TIPS ON KEEPING YOUR LIFE ORGANISED AS AN AUTHOR
BY ANNETTE AUSTIN
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This is probably the one thing which most self-published authors struggle with the most. I know that I do. It’s having an organised schedule. A set daily routine when you should be doing the majority of your work. Sometimes, with all the difficulties occurring in life, especially during this difficult period for everyone, it is exceptionally hard. Most self-published authors will have a full time or a part-time job on top of what they are doing right now. Others may be full-time mothers or be looking after a husband, wife or relative which means there might be less time to write. These are just a few tips which I use. I hope some of these tips will be of use to you.
1. Set a Time
Whether it is 1 pm or 1 am, set a time each day when you will be able to write. This time should be when they will be no distractions. For example, this could be when your children have gone to bed or while they’re at school. Perhaps, it could be a few hours after work. Decide a time which is the best fit for you.
2. Stick To It
Once you have found a particular time, stick to it for at least a couple of weeks. It is no good writing one day between 9 am -1 pm and then not writing again for another week or two. To get better at anything, hard work and practice are necessary. Writing is not an easy career and if many hours are not put in, then the chances of success are slim.
3. High Productivity
Pick a time when you will be at your most productive. Some writers work best in the mornings, while others work better in the evenings. Personally, I find my mind is more alert in the mornings than the evenings, so I set a time in the mornings to at least write a segment of my novel.
4. Don’t Be Afraid To Switch
This is something which might prove tricky, especially if you’re working. If you find that you’ve set a time and for whatever reason, the productivity levels are not there, don’t be afraid to switch. For example, I decided to work on my novel from 2 pm onwards, but because I work in the mornings, I found my productivity levels were down. When I recently decided to switch and concentrated on my writing in the mornings, I found my mind was much clearer, the words flowed much better and my productivity was much higher. It is something to consider if you’re only writing a couple of hundred words a day or week.
Annette Austin is a self-published author of four novels in the acclaimed The James Saga series, ‘The Fall of the House of James’, ‘Always A Slave’, ‘A Slave’s Vow’ and ‘Betrayal of Love’ and her first novel spent a brief time at the Number 1 spot on Amazon (History of Antebellum U.S. Chart.) All four of the books in The James Saga have garnered five-star reviews on Amazon.
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