Wednesday, August 3, 2016

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.

4 comments:

Chrys Fey said...

I look at my blog as a major part of my marketing, promoting, brand, etc, so if I write a blog post, I count it as writing. I may have to sacrifice time from my WIPs to do it, but a blog post (or ten) still count to me. Sometimes I take a whole day just to write several blog posts so I have them ready to go when I need them.

Lost in a house fire? That is my worst fear!!!!!

Sandra Hoover said...

Great idea, Chrys! I hadn't thought about it like that. Jumping between blog posts, WIP, Twitter, etc., keeps me a bit off balance...maybe in time I'll get a handle on it.
And yes - lost in a house fire. I still had a lot of things packed away (including my manuscript) at my parent's house when it burned to the ground in the middle of the night. Scary stuff! But everyone got out safe.

Nancy Gideon said...

Reuse, repurpose, recycle - my motto. Check that bad boy again for useful parts! And Crys is right - writing is writing.

Sandra Hoover said...

Yes M'am! :) Slowly but surely, I think I'm getting it. It's just hard to juggle everything and still feel like I give enough to each part of my life. I know it can be done...you're a shining example! As always, Write On, Nancy!