. So now that I’ve had my celebratory pause, and before I look forward, I thought I’d look back at the past year and see how I did on my goals.

 

In honor of my one year as an Indie-published author, I wanted to share my sales numbers. The following are close estimations as I haven’t counted venues like ARe (All Romance e-reads), Create Space, and the few hardcopies I’ve sold at signings. These are e-book sales only.

 

Heaven is for Heroes:                           On Thin Ice:                    Savage Cinderella:          

Release date: 9/24/11                            12/15/11                                3/24/12                           

Amazon US:       682                                1250                                       1526

Amazon UK:         22                                  361                                           29

Amazon Eu:         10                                       6                                             5

BN:                      116                                    33                                           28

Smashwords:       52                                    25                                           42

Total:                   872                                1675                                       1630

Free downloads: 77                                    30           37,762 (US); 1,120 (UK); 105 (Eu)

Estimated Total e-books sold: 4,177

Taking into account the difficult to decipher reports from Smashwords (which includes e-books sold through Kobo, Sony, Apple et al), and if you include hardcopy sales through Createspace, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve hit the 5,000 books sold mark. Last January when I set my goals for 2012, I stated that I wanted to sell 10,000 books in a year (looking to break into that 10K cake club my indie buddies talk about). There is a possibility I could actually meet that goal if Waning Moon takes off, but even if I don’t hit 10,000 by January, I know I’ll reach it at some point soon. I’m halfway there, right? I see the slow, steady build of readership and sales, and have faith that with diligence, numbers will continue to grow as I reach new readers. 

I’ve learned a lot in this past year—lessons I will take forward with me as I continue on this journey. In no particular order, these are my top five lessons learned this year as an Indie published author.

1) Hire help with cover art, editing, and promotion/marketing. 

2) The buying patterns of readers are changing with the wind. There will be seasonal slumps and missed opportunities. The only thing you CAN control is the quality of your content. (Three nuggets in one).

3) Basically there aren’t enough hours in a day to do all we SHOULD do, so do what you can and let the rest go. 

4) Watching trends, getting involved in networks, and creating a platform in some form of social media makes for invaluable resources. Appreciate those resources.

5) Keep writing and creating new material.

As for observations, the summer months were extremely slow all around. It’s important to note, here, that I had flipped my promotional efforts to 20% of my budgeted time, and spent 80% writing/revising/producing the book instead of the other way around. Sales dropped by 75% in June, July and August. This tells me that clearly, promotion works. But the best advice I’ve gotten from Indie published authors is to work on growing your cyber bookshelf. Most successful self-pubbers hit their stride with book number six or seven, unless they are very luck and catch the wave the first time out. It’s all about creating quality backlist and gaining a readership through social media and visibility. That takes time and consistent effort. 

With the release of Waning Moon and the next month of blog tour visits (you can follow along and find my upcoming appearances at the calendar page of my website or click on the Goddess Fish icon below), I’ll be back in promotion mode while trying to maintain some of that ever elusive balance we writers struggle with. The coming year will be much less aggressive in terms of production, so I think that will help.

I want to add that I’m sharing these numbers only to encourage other writers (or some might say depress them, depending on their expectations). If I compared my numbers with others, I might be a bit underwhelmed –I still can’t look at my hourly rate without cringing. But I also recognize that there are many Indie authors not selling nearly what I did, so I don’t compare. I’m simply grateful to be where I am…satisfied that I am on the right track.

Unlocked secret: We all measure success differently, take our own path to find our bliss, and set our own goals. To set goals, understand what you want and carve out a path to get you there. Just remember; keep your goals realistic, manageable, flexible, and measurable. They are after all, just a guideline.

How did you all do with your goals this year? Do you set ‘em and forget ‘em like the rotisserie? Or are you dogmatically holding onto them and not willing to be flexible? Have you found the balance with goal setting that allows you to reassess often and adjust as needed? I’d love to hear from you!

I finished something!

Hidey-Ho there Scribblers!  J Monkeys here.  There are only 95 days left until Christmas 2012 so I thought I’d take a minute to catch you up on my writing goals for 2012 and my progress to date.

Way back at the beginning of the year, I stated (publicly!) that I was going to produce 6 books this year.  It was, and still is, an aggressive goal, but a doable one for me.  After a sluggish summer, I’ve actually picked up some speed this week and I’m happy to report that progress is being made!  Here’s how it stands: 

Do It Yourself Publishing ~ Cheap & Easy: I put the finishing touches on it this week and I sent for my proof copy today!  Yipppeeeeee!  This is an exciting book that give newbies step-by-step instruction on how to Indie Publish their book, on the cheap.  Let’s call this one 95% finished.

Gastro-Geneaology Cookbook: This is a project that I’m working on primarily for my family.  I’ve taken recipe cards hand-written by folks in the family (living and dead) and paired them with a picture of the chef, a short blurb about the person and a legible version of the recipe.  It’s in pretty good shape.  I just need to bake a few of the items and take some photos to add.  I’d say this one is 75% complete.  Definitely something that might have more additions as time goes by, but the first edition will be done by the holidays.

Brook the Fish: This is the first book in my First Grade reader series.  It’s done and available from Lulu.  I worked with a new illustrator on this one and he did a GREAT job!  Yeah Don!

Preschool book of Questions: I’ve actually been working on two of these.  The first, In The Woods, is nearly finished – 98% done.  Hubby needs to fix one photo for me, and then it’ll be complete.  The second one, Signs is about 50% done at this point.  I need to finish up the photography (maybe 7 more pictures to be done) and then I can pull it together.  We’ll be finishing the photography this weekend so I’m likely to order a proof copy by October 1st.

Dixie & Taco go to the Beach: I met with the illustrator today and she’s done a GREAT job.  This another newbie – her first book and her first step into this style of drawing.  But I looked at draft pictures today and they are spot on.  I’m confident it will be complete by year’s end.

The Fearsome Dane: This novella has been languishing – but my cover artist is now waiting for me to get back to her with crazy details like length.  Guess I’d better pick it up and write that last scene, eh?  It’s yet another monkey I want off my back, so I’m confident that it will be done by the end of the year.  It’s 30,000 words that needs at most two more scenes and some editing.

Some Time: This is actually my most exciting project.  I’m writing this time travel romance under my alter-ego, Vivienne Ylang.  Did you know that was me?  Shhhh, don’t tell anybody.  I’ve been thinking long and hard about this story lately.  I think I’ve finally worked the kinks out of the plot (no, not that kind of kink – get your head out of the gutter!) and I’m almost ready to pick up the pen again.  Or keyboard.  Whatever.  I need to do a little bit of Character writing and then I’ll be good to go.  I plan to have the 1st draft done by the end of November.  

That’s 8 books in one year.  WOW!  I know many of these are short, or have few words – but I’m still proud of the production.  And it’ll clear the way for me to pull a bunch of stuff out of my head and begin working on The Orange Trade, book 3 in the Livingston-Wexford Adventures early next year.  It’s a bit of a shuffle from how I had planned to do things, but hey.  Sometimes these characters are screaming in my head and I have to give somebody cuts in line.  You know?

Today’s Secret: Shout your goals publicly.  It’s harder to ignore them once you’ve told everyone what you are going to do.

Today’s Question: Did you make goals at the beginning of the year?  How are you doing?  Are you on track?

 

 

 

Bending the Space Time Continuum

Casey here! Another Friday has arrived and that has me thinking about the space/time continuum and the movie My Cousin Vinny.

Anyone remember that movie? It starred Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei and was about a  lawyer whose nephew had been arrested in a podunk town on murder charges.During the trial, there’s a memorable cross-examination that went like this (from IMDB):

Vinny Gambini: How could it take you five minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes?
Mr. Tipton: Um… I’m a fast cook, I guess.
Vinny Gambini: [across beside the jury] What? I’m sorry I was over there. Did you just say you were a fast cook? Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than any place on the face of the earth?
Mr. Tipton: I don’t know.
Vinny Gambini: Perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?

I’ve always loved this scene, especially the mention about the laws of physics and magic grits. Which leads me to these thoughts about how the space/time continuum works in my life. These are my observations. Individual results may vary.

Things that take forever:

• work
• grocery shopping
• laundry
• the first 30,000 words of my latest book
• writing blogs, queries, back cover blurbs, taglines, and synopses
• appointments of any kind
• errands

Things that seem like they take five minutes but really eat up hours:

• Social media – especially Facebook
• watching television
• finding pictures to go on the aforementioned blogs
• crafting/gaming
• daydreaming
• reading books or magazines
• drawing or painting
• writing after 30,000 words
• answering e-mails

It’s funny how we all get the same 24 hour day, but the way we perceive the passage of time affects our enjoyment and/or stress level. They say time flies when you’re having fun and “they” aren’t kidding!

How about you? What would be on your list of space/time bending activities?

J’s Distracting Dozen

Hidey-Ho!  J Monkeys here.  Happy Saturday.  I continue to have a problem with writing procrastination and today I want to talk about the Distracting Dozen.  TV channels, that is.  Yes, in the advanced age of digital TV and 1000′s of channels, I have a whomping 12 channels.  Yes, it’s cable and it costs me $25 a month.  Yup – $2 per channel.

I get CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox, ABC, CW, ION, something on channel 11 that I never watch, TBS (it’s very funny!), FX, TVLand and TruTV

Somehow, even with those limited choices, I still find hours of thing to waste time.  You may remember from blogs past that I LOVE Once Upon A Time and I’m anxiously awaiting it’s return in the fall.  I even went out to buy the 1st season on DVD this week, but it doesn’t come out until the 28th.  I also regularly watch or DVR The Biggest Loser, Fringe, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, The Big Bang Theory and NCIS.  When they are available, I often watch Who Do You Think You Are, Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef and Lie to Me.

This summer, I’ve discovered a previously untapped addiction to Storage Hunters and Lizard Lick Towing, both on TruTV.  What’s better than a coupla good-ole-boys (as they call themselves from time to time) repossessing folk’s cars?  If you haven’t see it, you’ve got to check it out.  Lizard Lick Towing is a real-life style show (who’s to say what’s actually real and what’s fiction these days on TV?) about a guy (Ronnie) and his wife (Amy) and his buddy (Bobby) who repo cars from an incredible group of characters.  When I found out that Ronnie is not just a repo-man but also the mayor of Lizard Lick NC (I swear to God that’s the name of the town!) and an evangelical minister while  his wife is the office manager of the company, a wrestler (or some kind of fighter) and a mortician, it really only made me like them more!

I’ve checked with the cable company, and sadly there is no package that offers fewer channels than my Distracting Dozen.  I’ve tried losing the remote – the dang thing keeps reappearing on my sofa.  I suppose I could unplug the TV, but then the children would just plug it back in and I’m always telling them not to put things in the outlets.  What kind of Mommy would I be if I set them up to fail that way?  

Today’s secret: No matter how few TV channels I have, there is always something on.  Or I might watch a DVD – I have LOTS of them.  Or read a book – I have WAY more books than DVDs…

Today’s Question: How do you maintain writerly focus?

Time Management for Writers by Author, Mary Manners…AND AMAZON GIVEAWAY!

Hello, Katy Lee here with author, Mary Manners! Mary is an award-winning author of inspirational romance who lives in the beautiful foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee with her husband and daughter. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Smoky Mountain Romance Writers. In her free time, she likes to garden, take long walks with her husband, and read romance novels in a hammock beneath century-old shade trees.

BUT she also likes to help other authors along the way. And today she is here to share some pointers on Time Management…something we all need, for sure.

And don’t forget to enter Mary’s Tour Wide Giveaway for her latest release, The Wisdom Tree. Rafflecopter – each entrant from each blog stop will be entered into a grand giveaway for a chance to win one of the two prizes up for grabs – a $50 Gift Card (Amazon/BN – winners choice) and  a print set of your (5) books (Wisdom Tree when it debuts in October). Winners will be chosen August 14th.

Now tell us, Mary, about Time Management!!

Thanks, Katy and Scribes for having me today! As a woman who shares time as a wife, mother, teacher and author, I am well-versed in the importance and benefits of time management. How many of us have wished for just one more hour in the day? Well, if you were granted that hour, what would you do with it? It sure is something to ponder.

Over the past several years I’ve uncovered and honed a few simple writing strategies (on the business/marketing side) that work for me. Maybe they will work for you, as well:

1. Make a list: I make a list each evening for the following day, jotting down things I need to do. This way my mind is clear when I go to sleep (fertile for dreaming up new characters and plot lines…yum). Using a list also gives me a sense of accomplishment as I mark off each item.

2. Keep a calendar: I map out tasks by day, week, month and year. This includes writing deadlines, release dates, promotional commitments and marketing opportunities, blog posts, speaking engagements, etc. Keeping a calendar also creates a record of my writing time and activities for tax purposes.

3. Create folders: This includes both virtual and hard copies. I separate my emails into folders for ads and invoices, submissions, supplies purchased, newsletters, etc. I also keep a hard copy of everything submission or tax-related, in separate folders. I have learned that it takes less time to be organized than it does to hunt for something I need and can’t find.

4. Keep a hard copy of every submission, with notes and details, so you can easily refer back to what has been sent. I use expandable file folders to do this, and keep them together on a shelf in the order they were submitted.

This is just a short list of some of the writing-related strategies that have helped me. Now, I’d love to hear some of your strategies. Please, share…

Thank you, Mary for these great pointers! And readers, please do share your time management strategies.

You can keep in touch with Mary at her Website:  http://www.marymannersromance.com/

And don’t forget to enter the Give Away!!!

CLICK HERE: a Rafflecopter giveaway