Hi Everyone. I'd like to welcome a dear friend to the blog today as we celebrate her debut novel, MAN LAW. I met Adrienne Giordano through the online motivation group GOAL IN A MONTH or as we like to call it GIAMx4. Adrienne's debut novel MAN LAW is available digitally and is sold through CARINA Press. The cover is super delicious. I know I will LOVE this book. Adrienne is taking over my blog and telling us all about her own distractions after she got THE CALL. The call is the elusive thing we unpublished authors dream about getting, but after the call, the real work begins! So welcome Adrienne.
*pop* *pour champagne* and *sip*
My Attempt to Manage Distraction
by
Adrienne Giordano
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| This is Adrienne's cover. Nice Distraction!! |
I'll admit I've been distracted lately. I'm trying not to beat myself up over it because in the last four months I've been through nine rounds of editorial edits on three books. I've also needed to revamp my website, set up author accounts on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Library Thing, etc. And let's not forget I'm a co-founder of Romance University, a busy and growing blog. Oh, and I'm also working on a new book. Not to mention I have a life outside of writing.
The thing I've figured out is that I'm not special. Hard to admit, sure, but this chaos, apparently, is day to day life for published authors. Rather a scary thought, no?
After absorbing the fact that all the marketing aspects of promoting a book wouldn't go away, I had to decide how to manage my distraction and not let it get in the way of my writing. I had to make brutal decisions about eliminating some of my online groups because I was spending close to two hours each day scrolling through digests. I also had to cut back on the blogs I visited daily. It's hard to back away from things I enjoy, but unless someone could give me another five hours in the day, things had to go.
After cutting back where I could, I implemented a plan to work for a specific amount of time each day on marketing. Of course, immediately after implementing said plan I received edits on book three and had to go into my cave and ignore everything but the book in front of me. That was okay. I just picked up my plan when I finished the edits. The downfall was that I had to dig out from everything that piled up while I was in my cave. It's a never-ending balance that I will keep working at.
What I absolutely know for sure is that if I allow myself to go over my allotted time for each task, I will completely lose control of my day and get no writing done. Why, you ask, don't I write first and do the other tasks later? I've tried that. Unfortunately, all those emails and tasks nag at me and it distracts me all the more. If nothing else, I've determined that I'm one of those people who needs to clear everything out before I can concentrate on my writing.
It's a process that's evolving. It will probably never be seamless, but if I stay focused on keeping at least a little control over my day, maybe a routine will develop.
I hope.
Thanks so much for coming and sharing the pitfalls of social media after one is published! And you're right, Adrienne, this is a time when the focus has to be on promoting your books. I am very excited that you're debut novel is out and I can't wait to read it!!
Adrienne Giordano writes romantic suspense and women's fiction. She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest. She is a co-founder of Romance University blog. Adrienne's debut romantic suspense, Man Law, will be released by Carina Press on July 4, 2011. Her second book, A Just Deception, will be available from Carina Press on September 5, 2011. For more information please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne can be found on Twitter and Facebook.
27 comments:
I'm in sympathy and empathy with you, Adrienne. The promotion and marketing tasks consume time with a voracious appetite.
I want to be there for my readers, but I also need to spend some time with my characters or there won't be anything for readers to read.
It helps knowing we're not alone in this struggle.
Man Law is great. Love it!
Lucie j.
Adrienne,
Great article. Yes, I also understand that media and promotion can run your life if you allow it. And, like you, I know I have to spend sufficient time every day with my characters.
I blog first, check e-mails again when I stop to eat lunch and then try to work straight through the afternoon until supper. It works for me.
Congrats on your new release!
Hello, Lucie j. I love when my critique partners pop in for a visit!
I know you understand the distractions. Gang, Lucie j. writes wonderful suspense with a touch of paranormal. Love her books!
Managing the marketing is a tough balance. We'll figure it out!
Hi, Sandy. Your schedule sounds similar to mine. I find I write better in the afternoons. Not sure why that is, but it works for me!
Thank you for commenting!
Great post, Adrienne--congratulations on the books! I'm like you; I need to get the extraneous stuff out of the way before I can focus on my writing. It's a constant battle and I'm still trying to figure out a workable strategy. Throw in a full-time day job, and..yikes!
It's a fine balancing act. I play the game, too! Congrats on your debut! I'm very excited for you.
Wow, thanks for your timely post! I'm in the process of tearing my hair over technology. There's just so much and so little time.
Fortunately, when things get too crazy I run to a good story, like Man Law. :)
Rashda
Thanks for the personal insights, Adrienne!
I often wonder what a balanced approach ought to look like in terms of juggling the social media. On the one hand, your platform won't build and maintain itself---and on the other, not every medium is an efficient or worthwhile investment of your time. I'm sure it's particularly difficult when you want to put in a somewhat regular appearance in support of your friends and close contacts in the writing industry.
~Angela Blount
Hi Adrienne!
I've got Man Law on my Kindle. (But can't read it until I finish my current manuscript - deadline August 1st!) I, too, struggle with social media and marketing. It's one of the aspects I love most about writing!
So I try to make it work for me! Gotta run. 1k/1hr on Twitter at 10:00!!
Hi Adrienne: Just popping in to say that this is very timely! I struggle with getting all the blogs up and keeping up with the social media and I'm not published yet. So I'm trying to maintain a schedule that puts writing at the forefront. I use the #1K1Hr hashtag race to write on Twitter--bonus is I get "cooler" time with my friends when I reach the hour mark. I love setting the timer and writing till it beeps. It is very helpful. My writing day varies during the summer. I tend to write more in the afternoons these days. That might change as the weather cools down and I can get back outside again :-)
Hi Suzanne. Yeah, a full-time job would put me over the edge. My part-time job is a struggle right now! Somehow we make it all work.
Hi, Wynter! Thanks for popping by. It's a crazy balancing act. I've decided I just need to learn to deal with the fact that some things just won't get done in the day. That's a brutal lesson for me.
Rashda, buckle up, sister! You're in for the ride of your life. Just remember to take the time to soak it all in. I forced myself to stop every day and be still for a few minutes so I could enjoy the rush of my first book being published. Those moments make the craziness seem not so crazy.
Hi, Angela. I think everyone has a different medium that works for them. Right now, I'm finding Twitter is my go-to social media outlet. I can chat with my friends, help them spread the word about their own books and build my brand in one place. I think the key is finding something we enjoy and are comfortable with. It takes time though. No doubt.
Hello to my friend Wendy! Another GIAM x4 sister. You introduced me to the 1k/1hr hashtag and I love it. After I turn in my final revisions today, I'll be getting back to it. It's a wonderful way to motivate myself!
Christine, thank you for having me today. Such great comments! I feel your pain on the blogs. It broke my heart to let some of them go, but I had to. Trying to keep up with everything was too much. Particularly with a young son in sports!
Hi Adrienne,
So wonderful to meet you on the blog. This topic came at a perfect time for me. I too struggle with balance with writing and networking. Although I'm unpublished, there seems to be a constant pull for unpublished authors as well to get their names out in the media curcuit. It's a good thing, we enjoy our crazy lives, huh? LOL! I look forward to reading 'Man Law'. Good luck with all your writing endeavors.
HUGS,
JD :)
Oh boy, can I relate, Adrienne. I'm the same way...if I don't check stuff in the morning, then it nags at me as I'm trying to write my pages for the day. But it can get away from me if I'm not careful.
I love #1k1hr too. I also love setting a smaller word count goal (500 words) for each time I sit down to write. It's a manageable lump and when I achieve it, I can hang out at the water cooler with Christine. ;-)
I'm sooo excited to read Man Law!
Hanging out at the water cooler is a fun thing!! And Twitter is easy, fast and motivational to me.
:-)
I tend to withdraw completely from everything but the basic blog/e-mail when I get overwhelmed. I'm working on finding a balance,utilizing TweetDeck and a blog aggregator (Bloglines). Those help as well.
Hi JD. Thank you for popping by. The pull is most definitely there for unpublished writers, but I can tell you that time pays off after you get published. I'm a co-founder of a blog called Romance University and when Man Law launched, all of our RU readers helped me spread the word. So, yes, when it comes to balance, I don't think it matters if your soon-to-be-pubbed or already published. We all struggle with it.
Hello, Laurie London! I totally agree with you on the smaller word counts. This last week I've tried getting up earlier and writing for one hour before I start messing with emails or anything else on my desk. When the hour is up, I get to the other stuff and then go back to my writing. I've figured out that I can do 1,000 - 1,500 words in that early morning hour. It might be junk, but I can fix junk. I hope! It seems to be working for me.
Great post, and I LOVE your title and your cover!! Congratulations, Adrienne!!!!
I'm writing this on my treadmill desk, BTW. I feel less guilty doing my admin if I'm walking along at the same time. I'm also trying to do all my writing on the treadmill. So far, so good, at 1.9 mph.
I definitely feel your pain about having to readjust your priorities. It hurts, and for a long time, I felt I could do everything at once and nothing would suffer. But of course, something DID suffer--my sense of peace and well-being. Terribly! I felt I was always on a treadmill (figuratively, haha!! I don't mind being on one literally).
Now we have a new online distraction--Google+. I hear it's better than Twitter and Facebook combined. A nice writer sent me an invitation to beta test it, but it said that it had reached capacity. From what I hear, however, it's awesome.
I couldn't help sighing at this. It's taken me so long to figure out Twitter and Facebook!!!! :>)
Whatever. I will once again adjust to new technology somehow...it's nice to know other writers are in the same boat. We can commiserate and help each other out.
Take care, and best of luck with your novels, Adrienne. I look forward to reading MAN LAW!!!
Hugs from Kieran
Wow. Kieran gets a big high five for turning her treadmill into a desk! That's what I call multi-tasking.
Any you're right, when we're on the figurative treadmill it does hurt our sense of well-being. I just turned in my final round edits today for my November release and I'm taking a couple of days off to hang out with my son. I figure I deserve it.
Thanks for stopping in!
Hi gang. I'm having such fun with you all today, I've decided we need to do a giveaway. Christine will pick a random commenter to win a copy of Man Law. She will post the winner on the blog tomorrow.
Good luck!
Adrienne - fantastic post! Thanks to Christine for sharing you with us! What have you found to be the most effective social media outlet for you?
Hey, A!
I really need to check out that 1 hour, 1k words hashtag.
I'm working on my new "balance system" this week...yesterday was a Silver day and today is looking like a Bronze. That's okay since my goal is two Bronzes and three Silvers :-).
Hmm...if this system actually works this summer, I'm going to have to write a blog post on it. LOL
Who do you think I'm going to come crying to when I'm trying to balance the writing, the edits and the promo? That's right, sister...YOU!
Hugs,
Kels
Hi Heather! I've been experimenting with Facebook and Twitter for about a month and I'm finding Twitter is getting the job done. I'm getting some traffic from Facebook, but in the last 30 days I've picked up 110 new followers versus 5 new likes on my FB page. I think if someone is short on time, Twitter is a fantastic way to stay in touch. Tweetdeck has saved me because it allows me to tweet quickly and retweet for my friends.
Thanks for posting!
Kels, you would love the 1 hour hastag. It's right up your alley, sister! When my guy goes back to school we can even pre-schedule times together. It would be fun! We could get a group together at certain times each day. I think it would be a hoot.
A bronze day is better than, well, what's below bronze? LOL. Keep at it. Your system appears to be working!
Congrats on Man Law's release, Adrienne! The social media and online world are hard enough to ignore when you're unpubbed. I can't even imagine what you're dealing with now!
I can especially relate to how those unread emails nag at you. I'm constantly struggling for balance. Good luck juggling it all!
Adrienne,
First, it was a pleasure to meet you at the Heart-Beats lunch in NY. I checked out your excerpt and bought your book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.
Your post is perfect for me right now. I'm having to figure out and stick to how I use my time. Thanks for the suggestions.
Susan Carlisle
Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband?
Jan. 2012
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