Remember last week when I said it didn't look as if my pace for 2024 would slow down any? Turns out that was an understatement. I have six deadlines to meet this month, and that's if nothing else crops up.
If you're thinking about becoming a traditionally published author or a freelance writer but your life motto is "whenever," either your ambition or your attitude will have to change. Editors aren't kidding when they set deadlines. They have publishing deadlines of their own to meet, and even a day or two's delay on your part can really screw up the schedule. Which means that authors and writers who consistently drag their heels---especially without any advance warning that there might be a problem---tend to get dumped as being too much trouble.
The writing business can give you a much more flexible schedule than the ol' nine-to-five, but it does make you responsible for planning ahead as to how you're going to accomplish your goals within deadline. If you're naturally a pretty well-organized person with good time management skills, you probably won't run into many problems so long as you have your faithful planner handy to jot down projects and timelines. If you love to write but aren't so good at the organizational side of things, the sooner you acquire the skills you lack, the better.
Frankly, even if you plan on going completely self-published with your writing, you'll still have to set time targets for yourself if you want to get material out there and start building an audience. Otherwise, the busyness of life in general will crowd out your writing and you'll find yourself at this time next year wondering where the time went without your getting anything done as a writer. So, if you want to write but feel a bit lost when it comes to juggling projects and deadlines with the rest of your busy life, consider making 2024 the year that you work on learning how to manage your time and the pacing of your writing projects. You and your writing will both be better for it.
If you're thinking about becoming a traditionally published author or a freelance writer but your life motto is "whenever," either your ambition or your attitude will have to change. Editors aren't kidding when they set deadlines. They have publishing deadlines of their own to meet, and even a day or two's delay on your part can really screw up the schedule. Which means that authors and writers who consistently drag their heels---especially without any advance warning that there might be a problem---tend to get dumped as being too much trouble.
The writing business can give you a much more flexible schedule than the ol' nine-to-five, but it does make you responsible for planning ahead as to how you're going to accomplish your goals within deadline. If you're naturally a pretty well-organized person with good time management skills, you probably won't run into many problems so long as you have your faithful planner handy to jot down projects and timelines. If you love to write but aren't so good at the organizational side of things, the sooner you acquire the skills you lack, the better.
Frankly, even if you plan on going completely self-published with your writing, you'll still have to set time targets for yourself if you want to get material out there and start building an audience. Otherwise, the busyness of life in general will crowd out your writing and you'll find yourself at this time next year wondering where the time went without your getting anything done as a writer. So, if you want to write but feel a bit lost when it comes to juggling projects and deadlines with the rest of your busy life, consider making 2024 the year that you work on learning how to manage your time and the pacing of your writing projects. You and your writing will both be better for it.