Expect no pearls of wisdom #mrfw

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Once again, here’s the Marketing for Romance Writers blog hop. For this week, the writing prompt is:

Managing My Writing Time

Uh . . . shouldn’t you be asking people who know what they’re talking about?  You know, like efficiency experts? Or at least folks with willpower?

(Actually, I have lots of willpower. I used the word ‘willpower’ five times in my current WIP. So there.)

Okay, okay, I’ll get serious. But I warn you, I have no great insights.

I’m lucky, not good

First off, a confession. I’m far luckier than most people, and I know it.  I was able to retire early, and though I’d had six books published in the twenty years I doubled as an author/wage slave, I’ve had nine published in the six years since.

[image error]Thus the only pearl of wisdom I can offer (and it’s pretty iffy) is quit the day job. If you follow my advice and starve to death, I disclaim all responsibility.

I have a lot of writing time to manage, but I try to maintain a reasonable life-work balance, so I don’t always put in 40-50 hours per week . . . even if I put in that much time at my computer. Distractions, you know? For example, while I’m typing this, I also have a baseball game running on MLB.com. (My team’s getting killed.)

So, if I’m serious about working, I turn off the Internet.  Or write at the library, or a nearby coffee shop that’s usually pretty quiet.

I do that . . .  sometimes. If I’m really engrossed in a story, or if I have a deadline, I do it more often.

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from Cartoon Stock dot com

The wife and I babysit the two grandsons four days a week, and while I love ’em to pieces, they take some time. I do the cooking, dish washing, and most of the grocery shopping. I’m sure it’s not as much as most women, but the household does gobble time.

I have other family members, too — my sister, three sons, and a daughter  And of course a wife.  I try to say hello to them occasionally.

And then there’s marketing. I try to con myself into thinking marketing in part of writing — but then why does it feel like wasted time? My superego considers the hour I spent today entering  books into upcoming cross promotions as equivalent to watching an hour of Loonie Toons reruns.

Another thing that cuts into my writing time is social media. I try to control it by using social media only (uh, mostly?) for career purposes — like the post you’re reading.

And that sounds like my cue to cut this post short.

What about you?

I’m sure a lot of you are better at BIC (bum in chair) than I am. Please, please, share your secrets! Check out the diligent, hard-working writers taking part in this blog hop.