By Lauren Klever
Let’s face it... it’s a crazy
world! If
you’re an independent writer you’re probably not rich yet, but you work like a
dog. You
probably have a day job or two and a life with responsibilities. So
how do you get it all done? Advice is everywhere and you have to
choose what to listen to. If you choose to remember once piece of
advice from this article, I hope it’s this one... Don’t forget to
breathe. Before
you can take care of anything or anyone else you have to take care of you.
I frequently run around like a
chicken with my head cut off, so whose advice do I need to take? Mine
– back to step one – breathe! Once your breathing is under control
carve out a little time each day to write. I
take a journal wherever I go and write ideas every chance I get. I
once wrote a whole scene at my son’s orchestra concert. The
wonderful conductor had left the house lights on. To me
it felt like Christmas. Talk about multitasking!
I set aside special time for
editing. I
plug it right into my calendar or it gets back burnered or doesn’t get
done. I
choose a four hour block once a week just to edit. Sometimes
I need more, but I always schedule it. The vacuuming can be put off and don’t
look at my dust, but writing is my passion and the housework will wait for
me. Where
are the good fairies when you need them? Garden
gnomes? Anyone?
Now that you are breathing,
writing and editing, you need to squeeze in a little social media, self
promoting and advertising. I know, I know... you’re already
breathing, writing and editing, but if no one sees your work, what’s the point?
So here we go... Be warm and friendly. Be approachable and always remember to
be yourself. You
are now a brand. What flavor are you? What
describes you? I
write young adult action/ adventure novels. That
means that I keep all my social media sites PG -13 or milder. I try
to help other new authors but my primary goal is to educate, entertain, help
and motivate readers twelve and up. That is my brand!
I choose to spend a couple of
hours every day among my social media platforms. During
that two hours I work on my website, answer my Tweeps, look for things to
reTweet, answer fans on my Facebook pages, look for things to share, like or
comment on and most of all I try really hard to THANK everyone. I
make an effort to be warm, friendly and gracious. That
is another part of my brand. I find that when you appreciate people,
they help you back!
I am still working on building
my presence everywhere that my fans and potential fans hang out but it is all a
work in progress. Keep breathing, never give up and try
to do one thing to improve YOU every day! Best
of luck, dream big and happy writing!!!
Lauren Klever is the author of
The Secret Watchers series. Book one, Visions,
is available now and book two, Whispers, is due to release this
winter. She
is a K-12 educator, volunteer and parent. Lauren
can be found at any of the following places...
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