Staying Focused As A Self-Published Writer

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places." - Author Unknown

If anyone has noticed lately, my blog posts have fallen sort of flat over the last few weeks. It's not because I haven't had interesting things to talk about. Part of it is just that I've been busy with writing and trying to get the first three books of my upcoming young adult series finished and out the door. The other part...well...it's a combination of complacency, procrastination and a tad bit of laziness.

Being my own boss, I fall victim to many different things. It's easy to procrastinate - to put things off that don't need to be done right away. Sometimes, this causes me to put things off indefinitely. It's never my intention to do that, it just...well...happens. I also tend to hyper focus on one thing and neglect the others. For example, I'll get so focused on writing, that I'll completely ignore my marketing efforts for that day, or vice versa.

I'm not a lazy person by nature. If anything, I am known as a workaholic and I tend to push my own limits sometimes when I try to get projects done in a timely manner. But lately I've just been under a spell, not really caring if anything gets done and just feeling fatigued and worn out for who knows what reasons. I think it may just be lack of structure that's bringing all these things to my daily routine.

See, being a self-published, full-time writer is hard. I know some people think I'm living the dream by making my own hours and getting to do what I love - which is to write - full time. But there's so much more to this profession than just writing. There's marketing, there's cover design, there's marketing, there's blogging, there's marketing, there's social networking, there's...you get the point. Add in the fact that this can be a very lonely job, and you have the makings of a challenging career.

I'm sure many other writers, both who are doing this full time and who are doing it aside from a typical 9-5, experience some of these same issues I have been plagued with. And since this is my career, and not just my hobby, I've been forced to create a set of remedies to try and counteract some of these vices. I figured I'd share them with my fellow writers who are struggling to stay focused on their daily tasks, and hopefully help them accomplish their short term and long term goals.

First, I make a daily list of what needs to be done. I make this list the night before and have it sitting on my desk/computer desktop first thing when I wake up in the morning. The list details everything I need to get done during the day and the order which those things need to be done.

I for one find myself more disciplined in my writing efforts in the morning, so I make writing one of my first tasks each day. This includes blog post writing, working on my novel projects, even interviews or guest posts.

I tend to market and social network better later in the day, after I am completely awake and alert to the world. So I set most of my marketing tasks such as trolling the forums, emailing people, and commenting on fellow authors' blog posts for the afternoons.

Second, I am learning the value of getting out of my environment for a while and cutting out distractions. Sitting at my desk, in my apartment, for 10-12 hours a day can drive one insane. Granted, I love having a sanctuary of sorts to get away from the world so I can focus, but working in an area where the television, the internet, and the phone are so easily accessible makes getting things done a bit of a challenge sometimes.

Lately I've been trying to make it a point to head for library for a few hours in the morning to concentrate on writing. Cutting off all internet, I take a seat at one of the large tables overlooking the man-made lake behind our local library, pop in my headphones, crank up the beats, and write for a few hours. During the evenings of certain nights of the week, I meet up at the coffee shop with a friend of mine and we focus solely on writing.  

Third, I set up a system of discipline. Having a wife has it's benefits in terms of a writer's career. She helps keep me on track. I have it set up where if I don't complete certain goals on time or if I don't keep myself disciplined and do what I need to do, my wife can ground me from certain things that I like to do in my spare time. I have a gamer's heart and denying me a bit of R and R on the Xbox 360 is enough motivation for me to work hard to get done what I've set out to get done. I know it may seem a bit childish, but it works. If I was in a typical work environment and I didn't get requested projects finished, there would be consequences, so why shouldn't the same apply in my writing career?

On the flip side, if I accomplish my projects on time, I usually give myself a half day/full day off to veg. This usually comes after I've worked a 50+ hour workweek to get my projects done, so the rest and relaxation is refreshing, and the satisfaction that comes with finishing a project is great too.

Fourth and final, I make sure to keep up the boundaries between my personal time and work time. Being a full time writer, it's easy to say you have time for lunch with a friend or to help a friend or relative with a task they need a hand with. But this writing career should be treated like any other. You wouldn't be able to just leave when you want from a typical job.

I'm not saying we have to go to extremes here. I believe there is a time for everything. But I've had major issues in the past where people I know don't really think of what I'm doing as a full time job and constantly contact me for favors or to hang out even though I have projects that desperately need to get done. In the past I've given in out of guilt, but more recently I've put my foot down and treated my writing as the business it is. As an alternative, I'll sometimes offer a time that works with my schedule to help/hang out with my friends and family.

As a self-published writer, my livelihood is resting on my ability to stay focused, to put aside distractions, and to resist the lure of laziness. Bringing balance to your self-imposed work day can be a real challenge, but one must understand that writing full time is more than just writing. It's running a business. You're the manager, you're the marketing department, you're the one who fails or succeeds. It's okay to draw up some boundaries to make it easier for yourself, even if others may or may not understand.

When a year passes by, are you going to be happy with what you've accomplished, or are you going to regret all the time you spent on X or Y, things that didn't really bring you closer to your goals?

Photo Credit -boboroshi

Writing Prompt #10 - The Fridge

Not entirely sure where the weekend went, but here we are at Monday again and another writing prompt!

Remember, you can write as little or as much as you'd like, and if you want, you can post your response to the prompt right here. **All work is under copyright of its authors**

Here we go...

Your character(s) opens the refrigerator and finds something there that isn't really supposed to be in there...

Jessica stared at the carrots for a moment, trying to remember if she had purchased them on her last shopping trip. Two shelves in the refrigerator were covered in the orange vegetable. The rest of the fridge was stocked with her normal items - yogurt, bread, eggs, mayonnaise, butter, milk...

Reaching into the fridge, she grabbed one of the carrots and observed it, feeling a bit foolish for forgetting what it was she purchased at the store just two days earlier. She took a nibble from the end and crunched down on the tasty treat. She couldn't remember a carrot tasting this sweet before. It was delicious. She took another nibble, and another, not really caring where it had come from now.

"Hey, that's mine!"

Jessica spun around to a black rabbit who sat on her counter, staring at her with deep blue eyes. "Um..."

"You're eating my carrot."

Jessica dropped the vegetable on the floor and stood, staring at the animal. A talking rabbit? Really? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wondering if maybe she had caught too much of a whiff of her neighbors pot cloud outside when she came home minutes ago.

"I'm real, by the way. As strange as it may seem."

When she opened her eyes, Jessica noticed the rabbit had moved to the floor and was staring up at her.

"I am a talking rabbit. Take it in."

"I...I don't think I can."

"Sure you can. You see me talking, right? And I am a rabbit, according to your planet's descriptions of rabbits, right?"

She nodded.

"Okay then. Now, I'm not really a rabbit. I'm a guardian. And I usually take human form, but I need to be a bit inconspicuous."

"Inconspicuous? You're a talking rabbit. And I'm actually talking to you and entertaining this idea. This is ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous. And I'm not going to be talking to everyone. Just you. I was sent to protect you."

"Protect me? From what? And who would send a talking rabbit to protect me?"

"Who isn't important right now. The what is. There are some who...think you may have special abilities that they would like to use at their disposal. We can't let that happen."

"We?"

The rabbit nodded. "I will be living here, as your pet. You just keep that fridge stocked of carrots and I'm good."

Jessica opened the refrigerator and stared at the carrots again. When she turned back to the rabbit, he was on the counter.

"I eat twelve a day."

"Twelve?!"

The rabbit nodded. "My metabolism isn't one of a rabbit. But carrots is all I can tolerate while I'm in this form."

Jessica wondered about her own sanity. "Well then, I guess we'll need more carrots."

Progress

Well, progress on the Expired Reality novels - my upcoming young adult sci-fi/fantasy series - is coming along nicely. The first novel, Endangered Memories, is in the final edits and should be finished and ready for formatting by the middle of next week. The second book, Lost Birth, is in my editor's hands as I write this. And I'll be starting work on the third, but not final book, Dark Horizon, next week.

With the series debuting this summer, and Endangered Memories set for a June release, I am going to start introducing everyone to the characters of the series starting next week via my blog. I'll share magazine clippings and other artwork that served as inspiration, and give a glimpse into the backgrounds of my characters so you can get a feel for where they're at when the series starts off.

Also today, the Indie Book Blog gave me an opportunity to share a little bit about my series - http://indiebookblogger.blogspot.com/2011/04/young-adult-series-expired-reality.html. Check it out if you get a chance - the post has a Smashwords coupon for a free ebook of Picture Perfect, a novella that gives some background into Drather, a mercenary character from the upcoming series.

Have a great weekend everyone, and I'll see you all on Monday!

Learning To Delegate

For the longest time now, I've been a self-published author. And while being a self-published author has its challenges, the thing I've loved the most about it is that I'm in control of every aspect of my publishing journey - cover design, formatting, story, characters, marketing, etc., etc., etc. Some may even say I'm a control freak when it comes to my content. But can you blame a writer for being a control freak over the world and characters they have created? I think not.

However, I am slowly and painfully learning to delegate.

Case in point? My cover designs. For a while now I've been going back and forth on what I want the covers for my upcoming young adult series - Expired Reality - to look like. When I released the first two books in the series a few years ago, I tried to go simplistic with the design - a symbol which had to do with content within the story.

Not my best work, but I figured it was helping me work toward branding.

Yesterday I had a great writing meeting with my good friend Jelani Parham. He's an illustrator and fellow writer, and when I opened up a discussion on what fonts I should use for the new covers, the conversation turned into me asking him to draw some of my characters from the series and help me with the cover design.

This wasn't easy for me to do. To give control to someone else to draw my characters? Even though he's a good friend of mine, it's hard for me to let go. But I've always liked Jelani's art style and he's read the first two books in the series, so he knows what would be most appropriate for the covers. Having his help will also give me more time to write and work on marketing - two things that take up the majority of my time anyway.

As soon as he's gotten some sketches done and we have a good idea what direction the covers are going in, I'll post some images here. In the meantime, if you want to check out some of what he does, head over to his deviantART page - http://j-rok.deviantart.com/gallery.

Writing Prompt #9 - Crimson Rose

I wanted to post this earlier today, but I'm still getting back on my game after my vacation to California last week - which I will detail in a post later this week. 

So, without further wait, here is this week's writing prompt. Remember, you can write as little or as much as you'd like, and if you want, you can post your response to the prompt right here. **All work is under copyright of its authors**

Here we go....



Your character(s) is in a field of wild roses when she/he notices that one of them has blood dripping from its thorns. Taking a closer look, they notice a trail of blood leading out of the field...

Brittany hesitated when she looked out on the horizon and realized the field butted up against a wall of trees. The forest of Feralden, a terrible place of darkness and creatures so vile she had only seen them in her nightmares. She couldn't go in there - wouldn't go in there - just to satisfy a curiosity. A curiosity that was slowly gaining speed.

Looking down on the rose again, she noticed the blood was drying somewhat quickly on the sharp thorns of the flower's stem. Whose blood was there on the rose? And if they were wounded, why would they run into the dark forest?

Brittany turned to leave the field in the opposite direction of the forest when she heard a soft whisper seep out of the trees. "Find the doorway to the other world."

Who said that? And how was it she was able to hear a whisper from almost a quarter mile - if not more - away? Her curiosity tore at her like the teeth of a panther and she suddenly found herself moving toward the forest, her mind screaming at her not to do it, but her body rebelling with every fiber it had within it.

When she reached the trees, she felt a frightening chill sweep across her bare arms, pulling the hair up at the back of her neck. She could see nobody, nothing but trees. Trees and darkness. The sunlight was barred from reaching the forest floor thanks to the shield of leaves gracing the tree tops. 

Brittany stepped into the forest, her eyes scanning the floor for the trail of blood. Although her eyes couldn't make out the dark spots against the forest floor, she didn't have to go far to find who had been bleeding. A young man in a tattered white shirt and black pants lay on the ground at the base of a tree. His hand was gripping something jetting out of the side of the trunk - a knob.

She rushed to him, oblivious to any dangers she might encounter. When she reached him, he looked up at her with glowing blue eyes and whispered, "The other world." Brittany watched as his hand slipped from the knob and he closed his eyes. 

He was dead. Brittany reached her hand out to the doorknob, grabbing hold of the cold brass. She felt power within that knob, great power. When she turned the knob, a door opened in the tree, emitting bright colorful light into her face. She knew it was her destiny to step inside, to enter this 'other world' this dead man at her feet had spoken of. 

And so she entered the trap that the forest had laid out for her...

Lost Birth Is Off To The Editor

 

Well, it was close, but I made my deadline and finished revisions/rewrites to Lost Birth last night. I just hit SEND on the email transfering it to the very capable hands of my editor, and now it feels like a huge burden just lifted from my shoulders. Isn't that how it usually feels when one finally finishes a manuscript?

Now that the book is out of my hands, it's time for some R & R. Heading to California for a little bit to see family and get out of this heat. Supposed to be 95 here in Arizona this coming weekend, but only 69 where we're heading. :)

Next week I will be starting work on Dark Horizon, the third book in the young adult series I will be releasing this summer. I also got back edits to Endangered Memories, the first book, so I'll be working on those at the same time. I'll also be getting back to posting, and to my usual marketing efforts. I hate having to put everything to the side to have finished Lost Birth, but it was a necessity.

I'll see all of you when I come back. Enjoy the weekend!

Approaching The Finish Line

I posted last week about my progress on Lost Birth, the second volume in my upcoming young adult sci-fi/fantasy series, and I am very near to approaching the completion of this draft so I can send it off to my editor. My editor just handed me her edits on the first volume in the series, Endangered Memories, so things are right on track for a summer release of the first three volumes in this series.

Because of how close I am to finishing Lost Birth - and the fact that I am going on vacation toward the end of this week - my posts are getting put on the back burner until I return toward the end of next week. I really wanted to do a writing prompt today, but I ended up working a twelve hour day on my revisions on Saturday, so I wasn't able to write up anything new.

Writing prompts will be back starting Monday, April 25th, as will the rest of my posts on self-publishing and writing. When I return from my vacation, I will be starting work on the third volume in my young adult series, and I'll also be working on the next email newsletter issue. Click here to sign up for it.

Some great things are coming down the line! Hope to see you all on the other side. For now, I'm crawling back into my writing cave to finish this up...

Finishing Up Lost Birth

I know I have been in the habit of posting on self-publishing on Wednesdays and writing on Fridays, but for the rest of this week I'm going to be hiding in a cave (or library), trying to get Lost Birth finished, so you probably won't see any more posts from me for the rest of the week.

Lost Birth, for those who don't know yet, is the second volume in my upcoming young adult sci-fi/fantasy series coming out this summer. I am already behind on my goals for the year - planned on having the third volume done and in my editor's hand by now - but it's not a big deal. Life happens. We gotta roll with the punches.

So, I'll be spending most of my time either in my office, at the public library, or at the local coffee shop trying to bust out this novel before the middle of next week, when I have to hand it off to my editor.

In the meantime, if you want to check out one of the characters from my upcoming YA series, check out the novella I put out a little while ago - Picture Perfect. You can find it here at my website - http://www.davidnalderman.com/picture_perfect.htm - where you'll find links to purchase it for various ebook readers. Only 99 cents, and it's been getting some pretty good reviews.

Wish me luck, and I'll see you all on the other side. I'll be back for sure this coming Monday with another writing prompt. ;)

Writing Prompt #8 - Snowflake

So, it hit 101 degrees here last week and I've officially decided I will be moving out of Arizona in the near future. I have my eye on a spot in California, but I need money first. Until then, I decided I'd make this week's writing prompt winter themed.

Remember, you can write as little or as much as you'd like, and if you want, you can post your response to the prompt right here. **All work is under copyright of its authors**

Here we go....

Your character(s) is standing in the middle of an iced-over lake, staring up at the sky as a snowflake drifts down toward them...

Salina caught the snowflake on her tongue, just like Drew used to do in the earlier years of their relationship. She waited until it melted, made a wish - for the snowfall to never stop - and then sat cross-legged on the surface of the lake.

Pulling the small notebook from the pocket of her jacket, Salina opened it to the place she had bookmarked earlier and began reciting the words scribbled on the pages -

"When the earth breaks, the wind will fall silent. Stars fall from the darkened sky like the snowflakes in winter. As the Great Witch wanders, the one called Chaos rises up, challenging those who would defy the coming war. While my soul, a dark doorway, seals shut to protect the contents within, your love is the key to open it wide and empty my heart of the hatred and violence I feast on."

Salina shut the book and stuck it back into her pocket. Standing to her feet, she was careful not to slip and fall through the ice. That's how Drew died three days ago. She found it to be no coincidence that he passed from this world shortly after he had written these words in his little notebook. Salina knew the Great Witch existed, hunting humans on other worlds. Her dreams had told her so.

But the one called Chaos...she had never seen him before, not in her dreams, not anywhere. Drew always told her that if she wanted to know about anything in this world, she should look in a book. That even though we called most novels fiction, they were far from make-believe. Most of what people wrote were really their dreams, and dreams opened the doorways to reality.

But so did love. Out of her other pocket, she pulled a small heart-shaped locket. Inside, she stuffed the paper fortune Drew had pulled from the cookie at the Chinese restaurant a week earlier - "The blacker the midnight, the brighter the moon." Salina tossed the locket out across the surface of the lake, watching as it slid across the solid surface, spun a bit, as if it were ice skating, and then stopped, the silver surface glistening in its white surroundings.

"I loved you with a love that unlocked doors," Salina whispered.

A Bit Of Catch Up

Usually on Fridays I try to post about my fiction and/or my writing process. Today though I don't have much to post because I've been trying to complete my latest project, Lost Birth. Lost Birth is the second volume in my upcoming young adult sci-fi/fantasy series, and I'm already behind on the deadline I set to give it to my editor. So, I've been pushing hard the last couple days to reach my new deadline of April 13th.

This young adult series is a much bigger undertaking than I originally thought it would be. Originally self-published back in 2007, the first couple books in my young adult series were given great praise over the storyline and characters, but great criticism over the grammar and editing. This was my primary reason for wanting to revise the books. But revisions have turned into rewrites and the project is taking a bit longer than I expected.

That's okay though. I'd rather create something of quality and get it out in due time than rush a project out the door and regret it. My editor should be giving me back her edits to the first volume in the series, Endangered Memories, in the next couple weeks. And after I hand Lost Birth off to her, I will start work on the third volume in the series, Crystal City. I only have a draft of that one done - it's not a complete novel yet - but I am still aiming for a summer release for all three titles.

Meanwhile, in between writing sessions, I've been trying to stay caught up with blog posts and marketing efforts. I'm in the middle of writing a guest post for The Inner Bean on what I've learned from reviews. I'm also still on the hunt for those willing to read and review the books I have already released. As a self-published author, each review I get - regardless of the criticism - is like finding a little gold coin. And it seems sometimes they are about as hard to come by.

Amidst all the writing and marketing, I'm also getting jazzed about the coming baby. My wife and I find out this Monday if we are having a boy or a girl. I am hoping for a little girl. Team Eden all the way!

Okay, enough blogging. I have to get back to work. I'll be back on Monday with the weekly writing prompt as always. :)