By Debbie Young on in Debate & Opinion
Indie authors often mention that they’re feeling overwhelmed by
all the tasks required to self-publish and market their books
successfully. No matter how much they do, how hard they work, how many
hours they labour each day, they still feel they haven’t done enough.
So if you’re starting this week feeling under pressure, despairing of
whether you’ll get everything done that you’d planned by Friday, take a
moment to read her quick top tips to stay happy and sane while not
dropping the self-publishing ball. 1) Have a rest. Remind yourself how many hours
you’ve been spending at your desk each day, and allow yourself some
holiday, as a formal employer would. You’ve earned it. 2) Go out and enjoy life. Get out into the real
world. That’s where you’ll find your inspiration, not sat at your desk
staring at a blank screen or fretting about the number of unanswered
emails, unacknowledged retweets or Facebook friend requests. As a
natural workaholic, I try to keep myself grounded in reality by keeping
next to my computer screen a tube of shower gel bearing the
inspirational slogan: “Live a Life Worth Writing Down”. It also reminds
me that I usually get my best ideas in the shower, when I’ve switched my
conscious, working brain off and let my imagination take flight. 3) Drink coffee. Or tea. Or spring water, or
whatever else takes your fancy. Even better, go out to grab a coffee
with an author friend. No matter how much fun you have on social media,
you can’t beat real life. 4) Tidy your desk – ideally at the end of every day,
so that you feel calm when you come back to it the next day. A clear,
clean, well-organised desk will give you the feeling of being in
control, even though it may not reduce the length of your action list.
And speaking of action lists… Tidy desk = calm mind 5) Lose the long action list habit. There’s a theory
that the longer your action list, the less you get done. So don’t fill a
sheet of printer paper with your to-do list today – just put it on a
post-it note, the smaller the better. 6) Choose one thing. Each day, identify the single
most important thing that you have to do, and focus only on that. If you
finish it, do the next thing. But aiming just for the one thing should
make your burden feel lighter. 7) Celebrate every achievement. At the end of the
day, make an “I did it!” list of what you have achieved. My little
niece, nearly two, is a master at self-congratulation, announcing “I did
it!” at just about everything she does, including scribbling something
unintelligible on a piece of paper. I think we authors would feel much
better about ourselves if we adopted her attitude. 8) Restore yourself with a soothing and restful
activity that uses a different part of your brain (or none at all).
Physically repetitive tasks such as knitting, weeding or colouring are
good. Apparently tasks using both hands are especially good for the
brain. (Thanks to ALLi author and medical doctor Carol Cooper for that
information!) Anything is good that makes you lose track of time, forget
where you are, and ease the flurry in your brain. (I’ve occasionally
reached this state while driving, but wouldn’t recommend that route!) 9) Don’t compare yourself with other authors who you
perceive to be more successful. Ignore their sales rankings, awards,
boasts, etc. You’re not them. You’re you, and you’re special. Only you
can write the books that you can write. They’re apples, you’re an
orange. Embrace your orangeness. 10) Smile! Next time you’ve got a smile on your
face, work out what caused it – and do it again next time you need to
find your smile. My husband told me last week when I got back from my
new yoga class that I ought to make a habit of it, as I came back calm
and happy. I’m tempted to send him to it next week. Bonus tip: keep a contented cat by your desk at all times Now I’m off to make a cup of tea and tidy my desk… |
