March 31, 2010

I was reading the new Writer Magazine yesterday, and the article about best-selling (as in over 15 million copies) Meg Cabot caught my eye. She said you need to block out what you read about “overnight successes” in the publishing business.

She points to her own experience with rejection, and I challenge you to read this without fainting:

• It took her three years of sending out query letters every day to land an agent.
• Before publishing she got a rejection letter every day in the mail for four years–over 1,000 rejections.

And she didn’t quit! She went on to write over 50 books for juveniles, teens and adults. Her Princess Diaries series became the basis of two hit Disney films.

Slightly Embarrassed

Reading about Meg Cabot’s stick-to-it-iveness made me rather embarrassed for all the times I’ve (1) moaned and groaned about a couple of rejections, and (2) given up on a manuscript after fewer than five rejections. I have four novels in my closet right now that I gave up on after just a few rejections.

This next week I will be dusting them off, re-reading them for possible revisions, and sending them out again.

Rejection Stamina

How about you? What is your “rejection stamina”? Are you another Meg Cabot? I hope so! Look how her stamina has served her well.

If you’re brave, share how many rejections you receive before giving up on a piece. Also, what’s your best tip for getting a manuscript back in the mail ASAP?

March 29, 2010

What have you given up in order to have time to write?

When I started out, giving up my hour of pleasure reading in the afternoon (the kids’ naptime) was the biggest sacrifice I made. I loved that hour of escape where I rose above my daily chores and relished adult language and words longer than one syllable. Yes, I could still read at night when the kids were in bed, but by then I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open.

Are You Sacrificing TOO Much?

We’ve talked lately about tracking your time and then sacrificing some of your current pleasures in order to write. And yes, time for pleasure reading may have to be cut back drastically in the “learning years.” Like many writers, my pleasure reading is now used as a reward. (I often set my timer and write for thirty minutes, promising myself a ten-minute reading break for each thirty minutes of writing. I love those reading breaks!) I try to read at bedtime too, but I still fall asleep too quickly.

I once had a student who read five romance novels per week, every week. Really! I had no problem recommending that she turn 75% of that time into writing time. Most of you don’t have that kind of time to read for pleasure–and I don’t either. You may only have thirty minutes to an hour for pleasure reading. And when you give it up, you’re losing a writer’s #1 most favorite pastime: reading.

Short-Term Sacrifice

If you’ve given up pleasure reading in order to write, I hope you will be able to add it back to your life soon. I think writers need to read. (And not just books on craft or books in the genre you hope to publish in.) Reading for pleasure nurtures our soul–and keeps us in touch with what readers want.

So how can you balance this while you’re learning to write, especially when you’re juggling a day job and/or a family? Make use of alternative methods. Discover books on tape, and listen during car pools or while washing dishes. Discover books on MP3 players like Playaways, or download digital books from your library, and listen to them while you run or garden.

When my time was the shortest–when the kids were small and I was working another job in addition to the writing and school visits–all I could carve out for pleasure reading was fifteen minutes per day. It wasn’t enough time to finish a book in a month–and I couldn’t figure out the plot in those little bits.

During those years, then, I re-read the classics on my shelves. Consequently I’ve memorized whole chunks of Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, and other favorites. Since I already knew the plot and characters, I could relax and just enjoy seeing old friends for fifteen minutes each day.

No Time to Read

I know a good number of full-time professional writers who have given up pleasure reading altogether. They said they just don’t have time. What do you think about that? Is pleasure reading something you’d give up in order to have the writing career of your dreams?

Why–or why not?

March 26, 2010

Have you ever noticed that we never drift in good directions?

If you want to accomplish anything, it has to be by choice. “Drift” is our default setting when we allow outside distractions to capture our attention. [See Attention! It's a Choice and Pay Attention!]

Have you drifted away from your writing goals this past year?

Looking Back

Recall the last time you set some writing goals. Did your goals include X number of hours of writing per week, or X number of pages produced monthly? Did you perhaps start out with great gusto? Did you continue to consistently write and produce those pages?

If not, it’s because you stopped actively making choices. You let yourself drift.

When the Thrill Wears Off

I love canoeing. Paddling is great exercise for the arms, and gliding across a sparkling blue lake is heavenly. However, when the first thrill of being on the water gives way to tired, cramping shoulder muscles, the tendency is to stop paddling. We rest a bit, and that’s okay, letting our attention wander to the shoreline or herons gliding overhead.

But if you stay focused too long on the wildlife or sunbathers on the shore, your forward motion stops. You begin to drift off course, whichever way the wind is blowing or the current is flowing.

Lost Momentum

Drifting occurs when we stop the forward momentum, and it never takes us the direction we want to go. With that fact in mind, consider the direction of your writing career.

When you made your writing goals, your writing had your attention. You were focused. You paid the price of giving up other distractions. You logged in writing hours and watched the new pages pile up.

But at some point, you got a bit tired. We all do! Something–or someone–caught your attention. And kept your attention too long. Now you’re drifting away from the writing career of your dreams.

Self-Assessment Time

Be honest with yourself about this. Has anything in the past six months or year captured your attention or affection in a way that is distracting you from your goal? Is there a distraction that started out small but has grown so that it takes up way too much of your time? (This could be a hobby or pastime, something that looks harmless or even good.)

Is there anything you need to stop or drop from your life so you can pick up your paddle and get your canoe moving again?

Time for Action

If you’ve drifted from your writing goals, don’t keep on hoping that you’ll somehow magically drift back. You won’t. Drift doesn’t work that way. Drift takes the path of least resistance.

As a reminder: attention –> direction –> destination.

If you want your destination to read “successful writing career,” then you need to be headed in that direction. And in order to head that direction, you must choose to pay attention to your writing. This will probably require you to stop paying attention to something else.

An Honest Look

Be honest with yourself. What shifts in attention do you need to make in order to stop the drift and turn things around? Bite the bullet and make the changes. Start today!

And once you’re headed in the right direction again, guard against drift. Notice the things that compete for your attention. Pause. Take a step back before giving your attention to something. Remind yourself of the destination you want to arrive at. Then make the choice that will get you there.

March 24, 2010

[Suggestion: first read  Attention! (It's a Choice)]

I had only one New Year’s Resolution this year: become consistent.

I was a yo-yo dieter, yo-yo exerciser, yo-yo writer, and yo-yo studier. I knew what to do in each area. Lack of knowledge wasn’t the problem. In each case my problem was consistency (or lack thereof).

What’s Wrong with Us?

Why don’t we consistently give our attention to the things that matter and are worthy of our attention?

When growing up, some parent or teacher was always snapping at us to pay attention. If we didn’t pay attention, we might cross the street in the path of a car, or miss important questions on an exam. Paying attention has always been important–even critical.

So why do we resist paying attention to the things that we claim really matter to us, like our writing (and our health which impacts our ability to write)? The reason is hidden in the phrase pay attention. Attention is a payment you make. It implies a price, a cost. And it’s a price we aren’t always willing to pay.

Is It Worth the Cost?

The true reason we don’t pay more attention to our writing and writing-related activities is because it will cost us something. We’ll have to give up some short-term pleasure that has captured our attention–and this payment feels like a loss. It costs us something.

“It is this cost associated with paying attention to the right things that makes it so difficult to do.” (The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley) In addition, we know we won’t see any results until sometime in the future. We have been conditioned to want immediate gratification.

Short- plus Long-Term Rewards

I don’t know about you, but when I make the choice to pay attention to my writing (and give up the distractions), I feel better very soon. It boosts my self-esteem, for some reason, and I again feel like a “real writer.” 

The loss associated with turning off the TV or getting off the Internet is very momentary. We make it a bigger deal than it is. Turning back to your writing or studying brings a satisfaction writers can’t get anywhere else. Pay attention to your writing for both daily joys and long-term satisfaction.

March 22, 2010

If you’re traveling west, you’ll end up in California. Go East, and you might land in New York instead. The direction you choose determines your destination. 

But what makes you choose one direction over the other? For most people, it’s whatever grabs your attention. If warm beaches and surfing snag your attention, you’re more likely to head west than east. As your attention goes, so goes your life.

What does that mean for your writing life? It means that when distractions come along–and they will–these distractions can snag your attention, pull you off course and change your direction if you’re not careful.

The Formula

Whatever grabs your attention determines the direction you head. And the direction you head determines where you end up. This is true for everyone. For every area of your life, the formula is the same:

               Attention –> Direction –> Destination

How can you make this “principle of the path” work for you instead of against you in your writing life?

This? Or This?

You can remember that we have choices. We don’t have to be ruled by the things that initially grab our attention. (Attention-grabbers include pop-up ads whenyou surf the web, commercials for food on TV, new cars as you drive by a car lot, a fight with your teenager, and being snapped at by your boss.) We can choose to give our attention to these things. Or we can remove or disentangle our attention from something and deliberately place it somewhere else.

According to Andy Stanley in The Principle of the Path, “Whereas emotion fuels the things that grab our attention, intentionality fuels our decision to give certain things our attention.” In other words, distractions excite our emotions and snag us almost against our will, but we can intentionally choose to give our attention to something else, like a goal.

Death to Distractions

This is good news for writers! We all need a strategy for dealing with things that distract us from our writing goals. Distractions do more than rob us of our writing time that day or that week. They can set us on a path that will lead us to a destination we don’t want.

You don’t think so? Does it sound melodramatic? Well, look back on your life. Are there areas you now wish you’d given more attention to? Maybe you wish you’d paid more attention to your health or your marriage or the way your handle money. Things might be better for you now if you’d given more  attention to those areas then.

Fork in the Road

The same thing is true of your writing career. If you are consistently turning away from unwanted distractions and choosing instead to give your attention to writing and writing-related activities (reading, studying, networking with other writers), you’re heading in a good direction. You will end up at a different destination five, ten or fifteen years from now.

Each time a distraction tempts you to veer away from your writing, you’re at a fork in the road. You will choose one path or the other. I hope you choose the writing path!

March 19, 2010

Getting into the writing habit is difficult, especially in the early years of writing. Our lives are full to overflowing already, so where can we possibly fit in some writing? How can we form a consistent writing habit when our schedules change from day to day, depending on our obligations?

Believe it or not, you have more time to write than you think. Keep a time log, tracking how you spend your time for a few days or a week. If you do, you’ll spot “down” time that you use for other things which could be snagged for your writing.

Redirect Your Time

When my kids were very young, I desperately wanted to write. I realized that instead of catching up on laundry and chores during their afternoon naps, I could write. Instead of making beds and doing dishes during the morning half hour of “Mr. Rogers,” I could write. Instead of thumbing through ragged magazines for twenty minutes every Friday afternoon while my daughter got her allergy shots, I could write.

Bed making and dishes and laundry could be done while little ones milled around. I chose to write instead when they didn’t need me. That “nap-Mr. Rogers-allergy shot” schedule became my writing routine until my youngest went to kindergarten. By that time, Atheneum had published my first five middle grade novels.

Hidden Time

“But I really don’t have any free time!” you might truly think. I challenge you to study your schedule very closely. Everyone has pockets of “down” time during the day. It may vary from day to day, but usually it is consistent weekly. (For example, you may sit in the pick-up line at your daughter’s elementary school every afternoon for fifteen minutes. Instead of listening to the radio, write.)

You might free up some time by doubling up on your mindless activities. Most of us multi-tasked before the word became popular, but if you’re not, try it. While supper is cooking, don’t watch the news; pay those bills or wrap those birthday gifts, and free up a half hour in the evening to write. If you want to write YA novels, listen to those young adult books on tape while you walk your dog. You’ll be doing your “market research” for an hour, freeing up an hour later to write.

Get It in Writing

Write down whatever pockets of time that you discover can be used for your writing. Even if it’s only fifteen-minute chunks, note them. You can write an amazing amount in ten or fifteen minutes at a time-and it adds up. You may find these chunks in the “between times.” You might have a bit of time between when the kids get on the school bus and you have to leave for work. Or between your day job and supper, you may have half an hour that you wait on a child at ball practice. (I wrote a lot sitting in bleachers waiting for children at practice.)

Write all these pockets of time down on a weekly schedule and write it on your daily calendar. Make it a habit. Perhaps on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you write half an hour before work, plus daily you write fifteen minutes before cooking supper, and Saturday morning you write an hour while the kids watch cartoons. That’s four hours of writing in a week, just in the free bits and pieces. Since many of us started writing while caring for small children and/or holding down a day job, this kind of weekly schedule may be the best you can do for a while.

And that’s fine!

Time-Honored Tradition

The highest percentage of today’s famous, best-selling authors admit that their writing schedules were exactly like this in the early years. But they had that “burning desire to write” too. And that desire is what motivates us to find those pockets of time, give them to our writing, schedule it daily, and follow through.

You can find time to write, whether it’s early morning, during your noon hour, late at night, during commutes, or in catch-as-catch-can bits throughout the day. You must integrate writing into your existing routine for it to work.

Schedules make writing a habit, which in turn makes it a permanent part of your lifestyle.

March 17, 2010

Although I sold my first piece of writing twenty-seven years ago, there have been many times that I wondered if I could possibly be a “real writer.” Why? Because many days I didn’t feel like writing–and getting started was always so darned difficult.

Unlike famous writers I read about, I rarely had this burning desire to fly to the keyboard and write. (And I do mean rarely–like three or four times in all these years.)

And yet, I could never quit writing, no matter how discouraging the rejection letters or the markets or the economy. I couldn’t imagine not writing.

The Light Goes On

Last weekend I bought a book with my Valentine’s Day Border’s gift card.  And in the opening chapters of Kelly L. Stone’s Time to Write: professional writers reveal how to fit writing into your busy life, I caught a glimpse of the answer.

I had apparently always harbored a wrong perception of writers and their “burning desire to write.” I actually did have it–I just didn’t know I had it! I fit her description to a T.

I bet you do too!

The Burning Desire

As I read through the descriptions of “a burning desire to write,” a hallmark of life-long writers, I met myself on every page. Here are three of the criteria–see if they apply to you too.

1. It’s a special feeling you get after you write, when you experience that deep satisfaction that nothing but writing can bring you. You feel settled, content. When you don’t write, you feel restless, agitated, and like things aren’t quite okay.
2. A Burning Desire to Write can manifest itself by creating a certain amount of discomfort or aggravation at having to maintain traditional employment because the writer inside wants to be writing instead. You may fear being stuck in a dead-end job that leaves you too exhausted to write.
3. Do you actually like yourself better on days that you write versus the days that you don’t? That’s your Burning Desire to Write coming into play.

Is This You Too?

“No matter what your daily environment,” says author Kelly Stone, “if you yearn to find time to write, please be encouraged, because many people have done it while holding down jobs and juggling multiple responsibilities. Because of your Burning Desire, you are motivated to make time to write.”

Having a life-long desire to write hasn’t manifested itself in ways I had thought it would. And yet, every criteria mentioned in this writing book is something I totally identify with. How about you?

March 15, 2010

Have you ever gone in for your annual check-up, sure that you’re doing fine, only to discover you have some unsuspected condition?

Or have you taken your car in for its periodic tune-up (thinking things are fine), only to be told that you need some major part replaced so you don’t crash and burn? In both cases, discovering the unknown problem is a blessing in disguise.

That may be your feeling if you read the wonderful article called “101 Habits of Highly Effective Writers.” You might–like me–start reading the article with the idea that you’re doing just fine. On the other hand, you might realize that although you once had these habits, some of them have slipped–and you need a tune-up.

Not All Habits Are Created Equal

This great list–and I’d recommend printing it out to save for monthly mini check-ups–is broken down into several categories.

• Routine: habits to help you find and maintain a successful writing routine
• The Process: the actual writing you do–and habits to help you
• Inspiration: habits for finding inspiration to improve the quality of your writing
• Improving Your Craft: habits to improve your skills as a writer
• Business: good business habits to make sure you can pay the bills
• Habits You Don’t Want to Have:  habits to avoid if you want to become a successful writer
• Advice from successful writers: a whole list of gems!
• Habits of Famous Writers: the writing habits of the “greats”

What’s Your Score?

I hope you’ll go through the list thoughtfully and make  a note of the habits you need to work on this year. We all have areas that need improvement, but this list is a great practical place to start.

If you’re really brave, leave a comment and share what habits you have well in hand, plus one or two you know you need to work on. We’re all in this together!

March 12, 2010

If you answered the list of questions Wednesday about “Where’s My Time Go?”, you may see now that other people’s expectations have taken over your writing time. It’s a common occurrence.

Once you’ve completed your commitments, you need a way to avoid becoming trapped again.

Time-Saving Policies

After you’ve spotted some of your weakest areas, develop policies to cover future requests. For some reason, stating that you have a “policy” about certain things carries more weight with people. Target the areas where you have the most trouble setting boundaries. Some “company policies” might include:

*I have a policy about home business parties. I don’t attend them, and I don’t give them.
*I have a policy that includes no drop-in baby-sitting. I need a minimum of 48 hours notice.
*My policy states that I don’t commit to any event more than (X) months away. (Fill in your personal limit.)
*I choose to help with one party each year at my child’s school. That’s my class contribution, so what party would you like me to help with?
*My policy states that I charge $5 for each ten minutes that parents are late picking up their kids from my day care.

Under-Promise

Sometimes our commitments get out of hand because we want to do such an excellent job everywhere. So learn to under-promise, and later you can over-deliver if you have extra time.

For example, instead of volunteering to help at school the entire day, say you can come and read for one hour. If it turns out that you have extra time when the day rolls around, you can use the time to write or you can “over-deliver” on your promise and stay two hours. You’ll earn a reputation as someone who delivers even more than promised—and yet you’ll have saved time for yourself.

Time Credit Cards

Some of us (I’m guilty!) promise to do things months and months in advance when our calendars are still pristine white. Then six months later, when the event rolls around, our calendars are more jammed than we had anticipated; we regret that we ever agreed to that event or favor.

Too often we commit future time that we believe we’ll have, only to be caught up short later (like a credit card junkie who charges now and is just sure he’ll have the cash to pay it off later.)

Stop charging your time ahead! Cut up your time credit cards. Pay off whatever “time debt” you’ve accumulated at this point, but don’t charge anymore.

If people want you to commit to some volunteer thing more than a month away, simply say, “I don’t commit to things so far ahead. If you want to call me back in (X) months, I will be able to give you an answer then.” At that point, you’ll have a realistic idea of what your month’s schedule looks like.

If you are pressed for an answer (“I need to know now!”), then regretfully tell people that the answer will have to be “no.” (Given that choice, people will wait.)

E-mail and Web Surfing

Limit your Internet time to two periods per day, before and after your work day. Keep it short. Answer crucial e-mail, but skip all the forwarded jokes and poignant stories till later. Unsubscribe from all but the best two or three e-newsletters you receive. Delete the junk without reading it and then close down. According to current workplace statistics, conquering e-mail/surfing addiction can save you a full two or three hours per day.

Assignment: Where is your time going? Do you know? Keep track for a few weeks and be sure. Then begin to implement whatever policies you need in order to safeguard your time.

Write your company policies down and review them daily. As you use these policies, they will become second nature. Just remember that nature abhors a vacuum. Be ready to fill your new-found time with activities that can further your writing career.

March 10, 2010

Do you feel as if you’re forever running to catch up and keep up? Is finding any time at all to write a challenge for you? If so, you’ll need to simplify your life—choose what really matters—and slow your pace.

But HOW?

Reflective Thinking

With all the noise of modern life and the frantic running around, we have little chance to hear the inner whispers and feel the nudges that try to warn us. “Hold on—this isn’t right” or “You really don’t want to do this.”

Sometimes life gives you the gift of stopping you in your tracks. That happened to me a couple years ago when I ran a fever for eight days and ended up with many sleepless nights to think. I took stock of my rat-race, anything-but-serene lifestyle, and I asked myself some hard questions. If you also want to get off the merry-go-round, take a note pad and jot the answers to these questions pertaining to your own life.

*Why is my life as busy as it is?
*Why have I chosen to commit to so many things?
*What are the costs to me right now of living like this? What are the future costs?
*What tasks/meetings/jobs are no longer necessary? (Only one out of my four cancelled appointments that week needed to be rescheduled. The others, it turned out, weren’t that important.)
*Which activities are things other people thought I should do?
*Which volunteer positions do I no longer enjoy?
*Which professional organizations no longer meet my needs and can be dropped?

This time of reflection was so very profitable. It enabled me to spot three big changes I could make, immediately freeing up about fifteen hours per month.

Should I? Shouldn’t I?

Is your life run according to shoulds (your own or other people’s?) When asked to run a concession stand at your child’s school or attend a make-up or clothing party, do you agree because you feel you should, rather than because you have a real desire to do it? Do you even take time to make a thoughtful decision, or does the should rule?

In a sermon entitled “The Unhurried Life,” the pastor reminded us that “NO is a complete sentence.” In other words, sometimes you can just say no. Or “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Period. Don’t let people guilt you into doing things you just don’t want to do.

Reassess the value of your time. Is it really more important that you do the volunteer newsletter for your neighborhood association—or that you put that time toward your writing dream? None of us likes to have people mad at us. On the other hand, it may be a price worth paying in order to have a fighting chance to realize your dreams.

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