Jan Notzon asked Laura Smith:

How do you find time to write and do interviews and keep up with social media, goodreads, etc.?

Laura Smith I never sleep. ha ha Actually, I do a lot of it at night and on weekends. Part of being an independent author is utilizing your writing time for networking. So, a lot of my writing gets pushed aside to keep up with everything.

I have a system down. I write my Facebook posts in advance and schedule them to post throughout the week. I also use a lot of shortcuts. My author page is linked to my Twitter so it kills two birds with one stone. I've started to use hashtags (#) in my posts so that they reach the right audience. I have a blog on Hubpages so when I post my interviews, I can post it onto my Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest automatically.

Once everything is posted on my social media, I update my website with that week's interviews. Every few months, I send out several requests for reviews, interviews, or guest blog posts on other authors' blogs or websites. I get a few responses back and try to keep my own work circulating throughout the writing world. Authors are willing to trade services. So, it helps to make friends in the writing world.

I write when I'm watching TV at night or take my computer outside and write on my back patio in the summer. On weeks, I'll write in the morning or whenever I have time. Every spare moment is spent with a notebook or a computer. In the past, I've had the time to write but no ideas. Now, I have the ideas but no time. So, I have to make the time, whether it's 15 minutes or four hours a day. I used to force myself to write something everyday, but that became a chore. So, I don't set guidelines anymore. It's not worth your time if your heart is not in it that day. If I'm on a roll, I'll stay up late. Some days, it's worth the lost sleep.

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