Category Archives: Rules of Profitable Writing

Accountability

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This week was a big, steaming brown pile from an accountability standpoint.

Instead of working on writing goals, I built some furniture with my son, visited with old friends from out of town and cleaned the living bajeezus out of my back yard and garage.

I did manage to meet my basic moneymaking goals, to post on this blog and work on an ongoing speculative project I plan to launch soon. I also finished off a larger assignment and took two meetings on another project I might become embroiled in.

I should have scheduled this week as a week off — I knew ahead of time how hard it would be to get everything done. That way I’d feel pretty okay about meeting my plan instead of vaguely uptight with myself for slacking off.

Ah well — the best part of screwing up is that you get to try again.

Thanks for listening.

April Moore on Work Habits (Part 1)

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I’m pleased to announce that April Moore, author of Folsom’s 93 and all-around great writer, has agreed to do a few guest posts about writing from her perspective. Without further foolish foofoorah, heeeeeere’s April… I think many writers revel in the idea of a secluded place to work; a long retreat, free from interruptions and time to master our craft. However, this concept never seems to end well for Stephen King’s writer characters. So before you head to a vacant mountain hotel, or a remote cabin in upstate New York, consider these work-from-home tips that won’t involve axes, poltergeists, or dead bodies.

Take Care of Distractions

I’m easily distracted, whether it’s something shiny or a pile of laundry. Sometimes, no matter how determined I am to get several pages written, even small things can veer me off the creative path. Working from home poses a plethora of distractions that can keep you from settling into work mode. Combat them by dealing with those things before you flip on the laptop. Wake up early and take care of that load of laundry, pile of bills, or a sink full of dishes. Schedule your chores and writing time. Perhaps designating one day to household tasks can enable you to work the rest of the week. Another distraction is the internet. Aren’t you curious about your blog stats, Twitter updates, or Lindsay Lohan’s latest court appearance? If you don’t need internet access to write, then turn it off. What about noises? One word: Earplugs. Get Organized Treat yourself to a shopping spree at an office supply store. They say if you buy great workout gear, you’re more likely to get your butt to the gym. Same goes for writing. If you want that fancy pencil holder, get it. Do what you need to do to create a productive work environment. Organization is critical for me since I have 93 dead guys to keep track of. I bought a few file boxes with hanging folders and together, my label maker and I went to town. Each inmate has his own folder containing absolutely everything pertaining to him: transcripts, newspaper articles, and even critiques from my writers group when I’ve submitted his story to them. If your work is disorganized, you may not feel motivated and driven. Get the right tools to help you. Tune in soon to hear April tell you about rewarding yourself, breaking work down and going to your room. Thanks for listening.  

More Accountability

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Alert readers know that I’ve made the following weekly commitments to myself for my productivity this summer.

6 “Units” of paid writing, 5 Acts of Marketing, 4 Blog “Packages”, 3 Proposals, 2 Administrative sessions and 1 Education module. The partridge and pear tree were optional, based on time.

This week was challenging in terms of accountability. School’s out, so my oldest boy and wife are home. It’s hard to resist the temptation to play and enjoy them. I didn’t always succeed, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I did get up early on Saturday and churn out 7 hours of productivity, but it wasn’t quite enough to meet my goals. As it was, this week’s final tally was: (bold type indicates success)

  • 6 completed units of paid work
  • 3 acts of marketing
  • 4 blog packages completed
  • 1 proposal
  • 2 administrative sessions
  • 1 education module
I have trouble with proposals more than anything else. They’re the most abstract, and seem the like I get the least concrete reward for the work. or maybe I procrastinate out of fear of failure. I’d love to hear what others do to keep themselves up on that sort of work.
Thanks for being here to keep me keeping myself honest. And, as always…
Thanks for listening.

Time Alone, Part Two

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Last month I posted about a writer’s need to guard his time and work process against the viking-like ravages of family. I promised a follow-up post and here it is.

First, thank you to April and Sarah who commented to bring their own methods for securing work time for their writing. Sarah has combined the old standby of closing the door with a fiance who knows better than to open it when she’s working. April brought up another challenge of writing. It’s not securing the quiet work space for her — it’s making herself work when there is fun to be had or errands to finish.

Ray Bradbury, in his memoir Zen and the Art of Writing, tells a story that touches on both of these things. According to Mr. Bradbury, Farenheit 451 was literally a dime novel. He wrote it when his children were of grade-school age, during the summer. When his kids wanted him to play instead of work…he chose play every time. Who wouldn’t? So Mr. Bradbury went to the local library and wrote his masterpiece on coin-op typewriters that ran on dimes.

That’s one way to solve the problem — remove yourself from both temptation and interruption.

What works best for my family is communication and scheduling. Being a little bit OCD, my wife an I go over the schedule for our summer days each evening before bed. This includes blocks of time where I’m going to work — often coinciding with my wife taking the kids to the park, library or similar off-site event. When they are home, my oldest son knows only to interrupt if it’s urgent and Mom can’t help — and mom doesn’t mind snuggling the baby child during those hours.

I’ll be the first to admit that it took some time, training and a few tears to really get to the point where my wife learned that needing to work didn’t equal not loving her. But that’s another post altogether.

Thanks for listening.

More Accountability

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Hi all,

After a week of research and reporting — and looking at my position in relationship to my goals, I’ve decided to go with a pyramid structure for my writing. I’m organizing it weekly to give myself maximum flexibility. It’s summer, and my wife is a public school teacher. We tend to get out a lot with them all out of school, so a daily routine won’t work. My overall plan for this summer includes the following broad-stroke goals:

  • I need to meet quotas on my bread-and-butter web content assignments. It’s my main source of income, and will fund the wild excesses I plan to spoil my family with.
  • I want to grow this blog, and plan to launch a total of three more by summer’s end, and to begin transitioning myself out of primarily doing content work and into long-form articles and books.
  • I must continue to market my work, and network with colleagues, editors and industry insiders.
  • I need to keep myself sharp by continuing to educate myself and remain informed about what’s going on in the industry and the world.
The trouble with these is that they’re all ongoing projects. None have an end in sight that lends itself to simple timeline. That’s why I’m adopting a pyramid approach to accountability — they’re ideal for assigning yourself sufficient progress on continuing work. So, in front of y’all I do solemnly swear to do my damnedest to meet the following goals every week. Some weeks I’ll fail. Other’s I’ll exceed them. So long as I stay near those benchmarks, I should do all right. Every week, I will complete:
  1. Education Module — a unit of reading or other research that keeps me up. I might read a magazine or magazine, listen to a relevant podcast or complete some kind of training program.
  2. Admin Sessions — including keeping up with email, tweaking blogs, sending invoices, writing letters and strategic planning.
  3. Blog “Packages” — “package” is loosely defined. For this blog, it’s a week’s worth of posts. The new ones I’ve divided into chunks of similar startup work.
  4. Proposals — of magazine articles, other long-form articles, or significant work on book proposals.
  5. Acts of Marketing — a phrase I learned from Tom Callos. This can be anything I do that builds my readership and brand. This includes applying for new assignments.
  6. Units of Paid Content Writing — I’ve defined a “unit” as a specific amount of money earned. This will be enough to make my nut.
I want to thank you all in advance for being out there and keeping me on track. It’s surprising how much the possibility of public humiliation can motivate.
And, as always, thanks for listening.