W. Terry Whalin's Blog, page 24

What To Do When "Nothing" Is Happening

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Some days particularly in certain seasons like summer seem like “nothing” is happening. As an editor, I'm calling authors who have received contracts but they aren't responding via email or returning my phone calls. Or maybe you are pitching agents and no one is responding to your proposals. Or maybe your agent is pitching your latest project and it is not getting a response. Or maybe you are querying magazine editors about writing articles and not getting responses. Or pitching podcasts or radio stations and not getting responses. You get my idea. You are actively working but getting nothing in response. I have this experience as well and in this article want to give you some encouragement and action-oriented ideas. I've written about the importance of how every author has to continually pitch to get magazine assignments, book deals, podcast interviews, endorsements or anything else in this publishing business. It is a continual part of the process and at times the response is underwhelming or even silence. From my experience in publishing, your consistent actions are important and will pay off for you—maybe not immediately but in the long run. No one reads every blog post when you want them to read it. No one reads your social media posts when you want them to be read. No one listens to your podcasts or radio interviews when you wanted. Or reads your magazine article when you wanted them to read it or reads your latest book release. It is important to keep building relationships and continue to pitch. Several months ago, a fairly high profile podcast sent me an email asking me to pitch and possibly be a guest. It took me about a week to respond and give them what they requested. I didn't get a response. I sent it a second time. Finally I heard they were backed up at the moment from the responses. It was essentially saying thanks but no thanks. OK, on to the next opportunity. This exchange was four months ago. Then last week I got another email from the same podcast saying they were scheduling again with a calendar link to select a time. I chose a time and had a wonderful interview which will be published soon. I tell this story to remind you that we only see the situation from our viewpoint and not the person who is receiving it.  I sent birthday greetings to an editor this week via text since I had his cell phone number. We exchanged several texts and it gave me an opportunity to say how I'd love to work with him in the right project. Our exchanges gave me an opportunity to get in his mind for possible future work.  Here's some ideas for you when “nothing” is happening: 1. Pitch some new magazine articles.2. Begin a new book proposal or book manuscript.3. Create a new website to sell a product.4. Create a new ebook to promote your mailing list.5. Take an online training course to get new ideas.6. Read a book about the craft of writing then apply it to your writing life.7. Pitch some podcasts or radio stations to be a guest.8. Write a guest blog posts or a pitch to a blog for a guest blog post.9. Organize your office and pair down the clutter (something I've been doing lately). Yes the list of possibilities for action can be endless. Here's a simple truth that I've learned: if you are stuck and do nothing, then nothing will happen. What actions do you take when “nothing” is happening? Let me know in the comments below.----I've recently published some articles on other blogs and Richelle Wiseman Buzz on Book Biz released a podcast. I hope you will check out: Writers, Use This Simple Way to Stand Out and Learn Before You Leap into Ads (just follow the links).  These articles may give you some additional ideas about action steps for your own writing life. Tweetable:

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Why Bestselling Authors Advertise

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Publishing is a complex business with thousands of new books entering the marketplace every day. Recently I was on a webcast with bestselling author Adam Grant and Markus Dohle, the CEO of Random House. They were talking about publishing and said now is one of the best times to be in publishing since Guttenberg invented the printing press.  With all of these books entering the market, authors need to understand several key factors:
*they need to be actively promoting their books in various places (something I've written about often in these entries on the writing life--just check this link).
*Readers need to hear about your book at least 8 to 12 times before they purchase your book
*Bestselling authors advertise to sell books and also to build their readers on their email list There are many different websites like Goodreads, Facebook, BookBub, Amazon and others which will gladly take your money for you to advertise on them. I've watched many authors jump into these ads and in a short time (or longer), they discover they have wasted their limited financial resources on advertising. Their efforts have brought little results (sales) because they didn't learn the insider techniques on how to advertise.  While it is helpful to learn bestselling authors advertise on websites, I encourage you to use some common sense about how to apply this information to your own book marketing. From my experience, authors need to learn how to navigate the advertising from authors who are succeeding with it.  One of the bestselling authors who is effective (generating sales) using advertising is Mark Dawson, who lives in the United Kingdom. He is a multi0bestselling novelist yet wants to help others succeed as well. He has created training courses with detailed insights about how to successfully use various book advertising programs. His courses are only open a few times a year and in general you have to get on a waiting list to get information about them.  Dawson's course, Ads for Authors is open now and only for a few weeks. (If you are reading this article later and the course is closed, get on the waiting list for the next opportunity.). I encourage you to watch this short video to hear what his students say about the course.  Maybe you don't write fiction, this teaching is still for you and follow this link to watch short videos from different types of writers. Also you can go to the image below and scroll down to see various videos and authors.
 I'm taking this Ads for Authors course and understand it takes consistent action to watch the instruction, then apply it to your writing life. The key is to add this training into your writing life, learn from someone who is using it successfully then apply the information to your own plans for book marketing and selling.
As I was writing this article, I learned on June 21, 2021, Mark Dawson is holding a free webinar with Carlyn Robertson from BookBub. They will be giving top tips for success with BookBub advertising. Follow this link to get registered.   Have you taken one of Mark Dawson's courses? Tell us about your experiences in the comments. Or maybe you want to tell us about your results using advertising for your books in the comments. I look forward to your comments. 
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Work Around Writing Obstacles

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

When you hit a writing obstacle, does it stop you or do you use a work around? Within the tech world, they talk about using a work around. Your current path has some blockage so you find a different way to get the same task done—or a work around. For example, while traveling, I was using my laptop to update my Hootsuite and schedule social media posts.  On my screen, I could not schedule any posts for 1:05 pm within the program. How did I work around this glitch? I left that time blank for several days, then when I returned home I filled in those days with this missing post.  Our world is filled with technology and apps and new programs to learn. Almost every day I face some technical issue which is not working. When these situations happen, I have a choice. I can either figure out a work around the obstacle, quit the program and go on to something else. I've learned that persistence will pay off if you keep at it—which is the path I recommend. Normally there is some work around or way through the challenge. The pandemic has thrown off many writing plans. Over a year ago, as a Morgan James Publishing editor, I participated in a three and a half hour virtual pitch session. A group of writers were physically in one place and pitching to different editors and literary agents. It was an intense series of meetings with pitch after pitch. To my knowledge. I was the only editor who tracked down the emails of these various writers and sent follow-up emails. A few weeks ago, I pulled out this list of writers—and sent a fresh set of emails to the various writers who I had never received their submissions. Why? I wanted them to know they had not missed their opportunity to submit their manuscripts. Because of the time lapse and the fact that I've been a writer for years, I assumed many of them believed the opportunity had passed—but it hasn't. A number of my emails did not get a response—but I heard from about a dozen of these authors. Many had gotten stalled yet had recently returned to working on their manuscript. Some of them had their manuscript out to beta readers and were getting feedback. Others were finalizing their work. Each of them were happy to know the opportunity was still out there. I told this story for a reason. Many of you are facing obstacles for your writing. It could be any number of obstacles which have stood in your way. While some of these obstacles can be family or work related, other blocks are mental and internal. Your mindset in these situations is critical. How can you create a way forward to work around the obstable? It may be the difference maker for your writing life. Maybe you wrote and published a book last year (or even further back). Is that book doing what you imagined in terms of selling and reaching readers? As I've written in the past, as the author, you are the best person to be telling other people about your book—and you can always begin fresh to promote and tell people about it. Look for new ways to promote the book. Check a marketing book out of the library or buy one and try a different method to reach your readers.  Whatever your obstacle, there is a work around for it—but you have to be taking action (not just thinking about it) to find that path. If I can help you, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm cheering and pulling for your success. Let me know how you are working around your writing obstacles in the comments below. Tweetable:

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How Do You Kill Time?

As I write these words, I’m traveling to my first live eventin 14 months. The connection on my flight got pushed back several hours. I hadthree hours to fill in my connecting airport which gave me plenty of time toreach my connecting gate. What do you do during those times of sitting aroundwaiting?

Some people pull put a novel and read. Others sit and watchpeople. Others shop in the airport shops. I tend to pull out my AlphaSmart 3000and do a bit of writing.

This little gismo is rarely seen—old technology yet it holdsover 140 pages of text. A full size keyboard, you only see four lines on yourscreen and it is not connected to the Internet. It works on several AAbatteries and you never lose anything you put into it.

Of course when I get to my computer, I move the materialfrom my AlphaSmart to my computer for editing and safe keeping. This littlekeyboard is just for writing. I’ve written on airplane, in libraries and allsorts of places because it is so easy to use.

To be honest I am not skilled at texting on my phone.  If I were, I could possibly do this unexpectedwriting on my phone. You do have to plan ahead to carry the AlphaSmart with youand then pull it out and use it in these unplanned moments to kill time.

For each of us, unexpected things come in our day.  Maybe you plan a meeting and that persondoesn’t come. Or you arrive at a session at the wrong time. Do you havesomething which feeds into your writing life to pull out and use in these sparemoments? 

Here are some writing related ideas:

Listen to anaudiobook. In the past, I’ve mentioned my love for audiobooks. I carry someear buds. I’ve checked out these audiobooks through my local library(overdrive). If I have a few moments, I will put on my ear buds and listen to afew more minutes of my audiobook. I’ve listened when I’m standing in a longline and other places. I normally listen to nonfiction books which feed into mywriting life. After I complete the audiobook, I usually take a few minutes andwrite a review to post on Goodreads and Amazon.  

Read a small physicalbook. I select a small book and carry it with me in my briefcase or travelbag. In these unexpected moments, I will read more pages in my book. Like theaudiobook, when I complete it, I will write a short review.  

Plan a new writingproject. Like most of us, I have more ideas than I can ever possibly write.When these ideas come, often I will make some notes and maybe the start of anoutline for it to get it moving. For my writing life, capturing the essence ofthe idea is an important part of the process and can happen in these momentswhen I’m killing some time.

I’m probably missing some ways to kill time. Let me knowyour methods in the comments below.

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On The Road Again

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

After 14 months off the road, when I publish these words, I will be traveling again. Like many other people, a worldwide pandemic has changed my writing life. I want to celebrate the return to normality and in this article talk about the advantages to attending live events. On the surface, publishing looks like a simple business but from my experience it is complex with many options and possibilities. What people don't say is much of it is outside of the author's control. There are active steps you can take as a writer (which has been my focus for years and what I encourage you to do as well). Who you know is often as important as what you know. A random conversation at a conference can turn into a book deal or a writing opportunity—if you are aware of it, follow-up and take action.  Live events are a break in your normal routine and provide opportunities for your writing. These events will be coming back and I encourage you to plan them into your writing life. I'm in a Facebook group of writers preparing for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I've seen several people say they attended in the past but spent most of their time in their room. While I understand the majority of writers are introverts, don't hide in your room during a conference. You have to pace yourself not to get exhausted because they are intense—but I encourage you to be outside of your room with others as much as possible.  It might not seem natural to you but smile, greet others, start conversations and exchange business cards with as many people as you can throughout the event. Each person you meet can be an opportunity—for you to help them and for them to help you—no matter if they are a first=timer or have attended multiple conferences. Beginning and building relationships take time and you are offered this opportunity during a conference. These events are active (and at least for me) nonstop from early in the morning until late at night. They provide opportunities for me to tell people about my books and sell a few books plus even give books to key people who have influence in the publishing world. I am teaching a continuing class which picked up on a key publishing buzzword: platform: What Is A Platform and how can I get one? I'm teaching about things that I do day to day but rarely teach these details to others. Conferences provide a wonderful opportunity to give back to others through your teaching and handouts. Years ago, I learned the importance of handouts in my classes and I put extra effort into providing handouts which have high value to the reader with additional links and resources.  The challenge I have attending these live events is to keep up (in some ways) my life as an editor and writer. The majority of my authors have no idea I'm away from my office and on the road. I will still get the regular stream of email and phone calls. Some of those emails I can put off until my return but others will require processing them on the road. The consistent communication with authors and others never stops and is a key part of my writing and editing life. Like everything, we make time for what we need to do—even on the road.
Some Recent Other Articles In these articles, I've encouraged you to guest blog for others to reach new readers.  If you follow my Twitter feed, you will see that I regularly write for other places. Here's a couple of my recent articles for Writers on the Move (Why Writers Must Follow-up and Searching for a Magic Bullet)  and the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog (Writer, Use the Power of Asking and Why Writers Do More Than Write). I hope you will follow the links and read these articles then apply them to your own writing life. How do you handle attending a live event? Are you planning on attending some live events this year? Let me know in the comments below.
 

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Platform Essentials: Time, Focus and Tools

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

At the end of this month, I will be headed to Asheville, North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. It is my first live event in over a year with this pandemic. I'm teaching a continung workshop about a publishing buzzword—platform. My continuing class is called What's a Platform and How do I Create one? While I work at my own platform every day (in many different ways), I do not often teach others about this important publishing topic. I will be giving much more detail during my workshop—and I would encourage you to attend in person (where you get the greatest value) or virtually (still valuable in many ways). I've been thinking about some of the platform essentials and in this article I want to focus on three key elements: time, focus and tools. Time Everyone has the same amount of time  in each day. How are you using this limited resource? Do you waste it or do you make the most of it? Your awareness of how you are using this resource is important. Are you stuck in meetings or other things which require a lot of time? Continually evaluate and make adjustments to get the most mileage from each day. As I grow older, I'm keenly aware of the value of my time and the limited nature of it. Because of this awareness and my own personal bent and curiosity, I have created an intense schedule in my life. If I'm honest, the intensity of it is something I have made and filled my day with phone calls, emails, writing projects, and much more.  Focus Focus is another limited commodity. Do you have a big goal in mind such as write a book or sell a book? How are you focusing your time to gain more readers or entice people to learn about your book and then buy it? There are many different paths and possibilities in this process and much of your platform size will boil down to your focus. What proactive steps are you taking each week to grow your audience and build your email list? The world is full of shiny objects to take your attention off your focus and on to their product or video or article or book or ______.  Every writer (including me) needs to keep this goal and focus in mind as you go throughout your day. Tools I don't want to overwhelm you in this section but I use a number of tools every day. The key is to try these tools and use the ones which are effective for you. No one can be everywhere or do everything. You will have to make wise choices in this process and keep doing these things bit by bit. As I've written in the past, that's how you eat an elephant (one bite at a time).  One of my continued interest is communication and using different tools to become a more effective communicator. It has always been ironic to me that editors and agents are in the commuication business yet many of these people take a lengthy time to communicate. It's one of the ways I've been different in this business is to step up my own communication ability. While I can't control the speed of communication from others, I can control my own patterns—and I use a variety of tools in this proces. I encourage you to be aware of the different tools and use them effectively. Here's a few of the tools I use (some of them many times each day): Hootsuite (my main social media tool), my email list, mock up shots (a tool for creating various images), a variety of lead magnets or generators (follow this link to learn more details), various websites, websites, pop ups (I am not a huge fan but know they work so I used them), guest blog posts, comments on other blogs and many other things. Here's some other wise details to consider in this process. No one can do everything. Every day you (and I) are making choices in this process—so make wise ones which will lead to your goals for your writing life. It's not easy or simple for any of us. Also keep working on building and maintaining your relationships with others (readers, editors, agents and other publishing professionals). Who you know is often as important as what you know. I encourage you to keep knocking on new doors and seeing what will open for your life and work. These details are some of the platform essentials. I will be teaching in much more detail at the conference. I'd love to hear your comments below.
 

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Why Do I Write Devotionals?

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Early in my writing life, I wrote a number of devotionals.  Several decades ago, I wrote two devotional books (as a work-made-for-hire project). Each book contained sixty devotionals and each book was in the bestselling category because it sold over 60,000 copies. I wrote these books on tight deadlines and through the years I occasionally get letters or emails from readers who say they read those words over and over. For many years I've written other types of writing but not devotionals. Over a year ago, I was speaking with Susan King, a long-time editor at The Upper Room.  It had been decades since I had submitted any devotionals to them. She encouraged me to send something. Each of these devotions are in a specific format. You can see their guidelines here. I wrote and submitted four different devotions and one of them was accepted—and published last week. Yes I wrote three devotions which were rejected—and it happens to everyone. The editors are looking for the right fit and select the submissions for their publication. It may take some trial and error before you find one that will work. Why do it?  The Upper Room has a worldwide circulation of six million—which is a large audience for writing a small amount of words.  I've heard the editors like devotions from the Old Testament because they mostly get ones from the New Testament and also they like devotions from men because the majority of the submissions are from women. I hope these two details help you.  Also understand The Upper Room works way ahead. I wrote and submitted these devotions about a year ago. Here's the link to my devotion which was published last week. You will notice my devotion focused on an unusual verse from Isaiah and I had a current application for my own life in it. I have not been published in The Upper Room for several decades.  After my devotion was accepted and scheduled, I got an email from the editors telling me that I could also submit a blog post which had guidelines, word counts, etc. and would post the same day. I followed those guidelines and met their deadline and here's the link to my blog post. From studying published blog posts, I noticed they occasionally included a website link in the blog post—but only one link. I included a link to my personal website at the end of my post and it was published as well. We write devotions to capture on paper our spiritual connection and to encourage others to have this relationship.  For my writing of these devotions, one of the keys is to have the right mindset. There are several basic principles for every writer in this process:
1. You have to follow the editor's guidelines. The Upper Room has an online submission place for their devotions. It was fairly easy to use but called for you to have the specific information for each field in their form (something you can do ahead of time). 2. You have to write what the editor wants then submit it. This step is true whether you are brand new or are a much-published author.3. You will likely have to write more than one submission to get published.4. If you get an extra opportunity such as writing a blog post, then follow the guidelines and do what is requested.  There are many publications which publish devotional writing. The 2021 Christian Writers Market Guide is one of the best places to find these publications. Make sure you are not using an old edition since you want to use current information. Every magazine has desired articles and a format. Every writer needs to know this information before submission. Here's where I have a detailed article about writing for magazines.  I plan on writing more devotions and fit them into my writing life. This process is a good discipline for any writer to see what you can capture in a few focused words. Do you write devotions? Let me know your experiences in the comments below.

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Deadline Jolt

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As a writer and editor in publishing, I have many different deadlines. Some of these deadlines are self-imposed and others come outside of my control. One of the keys to professional writing is meeting these various deadlines with quality and on-target submission (what the receiver is expecting and needing).  I use the reminders portion of my cell phone to make sure I meet a number of those deadlines. Last week I checked my email late one night and got a short reminder about a deadline. I'm not going to tell you the specific deadline but talk about it in general terms. It was something that I've been doing faithfully each year for at least six years. My part is one aspect of a complex system with many different pieces in the process. Normally I'm aware of this annual deadline and process the information during several hours on a weekend. This year I knew about it on some level but totally forgot getting it done. This experience was my deadline jolt. My first inclination was to apologize and say I would do it in the morning since there was only a few hours until their deadline. After sending that brief apologizing email, I reconsidered, decided to go ahead and meet the deadline. I sent a second brief email saying I would turn in my paperwork in a few hours. The task is complex with lots of pieces and parts to accomplish. While intense for a couple of hours, I completed it and sent in my assigned work—and was about ten minutes after midnight when I hit the send button. This sort of sheer panic is not something I face often these days in my writing life. Yet I have certainly felt this sort of pressure many times in the past. As a young journalist, I worked at a daily newspaper in the pre-computer days. Yes we used a standard old-fashion typewriter to create our stories. Our story and assignment meetings would happen early in the morning and my deadline would be 11 am for my story. Sometimes I would have to interview a number of people, gather my thoughts and crank out my story before the deadline. Then my writing would be published in the afternoon newspaper—normally around 3 pm. These experiences called for a fast turnaround and provided excellent training about the importance of completing deadlines. Now it was in the evening and normally a time when I curl up with a good book and relax. Instead I faced another jolt deadline—something that was due in a few hours and I had not handled it. I made a decision to not delay until tomorrow but to dig in and do the assignment. I knew my delay would cause likely cause problems for my colleagues. In the process of meeting the deadline, I tapped into my experience of meeting deadlines in the past and pure determination to get it done. If I get the opportunity to do this task next year (it's something that we recommit to doing annually), this deadline will definitely be on the reminders in my phone. If I handle it with greater deliberation and planning, I will not have another deadline jolt.  Like most of us, I'm only using a small portion of the tools and power in my cell phone.  Every phone comes with reminders. Are you using reminders in your writing life? I do but sometimes I have miss something and have a jolt in the process. Have you had a deadline jolt? Tell me about it and how you handled it in the comments below.
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Anticipate Your Future Actions

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Several months ago, I wrote an article about The Practice of Anticipation.  This article contains different information than the first article and I hope this will help you in your writing life. This process is about taking action today to anticipate the future. It is almost like this photo of a mom helping her child prepare a treat—anticipating your future needs. As you write and work in the publishing community, do you regularly save data, photos and even social media posts, then you will be able to use them in the future? It's something I've been doing for years and call it the practice of anticipation.  When I come across some data, I use it for my current purpose, but I take a couple of extra seconds to save the data in a place and format, I can access it and use it in the future. For example, I've been tracking down some old illustrations in one of my out of print books. I'm in the process of bringing this book back to print (more on that soon). I've purchased the rights to the old book but did not get some of the illustrations in a high resolution format. Through a series of phone calls and emails I met the printer for my old book—and I added the name, address, email and phone for this printer to my address book. I have no idea if I will need this information in the future or not, but I'm preserving it in  an accessible format—just in case.  I take these sorts of actions with emails, phone numbers, addresses, and other bits of information. When I write an article for The Writing Life, at the bottom of the article, I use ClickToTweet to create an easy way for others to share the content. Then I take one more step, I save my ClickToTweet in a text file with tweets. Then I can easily cut and paste this post and use it another time. I also anticipate using images again. Each day I begin my social media posts with an inspirational quote and a photograph. Social media posts gain a lot more exposure if they are more than text but also include a photo. I save these photos in a file on my desktop. When I travel, I copy this file so I can access it on the road. This file also includes the various royalty-free photos I use for my different articles. I can easily access these photos to use in another social media post—because I am anticipating using them again. For my writing life, it is all about being organized enough to save critical information in a format you can easily access it again if needed.   Several weeks ago I recorded a podcast with James Schramko in Australia—his episode number 820. I had no idea when this podcast would air but got the notice it had launched (follow the link if you want to watch or hear it.) I have promoted the podcast but also saved the various images and a social media post to use it again in the future. It's all about practicing anticipation.  I also anticipate my office supplies. For example, last week I used my last ream of paper for my printer. I ordered another ream of paper. I also used my last black ink cartridge in my printer and ordered more ink. Anticipation is important so when paper or ink need to be replaced, I have already anticipated it and have what I need rather than running to the store or quickly ordering it.  Another way to describe this practice of anticipation is taking steps today to prepare for future actions. What actions are you taking today that will help you in the future? Let me know in the comments below. Tweetable:

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Balance Is Tricky for Every Writer

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 To some, my early morning work, may appear a little strange. I was preparing some social media posts for early June—and yes I'm writing these words in April. Why was I working on June? When I search for content for my social media feeds, I am looking for timeless articles focused on writing and different aspects of publishing. Before I post each article I carefully look at it to make sure there is nothing about a particular date or time of year and if there is, I use it earlier. It's just one of the details I keep in mind with my 12–15 daily social media posts.  Most of what I do is routine only because I've created a system for these posts and use my system over and over. I hope it is something you are doing for your own writing life. Besides my social media posts, this morning, I created and sent an email to my list. It's a current campaign that I'm actively involved in, telling people about free events (again keeping my audience in mind). Each of these events have a purpose and if someone takes the additional step (buys the product), I have an affiliate relationship with the originator and will make some income. Nothing is predictable or certain in this process. Sometimes I receive an unexpected check and other times zero. These couple of details are just some of what I'm doing for my work today.  I'm sending emails and phone calls about some aspects of future work. I've called an author friend to get an endorsement for a current book that is about to finish typesetting. I'm calling some Morgan James authors today about their contracts and other aspects of my work for the publishing house. I'm also doing some writing like on this piece for The Writing Life (weekly). I'm writing a blog post which is due in a couple of days. I'm also writing on my monthly deadline for another blog, which will post to the public in a few days.  In some ways, I'm doing multiple juggling yet focused juggling to accomplish each task to the best of my ability. As I've written in these articles, the details matter. I hope from writing about some of these projects, you see the delicate balancing act of our writing life. I have long-term projects which I need to move forward. I also have short-term projects that need to happen. Besides these various writing related tasks, on the personal front, I'm also trying to find time in my day to read, exercise, eat healthy and of course enjoy life with my family.  In this article, I'm writing about the tricky aspects of balance. In this process, I've learned some important truths: 1. Not everything I do will work. For example, I pitch my colleagues and convince them to send publishing contracts to writers. Some of these writers do sign but some do not and decide to publish somewhere else. 2. Some of what I do will work. Some of my writing will sell books or products or services—and actually pay to have done it. The key is to have multiple streams of possibilities and payment. As I'm writing about in this article, I'm involved in a daily careful balancing act. For any of us, this work is not easy. Each of us need to find that balancing place in our own daily lives and keep working to tweak it and refine it. How do you get it all done? The truth is not everything does get done but the ones you focus on and finish, those get done. Here's some important elements in this process: You need to have a vision and a planYou need to have routines and follow your routinesYou need to use multiple tools—email lists, Hootsuite, etcYou need to be diverse and create multiple income streams You need to be consistent and keep at it—even when some things fail, other things will succeed.You need to keep in the back of your mind your why. Why are you making this effort and doing these things? For me, I do it because books change lives. I had a book change my life years ago and you can read that story here. It's all part of our lives as writers. It is not clear cut. Each of us have to carve out our own take on these various routines. I've shown you some of my details in this article and my atempt at something that is not easy for anyone called balance. I freely admit I don't have all the answers and continue to learn and grow. Let me know how you find balance in the comments below. Tweetable:

Balance is tricky for every writer. Get some insights in this article from this prolific editor and author. (ClickToTweet)

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