Time to Give Thanks and Get Organized: Writing Your Book

Time to Give Thanks and Get Organized 

Writing Your Book

With Thanksgiving week fast approaching I realize your time to write is going to take a hit. Writing your book may not have been on your top ten priority list, anyway. But, with the holiday season upon us it will take a place even further back than usual.

I speak to so many people who have dreamed of writing a book and becoming a published author. This is the best time to do it! Why? Because there is a new industry sprouting up and that is a self-publishing. Even traditionally published authors are sometimes self-publishing their books in order to expedite the turn around time. I will address the new rash of self-publishing houses owned by traditional publishers in a future blog post.

For today, don't put your writing project away quite yet. Before you get too caught up in the flurry make a list! I recently read a post that made me think! 6VAQJY4P6HT4 The suggestion was to make short lists that are manageable. For example no more that ten-twelve items at a time on a list! These are items you can get done that day.

I have an version of this system. I use yellow, or white pads of paper. You know, the legal kind where the pages flip over. I divide a line down the middle and put two headings. Today and Later. Under the today heading I have the items I must accomplish and under the later...things that crop up or I want to accomplish but I'm not sure I will get to today. It helps to keep my frustration level a bit lower!

I have on-going projects that will take weeks and it can be really disappointing to see them on my list day after day. For those I have a flow chart. I have one for books under contract, and another for a book line for books that will be released, including book promotion time lines. I am still tweaking these but hope to have them in an e-book version in 2010. This has been an invaluable help for me.

Just get it down on paper. Make sure you leave a few minutes a day to work toward your writing goals. Even if it is not putting words on paper, you will find that you are making progress if you are researching or editing. The most successful authors are those that sit on that chair, write and do not move! I have interviewed many of these wonderful authors and they all tell me the same thing. They just get it done. If they don't? The lose a contract.


I do want to take the time to say, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to post a comment, send an encouraging email or just read the blog, in general! It is because of people like you that there are writers like me. It has been my pleasure to host guest bloggers on this site, as well.

Before I end...one parting question...how do you get your writing tasks accomplished during the busy times of the year? Do you take a break or work through the holidays? I'll answer this question down below, and hope you'll post your advice as well.