time management

The Perfect Life for an Author? It Looks Boring as Hell.

/ Attitude, INDIE PUBLISHING, Planning / 2 minutes of reading / 2 Comments

If you’re serious about writing — I mean serious-serious — then at some point you’re going to have to give things up. And not just a Netflix show or two. I mean real, soul-wrenching, this-or-that decisions.

I’ve made them. I gave up socializing. I gave up making clothes and jewelry. I took lower-paid jobs so I’d have the energy to write.

Writing takes time. And if your life is already full, then something else has to go. That’s the reality. You can’t wedge a writing career into the margins of a life that’s already packed.

The Perfect Life for an Author? It Looks Boring as Hell. Read More »

When Writing Isn’t Enough: The Harsh New Reality of Indie Income

/ Attitude, Finance, Money Management & Frugality, INDIE PUBLISHING / 4 minutes of reading

In the early days of indie publishing, simply hitting “publish” could bring in income. Now? Discoverability is a battle, the market is saturated, and writing fiction full-time is a dream that more and more authors are having to compromise. This post digs into why multiple income streams aren’t a failure—they’re the new normal—and how indie authors can adapt without giving up.

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From the Mailbag:  How do you organize yourself?

/ Planning, Project & Task Management, Publishing & Production, Scheduling & Tracking, Work Processes / 7 minutes of reading

Juggling multiple pen names, a production pipeline, and the occasional bout of procrastination takes more than just caffeine and stubbornness—though those help. In this post, I break down exactly how I manage my writing and publishing schedule, from rotating pen names to keeping six+ books in postproduction at once. I also explain why I never write more than one book at a time and how I use a 300-step checklist to keep my head (mostly) attached.

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Mastering Your To-Do List (Or: Why Half-Assing It Will Sink Your Writing Career)

/ Project & Task Management / 3 minutes of reading

A half-used task manager is worse than none at all. It lulls you into thinking you’re organized while your real workload smolders quietly in the background. As indie authors, we can’t afford that. There are just too many moving parts. The right system—used properly—turns chaos into calm, lets you stop reacting to fires, and helps you finally make space for the deep, strategic work that actually grows your career. Like, you know…writing.

Mastering Your To-Do List (Or: Why Half-Assing It Will Sink Your Writing Career) Read More »

15 Things I Wish I’d Known About Full Time Writing When I First Started Writing (2018 Edition)

/ Creativity, Discipline & Motivation, Stoicism & Perspective / 14 minutes of reading

I was tickled pink when James Scott Bell, writing guru and suspense author, and also one of my professional heroes, wrote a post a few days ago, “What I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing”. He starts the post with: Next year will be my 24th as a professional writer. So I knew I

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How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 3 (and final).

/ Scheduling & Tracking, Technology, Tools & AI / 10 minutes of reading

This is a three-part series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | If you have followed along with Part One and Part Two of this blog post, then you will have all your prep work done and be ready to dive into building your first production schedule. So let’s go. Backwards or Forwards?

How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 3 (and final). Read More »

How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 2.

/ Scheduling & Tracking, Technology, Tools & AI / 10 minutes of reading

This is a three-part series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | How To Set Up Your Production Sheet Last week I went through the many reasons why building yourself a tailored production sheet pays some very nice dividends, both in the long and the short term.  You can find that post here.

How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 2. Read More »

How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 1.

/ Scheduling & Tracking, Technology, Tools & AI / 8 minutes of reading

This is a three-part series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Do you need a production schedule? If you are a writer, and you have any commercial ambitions at all, then yes, you do. A well-built production schedule will help you stop the overwhelm, restore your sanity, and give you a proper

How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 1. Read More »

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