Time Crunching: Work-Life

With spring here, or trying, I'm multi-tasking between writing, marketing, home stuff, family. So how best to spend my time.

NOTE: Check out the roses above and on A Lady's Desire. They're from my photos.

Priorities come first: paying bills, car/house upkeep, etc. Checking on how my daffodils are blooming...

But as a writer, it's bang for buck, or spending minutes where they count best. There's writing new stories, but also a whole realm of other necessaries included in this profession.

Promotion is definitely a part of any professional writer's life. Getting the "word" out there, generating those sales. On the marketing campus, networking is essential.

Twitter is my first choice for networking, learning interesting things I might not have found in my day's routine. Facebook is currently overwhelming me, in addition to e-publishing my early "classic" novels. You can refer to my other posts and an upcoming one at Sleuth's March 17th about the steep learning curve in self-publishing, e-format.

With a packed day, have to say that I'm enjoying every minute of my career with all its little necessary segments, i.e. creating and maintaining my website and blogs.

I'm entering several new communities, and making new friends there, such as The Romance Reviews. If you're an author, that is a great new place to promote, and offers free and paid advertising. Daily Cheap Reads is doing an excellent job for writers. Beautiful, hard-working people.

Then, as a mother and grandmother, I have a full plate. Did I say, "plate"? You can find more over at My Jam Jar, one of my blogs, but I love to cook and getting into Asian now with a bamboo steamer, dim sum, etc. (My daughter promised to teach me about chopsticks on her next visit. I have enough of them for everyone, so we'll all try.) At this writing, I'm cooking slow-cooker stew, because today was cold and rainy. (A slow-cooker is a writer's best friend, no more burning when absorbed by the story we're writing. But just watching the people of Japan deal with weather, on top of their country's damage, chilled me.)

On that full plate, are my hopes and prayers for the people of Japan. In the last few days, that was a priority, and I hope you've donated whatever possible, too. I am inspired by the number of countries involved in various phases of rescue/support, etc. We are now a global community, feeling this tragedy deeply. CNN and others are doing a terrific reporting job. If one ever digs into feel self-absorbed with their individual problems, one look at today's news and everything may be put into a different perspective.

On another note, apart from the tragedy, I can't wait for Sarah Addison Allen's next, The Peach Keeper. I've loved her work since Garden Spells (Bantam Discovery)


What's uppermost in a Writer's Day?

Exercise? Should be some of that in there, too. I try to walk 2.5 miles a day, but am a slacker when the weather is pitiful.

I'm focused on getting my reverted rights back out there, so that has been a priority with me in the last months.

Of all, one thing that I have just placed to the bottom of my list is too much free-wheeling on Internet and Social Media. Social Media has been an excellent resource in this world tragedy.

As a professional, Social Media is a must, but addiction to it is damaging, at least when in a time-crunch. And people, there is never enough time for everything.

But take time to smell the roses and appreciate them.

How are managing time and life today? Do you think you're doing your best? What can you do better?