prioritize – Almost An Author

Stop Feeling Overwhelmed, Adopt a Quarterly Focus

I am easily overwhelmed when I think about all the things I should be doing to market my book and increase my platform. Grow social media following, SEO research, lead magnets, guest posts, ad split-testing, etc. (Not to mention working on my next book and dealing with the rest of life.)

I work on one thing for a day or two, then I hear I should be doing that other thing, so I switch to working on it instead. And at the end of the week I feel like a failure because I haven’t made any significant progress in any of them.

Does this sound familiar?

Then read on…

A simple strategy to avoid feelin project overwhelm

Stop trying to do it all!

Really.

It’s impossible to focus on every marketing tactic at once, anyway. Not only is is impossible, it will lead to poor results and lots of frustration. Instead, focus on one area at a time.

Big projects like marketing a book—or writing, polishing, and submitting a book—are marathons rather than sprints. The overall success is an accumulation of efforts over a long time span.

This allows us to prioritize one aspect for a period of time and then switch to another. The key is choosing a long enough time period to allow for success.

Try the quarterly approach

Break your year into three-month quarters. Assign a different marketing focus for each quarter. Plan out at least four or five quarters, so that you can cover all the important bases.

An example of using the quarterly focus strategy:

Quarter	Marketing focus
April-June:	Grow email list
July-Sept.:	Grow social media following on one or two accounts
Oct.-Dec.:	Run ads and offer a discount to boost sales
Jan. – March:	Get spots on podcasts or radio shows
April-June:	Learn how to use a new platform effectively (such as Facebook Live, or YouTube, or TikTok)

This quarterly focus strategy helps you:

Stay focused
Stay motivated
Manage time wisely
Avoid feeling overwhelmed and giving up
Have more time to really do something well
Assess how your area of effort affects book sales (because you aren’t trying five things at once.)

Of course, you shouldn’t completely ignore other marketing tactics in the meantime, but you can give yourself permission to do the bare minimum to maintain them while keeping the chosen area the priority.

I hope this quarterly focus strategy helps you face your next big project with more confidence and less stress.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, garnered a gold medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

Five Ways to Balance School and Writing-Caroline Hadley

Being a teenager is hard. Especially a teenager striving to be a published author. It’s stressful finding time to write. When I’m stressed, I talk myself through the anxiety – aloud. After these steps to balancing school and writing, I sound much less crazy. I hope they help you keep your sanity, too.

I use the following steps to balance school and writing, I sound less crazy. I hope they help you keep your sanity, too.

Pray. Every morning I pray. I ask God for time to write and if I should write for a career. I ask Him to infuse my words with His power and sneak ideas into the work. Matthew 7:7-8 says when we ask we will receive. God will give you time to write if you ask and if it’s in His will.
Prioritize. God comes first and school comes before your work-in-progress. However, decide what writing means to you. Is it something to do for fun? To make a career out of? Is it worth the time and effort you put in? I make writing a priority by reassessing what it means to me or by turning it into an extra credit opportunity with my teacher’s permission. [bctt tweet=”Turn writing into an extra credit opportunity” username=””]
Schedule Wisely. We don’t have all day to write, so we must manage our time carefully. Throughout the day, I create a list of tasks I must complete and use it to plan my free time during and after school. Next, I carve writing sessions from that schedule. I place sessions within study halls and lunches or at home if I use those times to do homework. Your sessions can be short, maybe ten to fifteen minutes, but they help. Word sprints are a great way to utilize time. Write as fast as you can without stopping. Brainstorm on the bus, between classes, in bed at night, or during class when you’re bored out of your mind. When life gets hard, think about your story instead.
Sacrifice. Students must choose between hanging with friends and writing. I feel like a recluse because I often choose to be with my work-in-progress rather than my friends at the movie theater. But when I’m too stressed or need family time, I enjoy being with the people I love. Decide when to cancel or cut plans short. If you feel social but need to write, find some book-loving buddies and go to a library or a cafe with them to write.
Give Yourself Grace. Being a student is hard. People expect perfection of us and we expect it of ourselves. Perfection is impossible. If you have too much homework or need downtime, don’t beat yourself up for missing a writing session. Writing is important, but not as important as your well-being. If it overwhelms you, take a break.

After praying, prioritizing, scheduling, deciding when to sacrifice, and giving myself grace, I make time to write during the school year. With the help of God and these steps, you can, too.

How do you balance school and writing? If you don’t know if God wants you to write for a career, send me a prayer request!

Caroline Hadley writes young adult Christian speculative fiction to help other teens feel God’s love in a meaningful way. She has won a Silver Key and a national Gold Key for her short stories in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Currently, she is adapting one of those stories into a novel. She is involved in a teen writing group at her local library and is working for her high school literary magazine. She enjoys maintaining a healthy lifestyle, reading, and being with her family. If you want to connect with her and chat, visit her blog, jarsofwords.blogspot.com.