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Writing Time for Authors is Found Using Math

If you’re an author, you need writing time. There are gobs of blogs out there loaded with advice about how to squeeze it in. Most of this advice is word-based. Get up earlier and join the #5AMWritingClub! Keep a notebook in your car! Write on weekends or week nights! Set word minimums! Set maximums! Set times! Set days… Geez willikers! Enough already.

What writers need to sort out their writing time, in order to manage writing and business hours, is simple. It’s just math. Plain ol’ simple math.

Why Math Matters to Authors Seeking Writing Time

I can hear you groaning. You didn’t become an author to do math! However, today’s authors have two time-hungry tasks. Writing and Business. Consequently, doing a little number-crunching now to determine how and if you can swing those hours can save you gobs of time and heartache later.

First, the writing time. In order to finish writing a book, or to write the next one, you need good, solid, butt-in-chair time. You need writing hours, not mere minutes, for words to get on pages.

Secondly, for each book completed you need business hours. Those hours are mostly devoted to marketing—newsletters, websites, talks, and more. You know, the things that actually tell readers about books, so you can sell books, so you can write more. Managing those requires a plan, and time to devote to it (read how Elizabeth Carson Williams learned about this author planning business).

As a result of the two tasks required, you need see how much time you really have to devote to writing and business. And that begins with finding out just how open or jammed-packed your life really is.

Examining Your Current Life Hours to find Writing Time

There are 168 hours in a week. Eight hours each day are recommended for sleeping (not sleeping impacts creativity, and that’s a whole other article). That leaves you 112 waking hours for all things required of your current life. Family? Job? Eating? Gardening? Groceries?

It doesn’t matter if you’re pursuing writing as a second career or as a career change, it is time for an honest examination of your life NOW to sort out how writing and marketing/business tasks will fit into that 112. Here’s a simple chart. Fill it in, and add it up to see what’s available.

Writing Time: Author Life Hours Chart Karen A Chase

If your TOTAL HOURS was zero (or less than)

Oh boy. Your life seems like it’s already squeezed so tight! So, perhaps this isn’t the best time for you to take on a huge project (which a book absolutely is). Better to know this now than tax yourself, or your family, even more. However, even if you have 112+ life hours now, it doesn’t mean giving up the dream of writing. It means you have two choices:
1) Adjust your life to make room for writing (even if it’s for the joy of it and not publishing)
2) Delay writing the book/novel/story until you have more time

If your TOTAL HOURS allow for some writing & business hours

Perhaps this little bit of math enabled you to determine your available hours. Perhaps you’re retired, and you know thirty hours are wide open to you. If it’s just three hours, it will absolutely take you longer to write and publish a book, or you may want to also adjust your life to gain more writing time. Whether it’s a little or a lot of hours, your next equation is to divide (oh no, more math) writing hours and business hours.

How to Divide time between Writing Time and Business Hours

This chart of writing versus business hours will help you determine how to divide those hours based on where you are in the publishing process—from no book, to book launch, to in between launches (maintenance).

Writing Time: Author Business vs Writing Hours Karen A Chase

What do you instantly notice? That’s right, at no time are you only writing. Why? Readers need to hear about your book! And they need to hear about it from you, not just your publisher (if you have one they’ll only do so much). As your publishing date comes around, the marketing simply needs more of your attention.

An Example of the Author’s Math

If your head is swimming from all the above, let’s go through an example. Let’s say your life commitments are 108 hours:

  • 112–108 = 4 hours/week for writing and business tasks

What this means for each week is:

  • No book yet or between publications = 3 hours writing, 1 hour business
  • Pre & Post-launch = 1 hour writing, 3 hours business
  • Launch Month = 0 writing, 4 hours business

It’s up to you to decide when you will spend those hours. At lunch? Evenings? Tuesdays at 5AM? Regardless, consistency usually helps authors stay on track. Define the days and times, and always separate the writing from the business hours. Your creativity needs space away from to-do lists (which is all marketing really is, but that’s also another article).

 

A Final Word on Using Author Math to find Writing Time

No matter how it adds up, being honest now—about your life and the realities of publishing today—can equal less stress. The math can help you get a handle on your time commitments, and help you recognize how (or if) writing can fit with your reality. Okay, that’s enough math today. A+ to you for hanging in through this whole article… it’s time (for those who have it) to become the BOSS of your author business.

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This article originally ran in the members-only newsletter for James River Writers, a literary community supporting and inspiring authors through monthly Writing Shows, an annual writing conference every October, and more. Join JRW today! For a deeper dive on the above topic, and managing the business of being an author, pick up my latest Brand the Author (Not the Book): A Workbook for Writing & Launching your Own Author Brand Plan.

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A New Author Brand. For me.

For the last couple of years, I’ve been building branded platform tools––websites, social media, and more––for authors through my 224Design business. It was time for this author to cobble better shoes for herself. Now, from your own comfy chair, you can gad about, Chasing Histories with me.

FB_WebsiteLaunch_KarenAChase

Why build a New Author Website?

Soon I’ll have a new book! Summer of 2019, my Revolutionary War novel will at long last (whew!) be published. This website is a place for book clubs and other venues to connect with me about talks and presentations. On my Giving page, I’m thrilled to share the two organizations––for preservation and education––I’ve designated to receive a portion of the proceeds from my upcoming novel. (If you just can’t wait until summer, you can read an excerpt of CARRYING INDEPENDENCE now.)

A Newsletter and Blog

My website now has both. The newsletter, CHASING HISTORIES, will let readers, friends, and fans in on details about my author-related events nearest your zip code. You’ll also receive travel tips, history-related photos, book ideas, and little tidbits of history I’ve discovered during my travels for words. I hope you’ll subscribe. (If you subscribed to my past blog, your subscription will transition here.)

The blog, COMPOSITIONS, is now a space for American history-enthusiasts like me. Brief posts of about 200 words will highlight other American history-related events, places, historians, authors, and artists. Guest posts are encouraged. Please contact me if you’d like to contribute, or sign-up on the blog page.

Collaboration and Thanks

An author brand never comes together without a crew, and thankfully a merry band of amazing women-entrepreneurs crafted it with me.

Christina Reeser of i.o.Studio is the website developer who wrote that beautiful code. Stephanie Caruso of Paste Creative is managing my newsletter and more. The lovely folks at BluChic crafted the WordPress theme.

Kim Frost was the photographer behind the camera, with the vision to capture my time-traveling, NSDAR, French-inspired, author within. Stefanie Rae coiffed those unruly curls, and Kara at Avenue 42 met me at 6AM for makeup.

The locations for those photos included Richmond’s very own, CanCan Brasserie, and the Kent-Valentine House, an historic 19th century home now headquarters of the Garden Club of Virginia.

To all the above, I owe immense thanks. Because of them, we can all pack a virtual bag, grab a great hat, and go travel with adventure together.

– Karen

 

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Dove’s Superficial-Facial Campaign

When I first saw the new “Beauty Sketches” Dove commercial for women I was moved. Here was a national brand putting together a campaign to show women how truly beautiful they are, in an ingenious way. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch the spot; a forensic artist draws women as they describe themselves, and then as others do. The more beautiful drawing is not from their own description.

After seeing another commercial this week, I began to wonder if Dove is helping women to see ourselves more beautifully, or are they chastising us? The ad that made me reconsider my position was for a men’s face lotion, by none other than the same brand, Dove. It’s the “Men+Care” spot.

Instead of showing men crying and grieving over self-critical views of their own appearance, this one shows how Dove can help men as they get out there and engage in everything fun, playful, silly, natural, joyful and even awkward in life. While Dove’s women’s commercial shames them into seeing their own beauty, Dove celebrates men and their experiences, even the bad ones that result in the occasional face-slap. (They also did this man+care spot for the superbowl.)

So I’m sorry Dove, but in your view what makes a woman a woman, is how she sees herself on the outside. While what makes a man a man is all the life experiences he has (so he should protect his skin with a little face lotion). The shame is on you, Dove. It seems to me your branding for women is just a little too skin deep.

A little photo sampler of shots Ted has taken of me. What I don’t see is my skin, what I see is a life–a life of fun, silliness, friendships, family, love, and experiences–with makeup or none. Take that Dove.

Sharing Writing on Facebook

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On Facebook, it’s important to turn away from writing, and speak to those who are following along.

Social media promotion is a big part of what authors are required to handle on our own, and growing a fan base takes more than just time.  More importantly, it takes a willingness to chat with readers in the right way, especially on Facebook.

Insights in writing
There has been the belief that introverted writers sit with a drink in hand at 10 a.m. being tortured by plot twists. Sharing honest behind-the-scenes details about my sober process, has helped readers see how I really write. A fellow writer, Steena Holmes, recently asked Facebook fans to help define traits of a new character. Her readers felt like writers for a while, connecting them to her story. Brilliant.

“Reach” is better than “like”
The world sees how many “like” my author Facebook page, but Facebook shows me how many people are talking about my posts with others. That number is my “reach.” So while I only show about 170 “likes,” my reach during the height of a recent promotion was closer to 550.

Inspiration and perspiration
There is a balance between waxing on about the research and the work, and providing an escape and inspiration. Posts with quotes or comments on the writing and book world get just as much interaction as longer opinion posts.

Tag and share
Give credit. If I mention another writer, a post, or a quote, it’s important to tag the photo or properly share the post to give credit of its origin. Writers supporting writers will get us all more readers.

What Facebook tips for writers do you have?

Guest Post: The Sweet Lindy Dale

My guest blogger today comes all the way from Australia! Lindy Dale is an author of Chick Lit and paranormal romance (wow). After writing books for ten years, she recently went through a brand redevelopment for her books and author platform. So grab some coffee or chocolate, curl up and read on…

LindyDale

When I first started out, I had a homemade cover and a book. No website, no blog, Facebook Page or Twitter accounts. It didn’t take long for me to realize that if I wanted to be noticed, I was going to have to do something more. If I wanted to be regarded as a professional I had to have a professional look– not some tacky thing that screamed “DIY”. That’s where branding came in.

The first step was to define myself.  Okay. I’m a Chick Lit and Women’s Fiction (WF) author. My Chick Lit runs to the humorous side and my WF is often sadder. The common thread is love. Always love.

Next, I created a logo with a cute, fun caricature. You can see it on my Facebook page. It defines the type of book I write–fun, easy to read, happy endings. I carried this over to my website and blog.  I also changed my pen name from L.A. Dale to Lindy Dale to strengthen the Chick Lit theme–you don’t hear of many CL authors using initials. It’s a more personal, friendly genre.

Then late last year, I engaged a cover designer to redesign my covers to give them a cohesive look. The font and style will be the same, though there will be differences between the Chick Lit and WF that will instantly tell the reader what type of book they’re going to read.

The last stage has been the blog and this is a work in progress.  Instead of the hit and miss process I had before, it now has a structure with regular posts on topics chosen by my readers. It comes out weekly and is backed up by a newsletter of exclusive content only given to subscribers.

So what about you? Have you ever considered branding yourself?

You can find Lindy on her website, her Facebook and Twitter under @LA_DALE. Below is a screen snapshot of her oh so cute website redesign.

LADaleNet

 

Bonjour 40 – Le livre est arrivé!

Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log, the print version, is now available on Amazon!! Oh la la!

So many readers asked for it and it’s finally here. After the success of the eBook and receiving an eLit award, I went out to find an agent and a traditional publisher. But then I got to wondering what kind of book they would make. What would it look like? What would the design feel like compared to my trip? I’m a professional designer, and we like things just so. After some searching and a lot of encouragement, I eventually gave in… no, stepped up, and said, “Karen, you can do this.”

So I combed through the thousands of photos from the trip, and added in some new text. Then I went at it. Now it is 132 full-color pages, 8.5×8.5, with over 100 images. It feels more like a photo journal and a pictorial journey through Paris, but it still has my stories about a strange pillow and Bandit the dog.

If you loved the eBook, I hope the print version will be on your gift list–for yourself and others. Joyeux Noël.

For those who want to know how I produced the book, my process included:

~ InDesign for the page layout of the interior and cover.
~ Photoshop to crop, resize and color correct all 109 images.
~ Worked with April Michelle Davis to edit the copy in the new layout.
~ Opened an account through Createspace (Amazon’s print self-publishing).
~ Submitted a PDF of my files and they sent me a physical proof.
~ Based on the size and page numbers, Createspace helped me set pricing.
~ Approve it all, and wait 5-7 days for it to hit Amazon.

A few of the inside pages are below. To see more, you can “Look inside” on Amazon.

Lucy Inside and Out

In branding I often speak with clients about perception. How they are seen by others is probably how they really are. So if they want to put out a certain type of image, then it’s important to be that image. Not become. Be.

However, clients, like people, aren’t just one thing. They’re complex. In fact, they’re like Lucille Ball. Lucy was a stunning movie star who was astute and said brilliant things. But then she could turn all ham and cheese and sometimes stuffed her mouth with the wildest things.

Lucy’s lesson is to be yourself. Who you are both inside and out. Because what you hope you are and what you probably are, are perceived by everyone. And perception is reality. For laughs, and as an example, I return to Lucille Ball. Using public domain images of Lucy, I’ve comprised a photo series of who I think I am, and how I think I’m perceived. So in a nutshell (my nutshell), I am both these things.

Me at work:

My relationship:

My friendships:

What I look like in costumes:

My confidence in new adventures:

If I were a superhero:

My movie star quality:

Author Websites

If you’re a new author or a self-published author, you need one. Even JK Rowling and Wilbur Smith have them. But what makes for a good author site?

Above all, the site must provide details about your book(s) and also contain links to retailers for purchasing. However, it’s also to help readers connect with you. The website URL should be YourAuthorName.com and not YourBookTitle.com (unless of course you plan on being a one-hit wonder). Assuming you’re not, the website is your library and forum, so set it up as such.

Websites for authors don’t have to, and probably shouldn’t be, large. You want to write books, not update websites. Navigation tabs at minimum should include:
About – Books – Contact

The optional stuff is where your readers get to interact with you, and that’s crucial in gaining a following. So additional navigation can include things like:
Book Trailers/Video – Press/News – Blog – Photo Gallery – Twitter Feed

Contact info is tricky. Many authors work from home, so listing a phone number and address can feel creepy, especially for the gals. So provide a contact form for readers. Links under your “contact” navigation can include all the social media accounts you have, so readers can connect with you there as well:
E-mail – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – RSS Feeds, etc

What other content do you think author sites should have?
Please share examples of author websites with great features or functionality.

When building my author site, I designed it so the Eiffel Tower background behind the middle section can change as new books are released, giving the site a fresh feel and PR functionality, while content stays the same.

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Writing a Brand Positioning Statement (BPS)

Do you think taking the time to properly position your brand is for the birds? Before you hang out a shingle, or write a jingle, brand baby brand.

A couple weeks ago, I met with a group who was struggling over creating a mission statement. Corporate muckety-mucks love them but often I cringe at the cubicle-world, soul-crushing sound of them. I don’t think you can write a mission statement about where you are going without knowing who you are anyways, and that’s why I prefer building a BPS first when I create brands.

What a BPS is not:
• It’s not a tagline.
• It’s not a list of your products or services.
• It’s not long.
• It’s not manifesto for why the CEO is enslaving you.

So what is it? It’s a one-to-two sentence statement that basically sums up the following for your product or your service:
• What you do
• Target audience
• Why are you best/different
• What benefit is provided

Your finished statement has to be:
• Available
• Sustainable
• Defendable

My example is always Nike®. I’m sure their brand statement is not “Just Do It.” It’s probably (I’m guessing here) something like: We make superior quality athletic clothing and sporting equipment so professional and recreational athletes can keep their mind and body on what matters most to them about their game. We let the world play.

Words are chosen carefully. An adjective like “superior” adds a qualifier to “quality.” “Professional and recreational” defines the target audience. The benefit? Every player plays a sport for a different reason, so the “mind” and “body” of each athlete gets to just do it.

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