Things to Do, Places to Go

I'm often asked how I manage to balance writing time with all the rest of the busyness that comes with the job -- promotion, marketing, taxes...heck, just answering email! Looking back, I think trying to keep up with everything was a contributing factor to my burn out. I used to have a 48 hour rule for answering email, then it turned into a week, then it turned into...Heeeeelp, I'm drowning...

I guess a lot of the email could be turned over to my trusty virtual assistant, but no. People are writing Josh Lanyon. Whatever they have to say, it is for Josh Lanyon to hear it and respond to it. Eventually.

So I'm still exploring all the possibilities for making the best use of my time. Of course I know now that I have to build in time off, take breaks, take deep breaths, spend time with family and friends and the guy who gets very testy when I don't show up to dinner. I was trying to create a regular schedule, nine to five and weekends off, but...it just doesn't work that way.

There are days I can't write until quite late or at all because something else has come up -- sometimes it's work related like listening to audio files or uploading files or commissioning covers or filling out tax forms or...just...stuff. There's just a never ending parade of stuff to deal with. That's the life of a small business owner, which is what a professional writer is.

So nine to five doesn't really work. It's got to stay a little more fluid to accomodate the ebb and flow of the creative tide as well as the realities of running a small business. I won't deny it's a heady pleasure to get to figure out how you want to arrange your own work schedule. I mean, I well remember the days (years) when my work schedule was arranged by others.

What seems to be working right now is a four day writing work and then three days of writing business and working on other projects. That seems to deal with my creative restlessness and give me enough time to do things like grocery shop, go to therapy, answer emails, do edits, etc. I just noticed today that what it doesn't include is an actual time off weekend, but maybe I don't need that so much as I need to be able to take time when I do feel like a break. That's probably more like it. I don't want to feel guilty if I use Wednesday to go to lunch with a friend.

For the sake of my wrists, I have to limit how much actual typing I do, but beyond that, it's pretty relaxed and that seems to be working. I'm moving forward slowly but surely. I finished that ugly rough draft of Blood Red Butterfly, worked on the outlines for Winter Kill and Stranger on the Shore, got back to work on The Boy With the Painful Tattoo, and Monday I'm back filling in the blanks (chasms) of Blood Red Butterfly. I guess the proof as to whether this works or not will be at the end of this week when I see whether I have actually finished BRB on schedule. If not, I'll have to reevaluate because, while I'm all for keeping things loose and creative, I do still have to pay the bills!