IWSG: Juggling Act . . .

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a community of writers who share ideas and encourage other writers.  It's a great place to express doubts and concerns as well as offer and receive tribulations and guidance from other writers. IWSG posts the first Wednesday of every month.  I think you'll find it to be a great writer's resource that's well worth your time.  Be sure to stop by and visit with some of the other IWSG writers/bloggers at IWSG Members.

August Co-Hosts:
Tamara Narayan
Tonja Drecker
Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor
Lauren @ Pensuasion
Stephen Tremp
Julie Flanders


Wow!  Just wondering where in the world July went!  And the first seven months of this year.  Anyone else feel like time is passing them by?  Between real life, family, work, writing, and social media (gotta build those contacts), I feel like a juggler - a very inept juggler.  How is anyone supposed to do it all?  How do you all do it all?

Don't get me wrong - I love my life.  But I just never seem to have the time to do everything that demands my attention.  And the bottom line is that by the end of the day (or the beginning of the next), after everything that must be done is done - aka Real Life - I often find myself spread way too thin.  Then, I'm faced with having to make a choice about the best use of what little time is left.  I want/need to write, and I need to attend to social media promotion obligations.  Many days, there is only enough time for one or the other.  No, I'm not talking about cruising emails, chatting on Facebook, surfin' the net, or general chit chat (all Fun things!).  I'm talking about writing Blog posts, tweeting books, promoting my writing - things to build a much needed following.  

Self-promotion seems to fall squarely on the shoulders of the author now.  And, I keep hearing you can't wait until you have a book/s written to start building a following.  You need one in place asap.  With limited writing time, how do you do justice to both writing & working self-promoting social media?  I realize many established authors hire someone to do a lot of their promotion work, but what can new writers trying to break into the business do? How do you juggle it all? 

August Question:   What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?  Answer:  My first collection of stories, written many years ago, was lost in a house fire.  There was no computer file as it was hand-written.  The next piece of work I remember completing is collecting dust in a file cabinet.  Note to self:  Take another look at it . . . maybe there's something there that could be salvaged or incorporated into another piece.