Fine-Tune Your Writing Vision

Some time ago I shared I was struggling with leaving my vacation time attitude, and moving back into the "workplace." I seriously struggled and no matter what, lists, deadlines or looming financial disaster (okay, so that is a little stretch), I could not make myself work.

However I soon found the root cause of this "funk" ...and none too soon... it was the lack of focus and vision. I had so many projects to work on, all with pending deadlines and I couldn't make time to finish even one! Until I was able to pull back, analyze my work load and make a plan, was I able to gain clarity and tackle the project one thing at a time.

Maybe you are a ball-juggler and like to have several projects going at once. I am one of *those* types of people. However, knowing which job to pick and put down is very important. I often run many things in my head at once and until I stop and take the time to write it down, it normally remains there.

Here are five keys to finding a focus and re-gaining your vision:

1. De-Clutter:
      While a messy desk may be the sign of a creative mind it wastes so much time! I recently de-cluttered my entire office, shelves, desk drawers, table tops and more and found so many things I had lost or misplaced months ago.

2. Organize
     If you clean and declutter and go back to your old way of doing things the same thing will happen. I have so much paper and often there are piles around my office. Now I've organized each group into specific places. This system is working well for me and helps contain the paper-monster piles.

1. Something I'm not finished with, but doesn't need my attention for awhile, goes into a folder and into a small holder beside my desk.
2. Work in progress into a notebook, sometimes with hole-punch and other times paper clipped (large ones) for easy flipping through. This works great for manuscripts that I'm reviewing, for example I have a final draft of the new Information in a Nutshell Book, "Taxes and Tips for Writer's" by Carol Topp sitting in a notebook at my desk waiting for ONE (hopefully) last set of eyes. (Book is due for pre-release in September.)
3. Important: This is pinned to one of my three bulletin boards. (Did you know I was a teacher?) Sticky notes for things to take care of and then discard, and more important to-do's are pinned on the board.
4. Completed project into a file and drawer.


3. Prioritize
     I'm open to suggestions on this one. I consider just about everything a NOW job! For example I am hosting several webinars and while hosting one I am taping behind the scenes sessions and planning and scheduling the next webinar. My list of to-do grows at this time and only with help can I accomplish everything in a timely fashion. Obviously a schedule is of major importance and the event schedule takes precedence over other deadlines. Which brings us to the next point...

4. Set Deadlines
I've found that I can work best under a deadline so I try to give each project a projected finish date. This has worked well and now with some help I am finding this to be a valuable aid. Having a mid-point date to re-evaluate is my goal, and would be wonderful, however I am not at that point. At least at this writing.

5. Celebrate
    All work and no-play makes Jane dull...and even if my name isn't Jane I've become dull at times. Racing to one deadline, only to begin another is seriously a recipe for disaster. I need time to regroup with my family, take a break and turn my computer off. Hibernate does not count! Taking time to celebrate the big and little events are a great way to get your focus back.

Whatever ways work for you, I hope you will share your successes here with me. What has worked for you and how do you handle one or more of the issues that plague even the most organized writers?

Writing Takes a Holiday

It IS vacation time, and here in Sunny Florida it began long before the thermometers topped 90 degrees. However, my brain seems to have decided that after my last live speaking event it too was taking a holiday. I can't seem to get myself motivated. There is no amount of prodding, calendar session planning, deadline setting and to-do list rituals that work right now. Nothing.

I have found myself missing important meetings, setting reminders on my phone for *very* important consults and meetings I can NOT miss, and using sticky-notes to paper my computer and office desk. 

All I want to do is go to the beach, enjoy sunsets such as this one shot by my daughter and enjoy other spectacular views from local restaurants and other places we frequent during the hot months. Work? Really? Must I? As a self-employed publisher, author and podcast host there are schedules I must keep year round.

As a normal schedule-holic I consult my schedule daily and usually tackle it with gusto, however due to the nature of my January through May schedule I was on overload. Possible, even for me. In my writing career spanning 19 years I have not experienced anything like this! I have discussed this phenomenon with others, especially new writers. I often hear people say "I don't have the time to write," or "I can't fit writing into my schedule."

A serious author who is goal-oriented can always fit writing into the schedule. Right? That is the ideal. However in real life the ideal doesn't always pan out. 

So, what am I doing to nix this holiday monster? First of all, I did take a much needed break. I have enjoyed the beach with unplanned company, my children and grandchildren. I have purposely left my computer home and didn't even check my phone or emails there. Of course I did check my emails daily...but only to put out fires if any.

This time away has encouraged me to relax and unwind, unhindered. It has allowed my fast-paced mind a time to slow down and T*H*I*N*K...  I realized I needed to re-organize, de-clutter and regroup before I began the next round of work related projects. And declutter I did! I shredded pages I no longer needed, I went through files on my desk and in my office. It feels great knowing where everything is and I am off to a fresh start when I begin my next project. This is not work in the sense of making important decisions or planning. However it has a wonderful outcome of allowing me to see that clean lovely space, like the top of my desk and it gives me a sense of happiness. I've listened to seminars and read so many books on organization in the past. The great tips on productivity only work if you have an organized space, so that is where I'm beginning.

I feel in the external de-clutter process the interior process is slowly becoming de-cluttered as well. It has been a time to think about my goals for the future. For the most part I truly enjoy working, I am passionate about what I do and feel it is led by God. While a crisis or two lately has challenged that peace I know that in the future I will emerge stronger and more Christ-focused in all that I am doing from here on out! With the de-clutter has come a time of re-evaluation and slowly that vision is unfolding.

In the next few blog posts I will discuss how you can regroup after a busy season and ways to re-evaluate your focus. Treating your writing as a business is important if you want to succeed in the sense of seeing your book in print. Treating yourself and your life away from your work with equal importance is also mandatory. The key is finding a balance and making it work in your life.

Publishers and Printers

Experts come in every shape and size. Some make you feel like you don't know very much and require their far superior information. Others explain way more than you'd ever want to know and make you wish you had never asked. And then there are the ones that are life-savers and are so helpful that you don't know what you'd do without them. Well, to a self published author a good printer is the life-saver, the one that makes us look good that can tweak, fudge and sends us back the manuscript for layout revisions if need be...or fix it on the spot with their pre-flight genius. (Pre-flight refers to the process a book goes through before it is printed.)

In the early days of my publishing career, I used the local printing shops to print up my books. I brought in a high quality laser copy. The company photo copied the pages. They were bulky, comb bound and I couldn't be more proud if the book had leather cover and gilded lettering. They were mine. I had sweated through the process, worked hard and ultimately finished after many, many setbacks. But, here it was in my hand and ready to be purchased by an eager reader, I was sure. The book retailed for $7.95 and was the first edition of "Teaching Science and Having Fun." My first official book speaking tour began with a conference in the Florida panhandle. I learned through a friend, that I had been chose as a Keynote speaker!

Armed with hundreds of books, the family trekked up the state to sell them. I am glad I listened to my husband and only printed 300. I had many books to trek back home. The conference was very well attended but many came to look and purchase at a later date. Questions came like a flock of geese heading south for the winter:

 "Do you ship?"

"How much does it cost to ship?"

"Do you sell wholesale?"

"How much do you discount?"

Shipping? Wholesale? Discounting? What was all that? All I wanted to do was write a book and publish it not become a one-man storefront. I soon learned the process after much help from very kind people, like the lady who took about 50 books off of my hands to sell, and others who followed suit. The first bit of advice I received was to leave the price off the back cover of the book and raise the price to at least $12.95 so I could wholesale it at 40-50 percent discount. (Wow, that much! Little did I know that other larger wholesalers required 55-60% discount.)

Well, I'm still in business, the book in question now retails for $16.95 and is in it's 5th edition, and was selected as on of the top 100 Homeschool Curriculum. It has been used in Christian schools by educators, in co-ops and right here in my own home. In fact, I'll use it in the morning to reference the best place to purchase slowing agent for our upcoming Biology co-op.

I am especially thankful to my printer, now an offset printing company that prints the books in larger runs. The books are digitized and I can upload them with a click of a button from my computer to the company's website. The book sports a 4-color cover these days and nice quality paper on the inside. This definitely is a much improved version. It really helps to have a printer that can answer questions and works with me on upcoming projects.

I will be interviewing an expert, Mike McCoy who has lots of experience in the field of book printing, both commercial and with self-published authors. He offers personalized service and consultations on projects no matter how large or how small! Remember my husband's advice? Keep that first print-run small unless you have pre-sold books and know how you will discount and ship them! Better to be safe than in debt! Besides, you can always print a larger run the next time.

Marketing Strategy 9: Black Book of Business Contacts

If you have been keeping up with my other Marketing Strategy Posts, this may very well be the most valuable of all. This is one of my top ten secrets for aspiring authors...that is for those of you who are considering authoring a book. If you already have a book in print don't worry, it is not too late to use this advice to your advantage.

In the world of business there is the coveted "book of business" that contains key contacts. Usually a list is amassed over  the years of doing business. The longer you are in business and are successful the more valuable your contacts become.

A book of business would vary greatly by industry. A contractor's contact list might be different from those of an attorney. While an insurance sales person would have a contact list that was not industry specific, but based upon clients who have purchased from them in the past. Who would be in the book? This may include previous clients, contacts in the media, or people you know who are great at referrals. This list of people would be in your niche market, or those that would be the most interested in your book topic. You are not going to include your plumbers name in the list, no matter how important he may be unless you have a book that is geared to the plumbing industry.

In the world of writing and publishing your book of business may contain some of the suggestions listed below. Don't limit yourself to these categories, and by all means if you have additional suggestions, please share!

Pre-Book Publication:
Writing and Publishing Book of Business Contacts:

Agents
Publishers
Graphic Artists
Editors
Printers (for self-publishers)
Publicity
Book Club Reviewers
Speakers associations
Magazine or print editors
Valuable online contacts
Social networking websites

This list will grow as you slowly get closer to your publication date. I have a list of twelve people I use with each book I print. Does this list vary, yes...but I am so happy the major leg work is over. I know who I am going to use to layout and create the cover of each book, I know who I'll choose to edit, distribute, or help with publicity. I know who I will call to set up speaking engagements, help with promotions and share my information via speakers bureaus and networks. What a time saver!

Do you have a list of people that you will use to help you as your book project grows near completion? If not, begin today.

Organization for Authors

There are many things I feel confident in doing, but organization isn't one of them. I have invested in the books, read, highlighted and sticky-noted them (to prove they were used), and even implemented some of the more noteworthy strategies. I’ve learned some valuable tidbits along the way. But, unfortunately bad habits die hard.

I use many excuses as to why I can’t be organized a few of them are as follows:

I enjoy being creative and a messy desk is the sign of creative activity.
If I spent my time being organized I'd never write!
Why put that paper away when I’ll need it in a few minutes?
I’ll do it later.

Well, all of these sentiments do hold a tiny kernel of truth, but the fact remains, I have often spent hours looking for a valuable piece of information that I can't find. I heard that when all those wasted hours are added up, we can spend as much as 6 weeks of time total in one year looking for things. That makes even the most unorganized person (like me) cringe! It’s not that I don’t want to be organized, I do. But, I consider organization to be work and work is something that takes effort...and then…well…it’s so much easier to lay down that piece of paper rather than using up much needed brain cells to figure out where the paper goes. Besides, in order for me to file I need folders that are labeled and a place to put them and that takes t*i*m*e...the 4-letter work most full time authors don't have in their vocabularies.

As an author, I need to be somewhat organized in my business as well as my personal life. I have used many systems; in fact I feel I’ve tried just about every suggestion that made sense to me. At one time I used notebooks, tabbing important pages with sticky notes or using dividers that I created or purchased. Then, I switched to file cabinets but I have never liked files. When I tired of the file cabinets I went to baskets in matching styles but in various sizes. I even organized the children’s toys in baskets and I loved the way it looked. The problem with baskets is you can easily dump an a sundry of items that don’t belong…quicker than you can say, “clean up now!”

I enjoyed using the baskets for my business as well. The end of the baskets came when then, new accountant walked into my office, and looked with disdain at my baskets overflowing with papers, and said in a no-nonsense voice, “You have got to be kidding me.” She quickly requisitioned file cabinets, folders and a system that I still have in place, today. I still insisted on a basket for office supplies, and miscellaneous items.

My favorite way to organize is digitally. I make back-ups upon back-ups of computer information. I have crashed more external hard drives than I care to mention. I seem to have no problem creating a folder on my computer and placing the appropriate pieces of information neatly where it belongs. Although, I have to admit, old habits remain and when I’m in a hurry, everything goes on the desktop to be organized at a later date. I quickly drag the files in the appropriate folders and if there isn’t one I quickly make and label a new file. Why can’t life be so easy? Just drag and drop.

Here are some techniques I have used that work very well for those oh so important bits of information that every author needs.

1. Place important information I need to access soon in a file folder, in a free standing hanging folder on my desk. I can label a new folder or use a catch all to keep those scraps that would otherwise clutter my desk. When I need a that paper, I remember where I “threw” it, retrieve use it and then file it if needed or place it back in the file to use again.

2. Important phone numbers: Easily my cell phone is the best place for numbers, but then I sync my phone to my computer and I print out my list to place in a 3-ring notebook. I have clear business card holders in the back from networking events, or from customers, vendors, or clients. I love this for ease of use. I can grab the book and find everything quickly. I use this one book for multiple businesses, but you may choose to separate home and business.

3. General Important business information: this notebook is for information I don’t need everyday but it is useful to have access when needed, such as: copies of my tax ID number, information about how to file specific information online, passwords, and copies of business licenses, ISBN numbers, and trademark information, etc.

I invite you to listen to my recent interview with prolific author, Cindy Rushton, as she shares her organization techniques with the listening audience. It was wonderful show. Listen here: http://www.WritingandPublishingRadio.com

That’s all for now…I think you have enough to get started or better yet, if you have a great technique, please post it below so we can all learn. I have made great strides in getting organized and find it is a daily struggle, one I hope to conquer one day soon! Maybe I need to write a book on organization, that is one way to become organized (or at least tell others how to do it!) Until next time, keep writing!