Juggling a Hybrid Schedule

Speech Notes:

A Roadmap to Success

by

Tina Wheeler

Decide How Fast You Want to Take This Trip? (One car is not better than another.)

Identify the type of vehicle you’re driving:

Have Best Selling Author Goals + writing workaholic = Race Car

Have Midlist Author Goals + Juggling a full life and writing = SUV

Have Hobbyist Author Goals + Cruising along = Convertible

Adjusting Speed

Identify Where Your Desired Goal + Stress Tolerance + Productive Time Intersect

Warning: If any of these will remain low, do not trade in for a race car.

Avoid running out of gas by pushing you (your vehicle) beyond its limits.

Choose a Final Destination

Five Year Goal – Ex: making a list, income level, # of books per year and/or desired

publisher

What will it take? Break into yearly goals

Choose genre(s) and pen name(s) – Narrow is easier to manage & builds bigger fanbase

Map Your Trip

First, consider any contract restrictions and publisher expectations such as books per year.

Pick a lane

Self-Publishing + Small Press

Self-Publishing + Small or Large Traditional Presses

Small Press + Large (Big 5) Publisher

Short Story Under 10,000

Novelette 7,5000 – 19,000 words

Novella 10,000 – 40,000 words

Novels 50,000+ (category romance starts at 55K)

Select story size based on goals and time allowance. Novellas are easier if you’re

pressed for time.

Hybrid Pubs say they are both – tread carefully – costly

If you go this route, pick one that will teach you how to do it yourself.

If you have the money, you can hire a book shepherd, but it’s cheaper to network, watch webinars, and YouTube videos.

Get Ready

Choose which publisher has priority and work the others around their expected output.

Choose number of books/novellas/short stories per year to reach your goal

Plan your production schedule

Will you write more than one book at a time?

Fitting in extra projects - weekend/after meeting a daily goal/specific weeks

Do you need to schedule revision only time?

How many chapters or words do you need each month?

How many words, scenes, or chapters can I write each working week?

How many hours per working day do I need meet that goal?

Scheduling Tools

Chunky Method (average your words per session)

Word tracking apps like WriteTrack.cloud

Spreadsheet, planner or calendar

Get Set

Prepare for your writing space

Designated/decluttered writing space

Keep needed resources like name books or writing thesaurus handy

Create and Save Helpful Tools (Delete old files you don’t use)

Charts/outlines of your book or characters save time

Templates for eBooks/printed self-pubbed books/art fact sheets/expected items

Checklists (book production, marketing, booksigning packing lists)

Saved front and back matter for self-pubbed books

Use Time-Saving Self-Pubbing Resources

Vellum/Atticus/Kindle Create for formatting

Draft2Digital for distribution (Upload to Amazon yourself for bigger payout)

Limit Your Go-To Resources – Too many people claiming to be experts

My Resources for Learning Craft and Publishing industry:

Your Writing Community

Tina Radcliffe’s newsletter – tinaradciffe.com

YouTube How To… videos

Christian Publishing Show

Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing Formula

Author Support Network Facebook Group

Write For Harlequin Community Facebook Group

K-lytics.com

My Writing Resources:

Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi Writing Thesaurus Series

Laurie Schnebly’s Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams

Cheyenne McCray and H.D. Thomson’s Writer’s Secret Weapon

Focus Your Advertising on What Works

Brand – what readers expect from your book – expectations build an audience

Newsletters – You control it. Export copies of your emails and save.

Newsletter/BookBub/Social Media Builders – Booksweeps, AuthorsXP

Websites – More important if you sell wide. Amazon has Author Central.

BookBub – Free notices sent out to followers for new releases

Social media – Limit to where your readers are and what you do well/hire help

Go - Write

Trigger your mind with routines

Designated writing space and time

Aroma

Food/candy

Timer

Carving out more writing time

Hire help if possible

Sprinting/Write-ins

Take it with you – print chapters, writing & recording devices, pen & paper

Changes at Home

Delegate chores/errands

Toss out anything you don’t use – less to clean

Ask for consumable gifts

Cook less – make double batches/freeze or trade, delivery programs, double

takeout orders.

Clean in chunks as you go

Get a Roomba

Enjoy the Ride (Recharges your batteries)

Stay connected with friends

Play

Reached Your Destination (met your goal)

Pick another destination, tweak your roadmap, and go.

Remember Persistence Pays Off