We’re entering the fourth week of January 2006. The holidays are over. Are you back to work on your writing project? Is your freelance writing business picking up? Or are you having trouble getting started?
Here are some suggestions designed to help you get back in the groove or get your groove back.
1: Schedule time each day to write. Make writing a priority just like you do feeding the dog, working out and going grocery shopping.
Like most people who go hog wild at Christmastime, I took time off to play and to honor the holidays. But I’m back to work now full-time—10+ hours a day almost everyday. It’s Sunday morning at 7:30 as I contribute this post to my blog. It’s not easy to reestablish a writing schedule. But, if writing is your profession, it’s necessary.
Currently, I spend early mornings catching up on email. I typically have writers’ questions coming in through the SPAWN Web site and my own Web site or from someone who has a copy of one of my writing books. I generally have book orders which need to be made ready for shipping. This is also when I conduct Internet research for pending articles.
Mid mornings find me sending out query letters. And my afternoons are spent writing articles, working with a client and/or doing some book promotion.
I slip out twice during the day. Once to take my 2 or 3-mile walk and once to take outgoing books to the post office, do banking, pick up supplies, etc.
Most evenings find me reading some of the dozen or so newsletters I receive each week and reviewing client’s and potential client’s manuscripts. This is also when I schedule the following day’s work activities.
2: Do five things every day toward your writing goal. Here are five example:
• Write five paragraphs or five pages of your novel.
• Come up with five article ideas (or send out five reprints).
• Contact five new magazine editors.
• Make five new book promotion contacts (book reviewers, booksellers, book festivals, etc).
• Make five follow-up calls or emails related to your article work or book promotion.
3: Spend time at least once a month promoting your writing business. Develop a marketing letter and send it to potential clients or introduce yourself and your expertise to new editors, for example.
On January 2, I sent letters to several local businesses reminding them of our services. We’ve received two potentially lucrative responses so far.
4: Get creative when it comes to your writing business, article work or book promotion.
• Find new ways to work with clients: writing resumes, creating brochures, rewriting employee manuals for corporations, for example.
• Expand your article base. Tweak old articles to fit very different magazines, seek out new magazines and come up with new article topics for familiar editors.
• Seek book reviews. Visit bookstores personally with your book. Schedule speeches to promote your book. Send press releases to libraries.
My latest and greatest promotional idea is taking my book to Hawaii. Pretty brazen, don’t you think? I’m planning a trip to Hawaii next month and I’m trying to arrange a speaking gig for a writers group while I’m there. If I can make a connection, I’ll talk about SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and I’ll teach something from my latest book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
5: Find ways to stay positive. As a writer, you are constantly setting yourself up for rejection. Your articles are rejected. Your writers group is sometimes too critical of your work. You are sometimes your worst critic when it comes to your writing. It’s hard to come by positive feedback.
Here’s how I conquer this writer’s curse.
• I display things in my office that make me feel accomplished and loved. There are family photos, treasured gifts from friends, a poem I wrote, signatures and framed book covers from some of my books and some of my best photography, for example. I also keep something nearby that emits a wonderful scent. Right now I have a honeysuckle candle next to my keyboard. It smells so good that I don’t even have to light it to enjoy the aroma.
• I also connect often with my most positive and supportive friends and family via brief emails or a quick phone call.
• I take mini-vacations almost every day. This is when I spend an hour walking amidst stands of oaks, along a nearby river, around a lake or at the beach.
• I frequently engage in something creative outside of writing. I spend time in my garden or working on a needlework project.
January 2006 is almost over. If you haven’t reestablished your momentum as a writer, it’s time that you did. It’s also an opportune time to add to your knowledge base as an author or freelance writer. Educate yourself. Order some of my valuable books now:
The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book
The Successful Writer’s Handbook
A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles
Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book
How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less