Blogger: Mary Keeley
So much about the writing life has to do with time and no more so than in this season of the year. Time for meeting your self-imposed deadline or the publisher’s due date is at a premium, and if you’re like two clients I talked to recently, you’re hoping to be more effective next year. Because there always is room for improvement, even for seasoned authors, I’ll approach this need from a couple of angles, which might help you discover new ways to augment your work in the daily time you have for your writing life.
I’m pretty organized, which is helpful in my agent role. For example, I have email and 
document systems in place for each client so I can locate information and correspondence in no time at all. I have records for tracking my submission of each client’s proposals and publishers’ feedback. This comes easily for me so this is one of my strengths.
Now think about what comes easily for you and what doesn’t. Which of the following areas of your writing life are you confident you can accomplish efficiently? Which areas take you longer to address and tempt you to “put off til later”?
- Brainstorming the concept for your next book
- Getting your rough draft completed
- Defining your brand and reinforcing it throughout your social media, on your website, and everywhere you write
- Networking with other authors who might be future endorsers and with whom you can share guest blogs
- Staying current with the publishing industry to increase your business savvy
- Gathering your tribe and influencers and beta readers
- Research and editing of your work
- GPS – grammar, punctuation, and spelling
- Developing a thick skin for the long haul of the writing life
- Self-discipline
Chances are you’re already aware of your strengths and weaknesses to a point, but when you measure it from a time-requirement perspective, you might find a few surprises. For instance, say you’ve found your sweet spot social media platform and are connecting easily with potential readers, but it takes a huge chunk of your writing-life time. Discipline of your time in this area, and perhaps others too, is an identifiable weakness. If you can do nothing else over the busy Christmas holidays, creating a time allotment for each aspect in your daily writing life already puts you a step ahead going into next year.
Now is the time to take inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Look into ways to bolster where you are strong and pursue help for weak areas. One client, who has almost a quarter million books in print, is often asked how she can do so much in terms of marketing, networking, teaching at conferences, and guest appearances, while writing so many books. She attributes her uber-productivity to the fact that she’s also a mathematician and uses her analytical mind to develop ideas on a spreadsheet, which allows her to see the big picture in a simple, logical format. Her first step is to read recent releases from publishers she’s targeting. Next, she brainstorms a seemingly marketable concept that is unique in focus and theme and then enters the details on her spreadsheet. From there she launches into the writing with a clear vision for the book.
TAKEAWAY: Systems make some creative minds cringe at the thought of being “restrained” within a structured system. But they’re necessary considering the many hats writers wear in today’s writing world. You, too, can develop systems that are adapted for your unique strengths. This month, when publishing and social media interaction slow down, is an optimum time to get them in place for a good beginning next year. And take heart: systems aren’t meant to be rigid and unforgiving. They’re tools. You are in control of them, not the other way around. Refine where and when necessary, BUT maintain their purpose.
Another client is quite strong in almost all the necessary skills, but she recognized she’s been putting her author website on the back burner because she was unsure of how to design and construct it in a way that best reinforces her brand and communicates her uniqueness as an author. Eventually she realized that, because it isn’t a good use of her time to try and figure this out herself, she needed to get help from a professional web designer.
TAKEAWAY: Don’t waste time or put weak areas off. Get help when you need it. You will be a happier, more confident author entrepreneur.
What are your strengths and weaknesses? When you viewed the list from a time perspective, did you discover any surprises? Share a system or schedule that has helped you and might help other writers too.
TWEETABLES:
Every writer has strengths and weaknesses. See how to bolster strengths and compensate for weaknesses. Click to Tweet.
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Handling Contradictory Feedback
Hi Mary,
I’m trying to structure my time so I write in the mornings when I’m fresh and more productive. I need to do social media after work when I’m tired.
I like your idea of paying somebody to create a website for me. It took me a long time to figure out my blog. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi Jackie. Your author website is so important. Hiring a professional to create it–especially one who knows the unique needs of an author website–is a wise decision that will pay off in the long haul of your writing career.
Great post, Mary! I think it’ll be a big help to a lot of writers (and others can use the approach you laid out, as well).
* I have a system, but it’s aimed a bit differently; having drawn the metaphorical aces and eights, both professionally and personally, I have to build up my morale from absolute zero every day. Before developing a strategic plan, I have to find a reason to show up. For what it’s worth, here’s how – my Twelve Steps for Hanging On (and I apologize for the length) –
1) Rise early (0430 here), shower, shave, and dress for the day. No sleeping in, no dressing gown – ever. No exceptions. Lazy exceptions become the rule when morale is crumbling
2) No TV, no radio. Commercial television and radio do not bear mentioning, but even Christian media became an irritant – the “Just hang on, God’s got a plan for your life!” has seemed particularly hollow in the past few days, at least in its temporal interpretation. God is real, but He’s not Santa. Ask His Son.
3) No bad language. Hard for me, given my background, but it sets a negative tone.
4) Start writing as early as possible, at least in blog commenting…and keep those comments positive and encouraging.
5) Read for encouragement. Don’t take the trip back to ‘Cold Mountain’ when you feel like your life is crumbling. Don’t DO that to yourself.
6) If you need powerful pain meds, make sure you keep moving when they’re working. Don’t fall asleep during what should be waking hours. No ‘power naps’.
7) Do something you like, outside the writing sphere, every day. Ihave the dogs, of course, but also I try to do something with the aeroplanes, even if it’s to lay out a bracket for cutting tomorrow. I can’t physically do much, but I can physically do SOMETHING every day.
8) Don’t listen to negative people, no matter who they are – spouses included. And don’t read negative industry commentaries when your morale’s low. Case in point – an industry website recently published an article describing how long the odds are against becoming a successful author. I read it, and felt worse about my place in this world for days…and in thinking back, I’m not sure what the author’s motivation was. To weed out the weaklings by applying a cold-water soak? Doesn’t he realize that we are ALL sometimes weak? It is a place to which I may not choose to return. I know the odds; I don’t need that.
9) Respect your own values and your craft. Don’t say, even to yourself, “Well, I guess I just can’t write…” It may be true, it may not, but if you still want to try, you’re not helping yourself by being your own most cruel critic.
10) Be responsive; open and answer email, even the ones you’d rather put aside, and reply to comments on your own social media places as quickly as possible. Interaction fuels purpose.
11) This is going to sound stupid – but if you’re pushing a MS up a seemingly vertical slope in finding representation, set up the book in CreateSpace, make a cover, and get a proof copy. Hold up on actually publishing, of course (you can always do that later), but seeing and holding a bound copy of the book into which you’ve invested so much makes it much more real and meaningful (and you’re not ripping off CreateSpace…you do pay a bit for it, but it’s not exorbitant).
12) Finally, and most importantly, treat those with whom you come in contact with respect and courtesy. Listen and think before speaking, and listen MORE than you speak. Be encouraging, because that is the only way to your own true courage.
Thanks for sharing these beautiful thoughts, Andrew! You are a true encourager!
Thanks, Jackie!
Great list, Andrew!
Andrew, these are all great tips! I love your emphasis on keeping and nurturing a positive attitude. Sick or not, this is essential.
Jeanne, you made an excellent point, and that is that a positive attitude HAS to be nurtured. Like an orchid, it won’t stay alive in you house all by itself.
I’d like, if I may, to add a ‘lucky 13th step’ to the twelve above –
13) Do NOT journal your woes and fears. Many people will advise, “Let it out!”, but there’s strong evidence that it’s not a good idea. Jonathan Shay, in his landmark work on PTSD in Viet Nam veterans (“Achilles in Viet Nam”) found that the use of catharsis in group-therapy settings resulted in increased suicide rates.
* I believe it was Robert E.Lee who said, “never take counsel of your fears,” and by journaling them, giving them both voice and a physical, written reality, one does exactly that.
I so agree with that, Andrew. It’s not good to focus on the bad … we should override the bad with good. It doesn’t mean we’re in denial, it means we want to be healthy. Give the good the upper hand in our hearts and minds. Meditating on Scripture … just one … one short one …
Shelli, I wholeheartedly agree that Scripture is vital. I tend not to be helped by single passages; content and context work better for me. Are there others out there like that, or am I something of an outlier?
* One of the reasons I’ve dropped Trinity Broadcasting from my viewing is for something along those lines, I think. Most of the ‘feed’ for those in deep trouble is an explicit comparison with the heroes and ‘success stories’ of the Bible; Joseph and David and Daniel. While it would be nice to be able to take to heart Max Lucado’s words in the title of his latest book – “You’ll Get Through This” – the fact of the matter is that I probably won’t. The last three days have underlined this, with a vengeance.
* But there are the unsung Biblical heroes…like my favourite, Uriah the Hittite. In the brief part he plays in David’s story, his courage, honour, and character are a beacon and an inspiration. His end, at David’s betrayal, is the culmination of David’s classical tragedy, but one can imagine that Uriah met his end with the strength and valour that’s implicit in his lonely yet thundering voice.
And Paul said, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”
* Thank you, Andrew, for leaving a trail of admirable things.
Shirlee, thank you…whatever inspiration I may bring, I draw it from the giants among whom I am privileged to stand. And all I sees is kneecaps.
Andrew, certifiably, these comprise the best 12-Step Program for Authors. This system should be a keeper for all of us in this industry and beyond.
Mary, thank you so much!
I had the great good fortune to be born into a GPS family (Grandma won the state spelling bee and insisted that her five daughters use good grammar–even when arguing). Add to that years of writing/editing practice on-the-job. I prayerfully brainstorm during my hour-long commute. I’m enough of a techie to build and manage our church’s and my own website.
* My weaknesses show up as I move through the spheres of my life: work, church (hubby is a pastor), home, writing and social connections–on line and in person. I get stuck in one sphere and neglect others. I so admire the ability Jesus demonstrated to be fully present in the moment without losing sight of the overall goal.
* One final thought–I can create my own website. I’d rather pay someone to create a clean house.
Clean house? Haha! I mentioned hiring somebody to clean our house earlier this year before my son graduated from college. Once we heard the quote from a cleaning lady, my husband decided we could do it together and use the money for something better. So we cleaned. But we did have most of the food catered. It’s all good!
Shirlee, did you know early on that your grandma’s influence was preparing you for your writing career? What a blessing to have that strength built in from an early age. My English-teacher mother did that for m too. You and I also share our preference for creating publishing work and paying for a clean house.
Oh, Mary! When I was 8, I didn’t like having my grammar corrected. When I was 16, I thought I wrote better than the other kids in my class because I was smarter. I had to cross that 30 year mark to give credit where it was due. To quote my father (the bad-grammar side of the family), “We grow so soon old and so late smart yet.”
Good suggestions, Mary! From a time perspective, I need to get my blogging aspect into a more manageable time frame. I enjoy it, but it’s been taking time lately.
*Strengths: Completing a rough draft fairly quickly, keeping up with industry changes via reading blogs like this one ( 🙂 ) Putting writing time on my calendar like an appointment. Once it’s on there, I don’t schedule anything else in that time slot.
I’m going to review this post and see what systems I can put in place for a more productive 2016.
Jeanne, It’s not surprising that self-discipline is one of your strengths because it’s revealed in many of your comments, including this one. Your systematic approach to your writing time is helpful for those here who struggle with it. Thanks for sharing.
The 2 stand-outs for me are time and thick-skinnedness. Oh look, I just made up a word.
I think one of the reasons God waited until *I* was ready is I had gossamer skin when it came to criticism. Mildly instructive words, seriously, like grammar, would put me in a sour mood for days.
Now, I’m more of “a few hours of righteous indignation, rant to trusted friends, and consume chocolate” type of person. At least I think I am.
If the advice comes from certain people, I’ll just chew about 3 helpings of Double Bubble, get a good wad going and pop a bubble in the general direction of whoever annoyed me. And smack the living daylights out of that gum, just to ramp up the effect. Because that is how mature I am.
As for time, I do social media first each morning, then kick into writing gear once that’s all done. My kids are in school and so I have til 3:30-4pm each day. Then at night, once the castle has settled down, I can write til I’m done in and can’t read my screen anymore.
At least that’s the plan 😉 .
It took me a while to come around to that schedule.
As for the rest? I’m so incredible, I give off a glow.
And delusional. I’m on pain meds, so I can’t be held responsible for anything I say this week.
I know that grammar thing. My mom would always correct me, and it stung. Now … because I want to be the best I can be … I’m like grasping for grammar help, any help. 😉
Here’s a tip: Y’all is plural.
“Jennifer, are you gonna climb that fence with the spikes on the top?”
The grammatically proper response to that is: “Are y’all (reference to ALL Texans) this crazy?”
People, Google Old Fort Parker, Groesbeck, TX and look closely at the fence “posts”.
Some tour guides find humour in suggesting their guests, who are infamous for climbing fences, climb that particular fence.
That would have left someone grasping for help, all right…
😉
Yes … “Y’all” is definitely plural, meaning “You all” … it’s not “ya’ll” … I used to think that. I’ve grown in my grammar, see?! 😉
Um…I’m here to attest to the fact that you’ve grown beyond the Double Bubble stage, Jennifer. One of your added strengths is your ease in networking with other authors and beta readers. You don’t hesitate to get help where and when you need it, and you eagerly help other writers who need encouragement.
Mary, I love the way you described Jennifer Major. She really is a blessing in this community and beyond.
Thank you, Mary.
I try to be as helpful as I can.
And thank you, Jenni.
Great article, Mary. I’m going to sit down this season and do this exercise. I think it will really help in planning out my 2016 strategy.
I’m glad you find it helpful, Amber. I hope you have a productive 2016.
It sounds so cliche, but for me, it really is all about planting myself in the chair … aiming my focus in the chair. If I have an article or blog post I need to start, but I’m really wanting to work on my MS … I have to be disciplined and make myself. I’ll say to myself, “Where am I going with this? I don’t know. When I know, I’ll head that direction.” No. You sit down and head that direction now. 🙂 And then I do … I win the internal battle … I accomplish what needs to be done … and I feel so relieved. 🙂 And I’m even ahead of schedule. My mother may correct my grammar (though she’s starting to learn a few lessons from me now), but she praises my discipline.
**And I saw recently where Deborah Raney was talking about the “Nifty 350” by James Scott Bell … where you write 350 words a day. That’s such a few words … it’s doable … and then you usually end up writing more.
Winning the internal battle. Shell, I know you speak for most writers, because that’s exactly what it takes sometimes. You remind me that growth in self-discipline can be described as fortitude, which you’ve expressed so well here. Just a couple of your many strengths. Thanks for your input.
Mary, I have a social-media time-management question for the successfully published writers or their agents who know. On a typical day, how many blog comments that get a response, how many emails, how many Facebook friend visits that should be acknowledged does an author get? How much time does it typically take to give the kind of personal response that fans would like? The numbers for a moderately successful author are what I’d like most.
I really appreciate how you all make a comment on our comments. It is rare, and it makes me feel like I matter to you even though I’m not a client. I want to do the same for my future fans, but I can see where it could consume huge amounts of time. I’d love to know what that actually looks like for some of your published authors.
Excellent questions, Carol, that I’ve wondered many times. Thank you for asking.
I don’t know if this will help – I’m a published author, though not a client (sales figures are not stellar, and I do not have an agent), but for what it’s worth here are some numbers –
* My blog, published three (sometimes four) times a week, will typically get 5 comments Monday and Wednesday, and 20-40 on Friday (the occasional fourth post gets 5-10 comments). I try to answer all comments within 24 hours, though recently I’ve been unable, due to a drastically worsened physical profile, I wasn’t able to keep that up…but I am working on a strategy by which available energy can be husbanded to that end.
* I haven’t had much presence on either Facebook or Twitter, partly because FB tends to crash my computer, but more tellingly, because I haven’t caught the knack of interaction on those platforms. There’s always something to learn.
* Finally, I typically get 5-10 emails per day relating to writing, and again try to answer within 24 hours (though it’s best, I’ve found, to answer them immediately if I can).
* To me, interaction is the raison d’etre of writing. I’ve been most impressed by authors who took the time to give a thought-out personal response to a simple, “Hey, LOVED your book!” email I sent, and some of these have become fast and wonderful friends.
Mary, I very much appreciate your end-of-year posts. They always provide good fodder for planning. I need to think and pray on this for a while, but my initial thought is that I need to do better with planning writing time away from the house. Thanks, also, to the many wonderful commenters and their wisdom!
Meghan, with your homeschool schedule, I understand your need to have more writing time away from home. I hope you find a way to work it in next year.
I just read something I thought might contribute to the discussion – it’s from “Inferno – The Epic Life And Death Struggle of the USS Franklin In World War II”, by Joseph Springer.
* It’s part of the oral history given by Joseph Robbins, who was a fighter pilot with VF-13 –
* “What kept me going were the men around me. I had a good buddy who was such an inspiration to me, and he probably wasn’t even aware of it. Some guys would pace the deck all night long, worrying about whether they were going to die, while he would lie in his bunk, read a chapter in his Bible, drink two ounces of whiskey, roll over, and go to sleep. He said, ‘I’ll just turn it over to the Lord and I’m not going to worry about it.’ That’s what I did. It kept me going.”
* The lesson this unnamed pilot knew, and one I think we should all take to heart, is that there are simply things that are beyond our control. He could not predict the flak that might kill him, or the weather that, through which he was compelled to fly, would leave him lost and alone over the ocean.
* And we are in the same position – we cannot predict the market, or the preferences of agents and editors, or the illnesses and heartaches that may strike at the prime of life. We can only place our best and most educated efforts in the hands of God, and that has to be enough.
I eat lunch weekly with a bunch of retired friends who are mostly 10-20 years older than me and mostly not believers. They plan their financial matters as if they’ll live forever and told me I shouldn’t start my social security at 62 because I maximize payout by waiting until 75. My response: I could die before any of them since life expectancy numbers are just averages and probabilities, not guarantees. For everyone who hits 85, someone dies at 65 to get a 75-year average lifespan. As my 31-year-old friend dying of brain cancer said, there really isn’t any difference between 31 and 72 compared to eternity with God. What really matters is if you belong to Jesus before you die. When you do, you can face the “early departure” like that pilot. Chris’s words shared at her funeral were probably the greatest gift she ever gave me.
Hand salute…EXECUTE! Beautiful, Carol.
Andrew, this is such good advice. I’ve been in situations where listening to all the negative talk around me–focusing on our own inabilities–actually made me fail at the task at hand. Given the chance for a do-over, I stood apart from the others and kept a positive attitude while awaiting my turn. That time I succeeded. My abilities didn’t change in the meantime, but my attitude changed. That made all the difference, and it was a valuable lesson to learn. There are good and bad sides to everything, and there will always be things outside of our control. Why not focus on the positive, do the best we can, and leave the rest to God?
Exactly that, LC – our abilities haven’t changed, but what carries the day is attitude.
Amen, Andrew.
Thanks, Peggy.
If anyone would like to read a masterful blog about meeting the vicissitudes of the writing life with a valiant and God-soaked heart of triumph, I would strongly recommend Cathy West’s writings, “This is a Blog about…Life…Mostly” (https://thisisablogaboutbooks.wordpress.com).
* Her words and thoughts are brilliant, and she’s given me strength and courage on so many occasions…the strength to carry on, and the courage to hope.
* I am Asian, and not a hugger by nature, but I would dearly love to meet her, and receive a comradely embrace from this giant. I imagine it would be kinda like getting a hug from Thor.
I second your thoughts on Cathy’s blog. She writes jaw-dropping stuff.
And, umm, yes on the “Thor hug”. Both from Thor, and from Mrs. Thor. She may be a wee thing, but she is all muscle.
Back from vacation and catching up on blog reading. A goal for the new year is to strengthen my writing schedule to be more consistent. Instead of waiting for the ideal “chunk” of time to get a lot on the page, I’d like to discipline myself to writing more frequently, even if in shorter bursts. It’ll condition me, I believe. With that said, I think a strength of mine is rewriting. Once the shell is down, I love spending time adding to, taking away from, and polishing a piece of writing.