I’ve tried juggling things like oranges, golf balls, or hacky
sacks, and for about thirty seconds I really kick ass at it. I can see the looks of amazement on everyone’s
face as they’re impressed that I can not only toss a ball up into the air, but
also juggle them. It really is Letterman
material. That is, until someone talks
or I breath or pass gas or think, “Hey, look!
I’m juggling.” At that point, I’m
getting bonked in the head by oranges and seeing stars spinning in my vision.
Hopefully, I’m better at juggling my writing.
I’m not just talking about the several manuscripts I work on
at one time. I can keep those spinning round
and round pretty well. No, I’m talking
about juggling the creative aspect with the business end. This is all new territory for me and as my
first novella is about to come out next month, I’m a little nervous.
I’ve been working hard on platform building, branding yourself
some call it. Not the hot iron type of
branding that will leave a raised mark forever on one’s skin reminding them
what a drunken idiot they were one night.
This is the branding of one’s name so that people recognize you out of
all the other writers out there. Sort of
like how Levi’s stands out in the world of jeans. Or, at least, that’s what I assume it
means.
It sounds good and so I’m going
to stick with it.
Last summer, I self-published a free short story online,
Circle of Justice, and a little over two years ago I began The Mess that Is
Me. Both were done in order to get my
name and writing voice out there for people to gain a sample. I spend a portion of my day - each and every
day - putting both before the public, hoping people will download the story and
drive traffic to The Mess. In the
process, I’ve made some great friends who have encouraged and supported me such
as Stephanie Neighbour, David Brown and Diana Conlan.
I’ve also found great sites, such as that of
Molly Greene, to help me navigate the murky waters of marketing and platform
building. Reaping the Harvest is almost
ready to be released and I need to know how to sell what I’ve written. It’s going to take quite a bit of energy and
leg work to make it work.
And that’s where the juggling comes in. I can’t spend all of my time marketing my
writing or even writing blogs. I have to
keep the words going on the sellable work so that the next book is ready. Another draft needs to be moved to editing
which then needs to be moved to my editors, the formatting and finally
released. And then I need to do another
one. And another. I am a writer, after all. At least, that’s what I tell my parents so
they stop yelling at me to get out of the house and get a job.
Without the writing, there is nothing to market. Unless you market, you won’t sell what you’ve
written. It’s a juggling act I’m still
practicing. It doesn’t help that I get
caught up in all the exciting conversations online and before I know it two
hours have gone by without ink being put to paper. I had to work on my coordination of balancing
both halves of the whole if I was going to move forward and succeed.
I’ve combined the two into a routine based on time and
goals. Once I get my day started and
coffee has pried my eyelids open, I spend time writing down my stats from the
previous day. I then hop onto social
media and catch up with my interactions and appreciation for whatever happened
while I was sleeping. I greet new
followers, comment back to others, and share my latest blog posts and story. That takes about twenty minutes. Then the writing starts as does the
juggling. Every hour I take a break,
catch up on conversations and share my writings again. Smart phones have made it even easier to keep
up with my relationships and marketing while waiting in line to pick up the
8-year old from school. The goal is to
get back to a set number of words per day between the platform-building breaks
while sitting on my back porch not being distracted by the butterfly garden. Both are required if a writer is to succeed
and they have to be juggled properly.
They can’t all be in the air at the same time or resting in your
hand. Timing is everything in order to
keep it all rotating and not crashing to the ground.
I’m not saying I’m anywhere close to that, but hopefully I’ve
set up some habits that will make my dad proud with my juggling skills. At least, I won’t have oranges dropping on my
head.
* * * * *
Did you enjoy what you read? Leave me a comment and then join me at The Mess that Is Me on Facebook!
For Further Reading ~ Look, a Butterfly!
Thanks for visiting The Mess!
Hi Robbie, great piece and so on point. Thank you for the kind mention, I really appreciate your support and continued friendship as well. I'm sure so many who read this can totally relate to the juggling act and it's the main reason I say no to clients who ask me to do their blog content/social media accounts. I, like you, have enough trouble juggling my own writing, blogs, social media accounts, etc. This is how our business operates and it really is a full-time job. I am always impressed at the amount of great content you are able to produce each day. Can't wait to read, Reaping the Harvest.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stephanie. Your continued support and friendship means a lot. It's hard enough balancing both ends of the business plus life while chasing the 8-year old lol But it's well worth it. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteThe most important thing to me is not losing the love of the art. I've had to step back from a few things to keep the marketing aspect going, while at the same time staying mindful of why I started writing to begin with.
DeleteIt is definitely a balancing act if you want to make a living with it. I have yet to learn it properly, but there is always tomorrow...lol
DeleteMy problem has always been juggling my appetite and writing. I'm so distracted by thick shake floats lately...oh I kid you not. Maybe if I start to look at writing as a weight loss drug, I'll drop the ten pounds I've gained. See what happens? I dropped the writing ball, but am still tossing the food ball like a champ! Seems like you're better at this than I am Robbie! Good luck! I'm here to support...when I'm not eating...lol
ReplyDeleteSince going making the switch to write fulltime I have put on the pounds with no motivation to get them off. Not a good sign..lol
DeleteThanks, Christina, for visiting and commenting!