So much to do, so little time – Something’s got to give!

Disaster strikes again! Those of you that have followed the trials and tribulations I have experienced since I started writing will know that I am, for the best part, technically challenged when it comes to most things to do with IT. I won’t bore you with my past history, however several weeks ago I wrote a blog and attempted to log into my website to load it…and there it was – gone!

The ominous message ‘Page cannot be found’ filled the screen. I tried many different ways to find it, but in the end took advice and was told that the host server had gone down, and worst of all, had lost the back-ups for my website. I have no idea how the host is supposed to behave, but I’m certain that backing up its ‘guests’ should come near the top of the ‘to do’ list, together with being able to provide a backup when everything goes belly up. The chaps that put the website together for me got on to it, and bits and bobs were collected from all over the internet, put together, and we are almost, but not quite, back to where we were. A few parts still need attention (so please bear with me), but at least the site is up and running, and they have found me what they promise is a more reliable host.

To say it’s been a chore is an understatement, one of the things that I lost was my list of subscribers. I didn’t have thousands, but I was approaching the two hundred mark. I have therefore been wading through emails I had yet to delete, in an attempt to find reference to new subscribers or comments made on various blogs, and I have managed to cobble a list of a mere forty together. It’s been tedious, frustrating, and made me curse on several occasions. Here was yet another thing taking up time when I would rather be writing.

Writers, particularly indie authors, are constantly urged to do the following: Set up a Facebook page and post daily, join twitter and tweet regularly, have a website where readers can find out about your books and you, have a blog and write interesting posts as often as possible………Oh yes, and if you can, try writing a novel or two a year.

I’ve managed to do all of those things over a period of time, not all of them well, as I also work part-time, have a family, oh, and did I mention the three dogs that need walking twice a day? I thought so!

I’ve tried many different methods to help keep on top of things; a schedule allocating portions of the day to the various media requiring my attention, having days when I only did one of the things on the list (regarding only social media of course, I still went to work, walked the dogs, and fed the family), and various other methods. Needless to say, however I tried to do all those things which I’m constantly reminded I should do, and keep to the latest schedule, it didn’t always work. Not only did I find I wasn’t capable of being creative, or entertaining, or quick witted on demand, even when I believed I had several hours during which I could achieve wonderful things, the doorbell would ring and a visitor would arrive, or a friend I hadn’t seen for twenty or more years would invite me out to lunch and my plan would be foiled again.

I’ve had days when I felt totally inadequate being unable to keep all the plates spinning, and as a result achieved nothing, so I have decided to stop forcing it. I will concentrate on whatever takes my fancy, or grabs my imagination, on any given day. The only rule I have is to do something, however small relating to my writing, and tick something off the list of ‘to do’ each day. I’ve paid scant attention to my Facebook author page, and that will now only have links to new posts on the website, but I will still be active on my personal page.

Today for instance I’m writing this, and when I’ve finished I’ll getting back to writing the final chapters of The Cuban Conundrum. It is true that with somethings less is more. I still get side tracked with Facebook, and silently curse whoever shared the video of the cute puppies making friends with a hippo or suchlike, but I do get something down in writing without the pressure of having to do so.

I’m waffling now, so I’ll leave you to it, if you did not originally subscribe to the website, and do not want updates, please feel free to unsubscribe – I will not be offended. If you do want to stick around, welcome!

I’m off to walk the dogs, and will be back soon………..I hope.