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Monday, February 13, 2017

Monday Planning



Currently listening to: "Way Down We Go" by Kaleo

It's Monday, and it's a work day! Baby steps, still, baby steps.

Being as sick as I have the past month has reinforced the necessity of something I've been thinking - but not doing - for a while now. It's time to get more organized. My book-publishing MO tends to be "work as fast you can" and "decide where you're going when you get there." This is partly because I'm really impatient, just in general. Partly because I have too many projects I want to wok on. And partly because I don't want to disappoint my readers by making them wait. But as I've realized, while I've had much too much time to reflect on things while I recover at a snail's pace, this way of doing things actually makes the process much more difficult and stressful than it needs to be.

Organization is important.

Specifically, for me, organizing projects and planning release dates far enough in advance. It's time for me to face facts: I have too much to do these days to get away with "when it's done" anymore.

This weekend, I looked through my projects folder and my calendar, and opened myself up to the idea of scheduling work time for projects I don't plan to release until fall of 2018. I laid out release dates for several big works I want to incorporate into my schedule, and the best part was, planning that far ahead, I felt relieved rather than stressed. I've been frustrated lately, thinking there are books I want to write but don't have time for. Putting them on the schedule helped with that stress. It was really freeing to think of the next two years, rather than worry about trying to get everything done at once.

My new strategy is to save "brainstorm" files on my computer for my future projects. When inspiration strikes, I go type up the notes, and then make myself step back. Priorities! And then when it's time to really dig into the meat and potatoes of writing those stories, I'll get to it.

It's been so easy for me to add extra work - new spinoffs, new bonus scenes, holiday stories, promises to title books I don't have time to write. I still want to be able to provide free and bonus content - I don't do the ARC thing with bloggers; if I'm giving stuff away, I want it to go to fans and regular readers - but I have to be better about managing my writing time, and making sure I have time to work on the big projects that are important to me.

Right now it's full-steam ahead on American Hellhound. I have a feeling that when everyone reads this book, they'll ask for a follow-up about a specific character. It's a possibility, for sure, but it's got to wait its turn and find a spot in the schedule. Too many books, not enough hours in the day!



In case you missed it, I released a post-Walking Wounded Valentine's Day short story titled "Love Is..." yesterday. You can find it here on Amazon.

3 comments:

  1. I understand this on a spiritual level. I've been trying to be more organized this year too (cutting down on social media has helped too) and I've now started a yearly plan. I have in my head which books I want to publish this year, and the rest get pushed to a later year. My problem was that I would get caught up with so many shiny new ideas that I wasn't actually getting any work done. Now, I'm seeing a difference with productivity, so that's good.

    I'll be reading Love is ... tonight. :) And my eye is twitching for American Hellhound!

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    1. Social media is the devil. You have to use it, but you have to avoid getting sucked into its web. I've been trying to just log on, post what I need to post, and GTFO. Haha. I have the shiny new idea problem too. When whatever I'm working on seems to drag and take forever, and then a new idea comes up on the horizon, and all I want to do is drop everything and concentrate on it. It's a false salvation - like a heat mirage in the desert. But I end up getting frustrated because I wish I could work on five or six things at once. I'm glad to hear organizing your release schedule helped you! It gives me hope that it will help me too. I already feel a little freer.

      Hellhound is making my eye twitch too...just for a different reason! :)

      xo

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  2. Wow! Looks like something is VERY SECRET after the dots:) Well, i just read a valentines book named "Eleanor & Park"a week earlier and that was fantastic really. Is your book is available in kindle or not?

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