Writing Schedules

How important is it for a writer to have a schedule?  In my opinion, extremely.  If you plan to make writing your career and want to write full time, you need to treat it as a full time job.  You need to work set hours and put in the effort and time into what you plan for your career.  I don't know how many times I heard my grandmother say "You get what you put into it".  How true that is especially with writing.

If you follow my blog, you will know that I have a very set career path of writing full time within the next year or so.  In that vein, I need to set my writing work hours and treat my writing as if it was a job that I had to answer to someone else for.  I set how much time I spend a day writing, and although I love the flexibility of changing the hours if I need to day to day depending on what is going on in my life, I have to remain rigid in the fact that I need to have at least three to four hours set aside each day for writing.

As I progress further into my writing career, I need to also set time for marketing and updating social media.  And let's face it -- social media is a necessary evil for writers.  It helps us connect with our readers, other writers and gives us the opportunity for networking, however it can be a huge time sucker from your day if you get caught up in it.  I have found that I need to allow myself so much time in the day for social media and I use it in small chunks.  Morning with my coffee -- check social media.  After a writing chunk and I need a break -- I allow myself another social media check in and then again in the evening when my day is winding down.

What kind of writing schedule do you have and do you struggle with sticking to it?

Looking Forward

I sit here this morning watching more snow fall down.  Winters in New England are long and tedious, and each winter I sit here and wonder why do I live in this area of the country when I hate winter so much.

This is the year for that to change for me. Plans are in motion for downsizing and moving to a warmer climate as my kids leave the nest.  Two out of three are already gone and one more remains. He will be graduating in June and then on to bigger and better things for him.  It's bittersweet for me to look at my children who have been my life for the past 24 years and see them as adults.  I am so enjoying having adult children, but when my youngest turned 18 last week, it struck me that they are all grown up. Two things hit me with that realization.  One, I really do love having adult children even if I do miss the age of snuggling and wanting to spend time with me and two, I'm at a phase in my life where I can be a little selfish and do what I want, go where I want and for the first time in my adult life, not be responsible for anyone but myself.  It's a strange feeling.

I can spend more time holed away writing and with that course, schedule at least two releases a year for my books. So I plan out my writing schedules and my release dates and with that comes another realization that I am about to make my dreams come true and be a full time writer.  Wow--honestly I wasn't sure that day would ever come, but here it is basically and within the next year I will be able to write full time.

So what's new for Emma Leigh Reed, author?  SECOND CHANCES is scheduled to be released in April 2015 and A TIME TO HEAL scheduled for late summer/early fall.  In 2016, you can look for A FINE LINE and COMING HOME.  There will also be some new projects started that I can't talk about yet, but be sure to look for news regarding those.  As always, you can find me on Facebook or sign up for my newsletter to stay better informed and for some special surprises that come to only my newsletter subscribers.

Here is to a bright and busy 2015!