Summer Schedule

I've been quite lax about blogging in recent weeks as the school year wound down.  Between driving for field trips, finishing the Spring sports season and wrapping up my school/work year obligations, it was a bit of a hairy time.

I've always dreaded the start of summer in terms of what it meant for my writing time fearing there would be no time with chauffering kids around and having them underfoot each day.  I believe this summer will be different.  The school year was full of various work obligations, school functions and sporting practices and events.  Summer seems to be bringing more peace, during the days at least as most softball and baseball is in the evening.  I've found myself sitting outside on my front deck watching my kids shoot hoops or play catch while working on a picture book or catching up on market research reading. 

I do need to set some sort of schedule to accomplish what I'd like to complete this summer with some degree of consistency but feel this summer, more than any other, is going to be ripe with productivity.

So, I am curious...what works for your summer schedule?  How do you modify your goals and objectives during the summer months?  I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas if you are willing to share.

To Dummy or Not to Dummy?

Have you made a dummy book?  A dear friend just passed me some good information on how to do so as I have not prior.  So, I will be tackling this project soon with two of my current PB manuscripts. 

My question is...if you have made one, did you find it a helpful process?  In your experience, is it worth the time and energy?  How many pages of front and back matter did you use?  Did you begin your story on page 6?

I believe this will be time well spent for my current WIP but would love to hear any hints or suggestions you may have if you've gone through this process.

Thank you in advance for your time!

Working Writer's Club

Have you heard of the Working Writer's Club or Suzanne Lieurance, the Working Writer's Coach?  If not, you need to learn more.

I've been a member of the club for at least a year; however, it has only been in the last several months that I've really started to explore all the benefits.  The club offers so many things that I will not even scratch the surface, but please click on the link below and start (or continue to build) your own path to publication.

The WWC teaches you how to build a freelance career, it increases your focus on your goals and objectives and helps you set reasonable and attainable goals if you are having a difficult time doing so.  There is training and support from Suzanne and club members that serve in a mentorship role with the interaction and exchange of information.

As a member of the club, you gain access to teleclasses and loads of information available via the resource center, audio center and forum.  You can even hire Suzanne as your own personal writing coach for a nominal fee well worth the information and assistance you gain.

But, don't take my word for it...click below and explore the possibilities for your own writing life.

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First Things First

"The older I get the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first: a process which often reduces the most complex human problem to a manageable proportion."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

This quote seems apropos to the writing process--first things first, one manageable step at a time. Some days, what constitutes a manageable step is quite small; other days, the steps are much larger and seem more relevant.

I'm working these days at keeping my intended steps important to the writing process and meaningful in the overall picture. For me, this means an increased focus on writing--creating stories, articles and picture books for which to research homes and dusting off and revising those long left alone. I'm greatly looking forward to just writing and letting the rest be for now. There will come a day for marketing, building a platform and getting my name out there. For now, I must write so as to have some basis from which the rest will grow.

Conquer Your Fear

"I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he
fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record
of successful experience behind him."

~Eleanor Roosevelt (From C. Hope Clark on TOTAL FundsforWriters http://www.fundsforwriters.com/ )

I thought this a great quote to start off a new writing week. Fear is often a major distractor in setting and accomplishing goals. One must forge ahead, despite the fear, to reach success.

Fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough, fear of many things...don't let it stop you. Conquer your fear and set your own record of success.

Job Boards and Assignments

I've blogged in (somewhat) recent past about the struggle between all the "need to do" things to develop and maintain a successful freelance writing career and finding time to just plain write. I'm attempting to find a balance between both and have been somewhat more successful this week.

One of the things I've been told to spend some solid time on to pursue a freelance career which generates income (which is, ultimately, the goal of most writers) is to check job boards and search for assignments. I've spent a little time on this though must say am struggling to find anything that seems a good fit. Thus far, the MorningCoffee Freelance Writing Jobs Newsletter is the main one I've explored as someone recommended it a while ago.

Are there others any of you find productive to warrant your time? I'd love any input in this regard if you are willing to share what you consider a good investment in time and effort.

Thank you so much!

Your True Self

I recently started reading Cecil Murphey's book, UNLEASH THE WRITER WITHIN. I'm not very far into it but wanted to share a few wise words. Mr. Murphey focuses not only on improving writing in this book but on figuring out who we are and not forgetting our true self in the writing process.

He says, "I write to find out who I am...I write because it is a gift." He further suggests, "your most honest writing becomes your best writing."

It was in reading his words, albeit not very many thus far, that I realized I've lost sight of the true reason I started writing in the first place. It was the sheer love of writing and the urge to create a sense of desire to read and a love of books in children that drove me to my first ICL course.

In the recent past, it has become more of a chore to balance all that goes into it...maintaining a presence to generate interest and increase publication chances, marketing, reading job boards, creating resumes, etc. All of these things are a necessary evil in a writer's life; however, I am now going to try to separate out just the writing in terms of how I look at it all. I will write from the heart honestly and, in the process, figure out who I am as a writer and the rest, hopefully, will fall into place.

I look forward to finishing this book and "unleashing the writer within." Please share your means of creating your most authentic voice.