How many tasks can a writer juggle? by Mae Clair

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I’ve decided that among the obvious word talent that writers possess, we’re also expert jugglers. Writing, editing, promotion, social media, giveaways…you get the idea.

Stressed woman with pink note surrounded by colorful post-it remindersLately, I’ve been doing a lot of juggling. Post-it note reminders have mutated are taking over my office. Here’s a glimpse of what I currently have going on:

I finished the content edits on A THOUSAND YESTERYEARS, book 1 of my Point Pleasant Series. My editor was pretty tough this go-round and pointed out a few things I hadn’t picked up on in the initial draft (like my fondness for the word “surely.” Note to self: add to my list of words to avoid). Next up, copy edits, which I imagine will arrive any day.

I put together a book cover for FOOD FOR POE, my paranormal/Christmas novella, and hope to reveal it once all of the Halloween/October excitement quiets down. October is going to be a busy month for me. MYTH AND MAGIC is currently on sale for $.99 and I’ve got several posts, a short blog tour, and a blog hop lined up to promote it. Like I said—juggling.

I started formatting FOOD FOR POE (an indie release) and am pleased at how smoothly that’s progressing so far. *fingers crossed*

ECLIPSE LAKE, my full-length mystery indie release has been doing extremely well. A local book club even picked it up as their read of the month. That prompted me to enter it into a contest Shelf Unbound magazine runs for indie releases. I can’t imagine actually winning, but it would be nice to get an honorable mention and expose the story to a new audience. The freebie promo I ran on Amazon has really paid off, so I’m planning another after the first of the year.

I’ll be sending out my first newsletter tomorrow. A new venture that I’m super excited about.  If you haven’t signed up and would like to, please click here to ensure you receive my debut edition. Wait until you see my Halloween header. I just love it! 🙂

I’m still trying to arrange a book signing with two other local authors. I tried to set something up with BAM, but it didn’t work out. Even though our books are available in POD format through BAM’s online store, titles have to be available through Ingram and returnable. No such luck, so we’re attempting to arrange something with an independent bookstore. Still hoping for the month of October to take advantage of MYTH AND MAGIC’s Halloween theme. *fingers crossed again*

Craig Boyack’s wonderful THE EXPERIMENTAL NOTEBOOK OF C.S. BOYACK has me enamored of short stories and micro fic all over again (if you haven’t picked up his book, grab a copy. It’s only $.99 and contains a treasure-trove of short reads). I’ve got a bunch of shorts sitting around begging attention and currently behaving like guppies at the top of a water line—Feed me! Feed me! To top it off, I got hit with several ideas for new stories the other night. *more balls in the air* It’s crazy to even consider, but I’m thinking about trying to squeeze an indie release of shorts in next fall. In the meantime, I’m working on A COLD TOMORROW, book 2 of my Point Pleasant series. Like I said—writers are expert jugglers.

I’m often reminded of Bilbo Baggins in the LORD OF THE RINGS when he says “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

Yep. Been having a lot of days like that lately. Tell me about yours. What tasks are you juggling?

37 thoughts on “How many tasks can a writer juggle? by Mae Clair”

  3. After twelve beta readers feedback, I offed Naked Alliances to a professional content editor thinking it was pretty good to go. Ha! Now, I’m preparing the MS for a second pass through and line editing. I have a guest post to write, or two. I published my last book in 2013….I’m really not looking forward to all the follow up necessary. Ugh! I just want to write.

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    • Susan, I completely hear you about wanting to write.I know so many authors who feel the same way–promo keeps them from devoting time to penning stories. It’s an awful juggling act/balance. Sounds like you’re in the thick of things with your latest. Congrats on all your progress!

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  7. “….butter scraped over too much bread? ”
    So often I wish I had Samantha Stephens”s ( Bewitched 1964 series) powers to deal with the many tasks and above all the hateful marketing. I deeply understand you!
    Carmen

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    • Oh, I love the idea of twitching my nose and having my promos and formatting done in a second. What a great idea, Carmen. It would leave far more free time for writing which is all authors really want to do anyway. 🙂

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  8. I do understand. I had times like that when I was working as well as trying to write. Hang in there because it sounds like you are doing really well. Remember every so often to take a step outside and breathe deeply, admire the sky, the clouds, the flowers or the autumnal leaves, then go back indoors and crack on with it. Xx Daisy B

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    • Thanks, Daisy. I know you’ve really had a full plate this year….4 releases, wasn’t it? Thanks for the reminder that I need to stop every so often and recharge. Autumn is a lovely time to soak in the natural surroundings so I think I’ll take advantage of that 🙂

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  9. That’s a lot of juggling, Mae. (I was going to say balls, but wasn’t sure how that would come across.) I wish you the best of success with all the projects! I’m juggling a couple of major ones myself and I know how it feels.

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    • That ‘s the great thing about the writing community. I know that even if others ( around me) might not be able to appreciate the difficulty of all those tasks, other authors do. At least I know I’m not alone in this. Wishing you success with all these “balls” you’re juggling 😀

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    • Lauralynn, I didn’t realize you did all of that. Wow, I think you’ve written a ton of books for all you’ve got going on. I keep hoping for the lottery, but so far no such luck, a LOL!

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    • Flossie, Eclipse has been doing well ever since I ran the freebie promo on it back in June. It really breathed new life into the book and exposed it to a bigger audience. Ever since then, it seems to be getting more exposure. I’m really pleased and am planning on doing another freebie promo after the first of the year to keep the momentum going!

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    • Thanks, Jessie. It’s definitely crazy right now but the projects are exciting, so I’m jazzed. 🙂 And glad you like the title of my Christmas novella. It’s a fun little paranormal thing 🙂

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  16. Pretty much all of the above! I’m doing edits on my third book in preparation for the beta readers, marketing my first and second, attending Bouchercon this week, critiquing, and reading books for reviews. The good part is that I’ve managed to shed two time intensive positions left over from my before-retirement career. What would I do if I weren’t busy? What would you do?

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    • Lovely to have you drop by! You definitely sound like you’re juggling a lot…and enjoying every minute of it. Great for you! As writers I think it’s in our blood to do what we do no matter how much time it takes. Sometimes it’s just really hectic juggling it with a full-time job. I think if I had two weeks off I could put a huge dent in the “to do” list! 🙂

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