Sabbatical

Writing is great fun--it's what comes later that isn't so much. Marketing. Promotion. Getting out there and selling that eBook/print book. The guilt that descends like a cloud if you don't do something everyday. It's enough to make a writer seek the deepest, darkest cave and hibernate for a long time.





I frankly admit to being worn out. The Face on Miss Fanny's Wall came out in March, and I've been hard at it ever since. Dancing with Velvet is due out this month, so there's no rest for the weary (or is that, the wicked?) Actually, if my books were more wicked, they'd be easier to sell, but that's another topic for another day. Suffice it to say, I needed a breather--and I took one.



I spent the weekend reading, something I used to do all the time but which has become a guilty pleasure since I took up writing as well. I read TWO books, one written by the new president of the local chapter of the National League of American Pen Women to which I was recently accepted; the other an Agatha Christie novel for discussion at this month's Sleuthers meeting at the library. We read a book a month, discuss it, then watch the movie if one has been made from the book. I feel renewed.



Well, enough whining. What can I share with my fellow authors this week? The March-April 2011 issue of Writer's Digest has a terrific 6-page article on "50 Ways to Build Your Platform in 5 Minutes a Day" (Christina Katz). Obviously, the entire article will take more than 5 minutes to read, but it's worth the time. She divides her tips into several categories:


Listen and Learn
Create Context
Contribute Content
Cultivate Community
Be Authentic
Synergize Connections
Produce Yourself
Publicize Yourself
Pay if Forward
Strut Your Stuff

All her tips are tops--but still I cry, "Time, Time, my kingdom for some Time!" (Or was that a horse to take me away to that deep, dark cave...?)



Share your time-tips with others here. If you want to do an entire guest post on time strategies, just contact me--judy@judynickles.com and tell me when you want to post!



Meanwhile, I've had a sabbatical, and Monday morning it's back to work. Don't forget to visit my website (www.judynickles.com) to see video trailers for and read the first chapters of the above-mentioned books. That's the sum total of the "promo" I'm doing for today!



See you on the loops and blogways!