Jacqui Jacoby on the web:
Continued from R&E
In his book Time Management for Writers, Ted Schwarz suggests that it is wise to write in a variety of areas in order to utilize your time more effectively. “You can be researching for one project, interviewing for another and writing a third. As you become tired of one, another is fresh in your mind.”
And if you come to think of it, it’s perfect practice for when the book deals do start pouring in. Once you have a signed contract, you will be expected to edit that manuscript -– while working on the next project. And if you are luckily enough to be on your third book deal or beyond, then you are going to need to promote the one you wrote way back when.
“In general, it’s best to write in the same manner that you would work in other fields,” Mr. Schwarz says in the above-named book. “A normal workday in an office, a factory, school or other place of employment is constantly changing. You are doing paperwork. Having meetings, selling, teaching, tuning up an engine, making a change for a customer or whatever. To do otherwise would become boring. You would begin slowing your pace. You would talk of ‘burn out’, just as writer’s talk of ‘writers’ block.’”
So we reinvent the way we wait. We just don’t look at the page quota that we have to put out each day to finish that novel. We look into other ways to work in the business, how to create a career.
We can volunteer to help with our chapter. Maybe it can be as elaborate as assisting the treasurer or as simple as judging their annual contest. We can volunteer for RWA, working at the national conference to introduce speakers. We can write articles and submit them to RWR or a local chapter newsletter. If it comes back, recheck the Writer’s Market and see where else it might fit. And it doesn’t just have to be an article on writing. Do you have a hobby? An area of expertise? Do you cook or garden or have some advice for a parenting magazine? Look at the entries in the Writer’s Market and see where you can submit.
Do you have a web page? Then it requires regular maintenance. And if you don’t, have you thought about getting one? It is a great place to organize and display your collection of work. It gives an editor a place to go and see what you have been doing.
Contests. Some writer’s swear by them. Others don’t think they are a place to waste your energy and money. But if you look down at the final round contest judges and the editor you have been wanting to present to is listed, then you just might have a shot at getting your manuscript into their hands.
Writing is the process of putting words onto the page and turning out a story that other people will want to read. A writing career is a series of jobs, all rolled into together that make up just that – a career.
It’s up to us, as the managers of our careers, to figure out where best to put our time to make the most out of what we have. We have to write the books, but there are so many other things we can do to further ourselves along the industry path. It’s a balancing act, of course, an act of inventing the writer we envision and then putting a plan into action to get us exactly where we want to be.
The crime wasn’t in what Trevor Grant had done. It lay in what was done to him. Now, years after he lost his family, he faces life in prison for his part in removing the guilty. In Hannah Parker’s mind, she has two strikes against her: she has too much money and too many brains. In her experience where one of these might blacklist you, the two together was a life sentence.
When the chance comes to see the boys on trial, their cause becomes her cause. With the silent resources behind her, she will work the system, securing the release of the men she believes innocent of conscience, if not the crime.
Strangers coming from different backgrounds, Trevor with Gavin, will join Hannah. She will become part of their everyday living—holding Trevor close—even as they keep an escape plan in place in case anyone ever looks twice and asks “do you live around here?”
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Great post! Writing, and life, is all about balancing many different things (and sometimes too many ;).
ReplyDeleteKeeps it interesting.
DeleteI'm always working on something. Right now, I'm finishing up with the editing of one book with my editor, waiting for a reply from my publisher on another book, writing another, and planning more. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteThank you both so much.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot to think about here, and that novella sounds intriguing.
Thank for both. And "interesting" is a good word. I wrote this talking to the characters asking "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"
DeleteGreat tips! Writing is a career. There's a lot to it.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to spread it around.
DeleteThese are some very good writing tips... I don't know if I could write 3 different books at a time though but I do see that it would help you not to be bored... xox
ReplyDeleteIt's how I don't get bored.
DeleteGreat advice Jacqui! So many things require time and attention - we've got to be creative!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I hope you find the place.
DeleteI'm a full-time freelancer, so I may be writing about cloud computing in the morning, garage doors in the afternoon, and middle-grade fiction in the evening! It does keep things fresh, for sure.
ReplyDeleteResearch!!
DeleteIt's a career that does keep you busy and creative. I love that, so I suppose that's why I continue to work at it. Thanks for the excellent post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for enjoying it.
DeleteIt's hard sometimes to find that balance with work and everything else, but that's so true that at an office you'd be doing all sorts of things throughout the day. We writers can too. Congrats, Jacqui!
ReplyDeleteSo true. I don't just write, but do many things associated with it. I've picked up many skills along the way.
ReplyDeleteWriting definitely involves many different things! I have learned a lot about websites and other areas that I never imagined I would know about. :) Finding my balance with my day job is probably my hardest challenge.
ReplyDelete~Jess