Fill Your Empty Calendar

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Last week during my Bible reading, I was reminded of an important truth: 168. It’s the number of hours each of us have for our week. How do you fill those hours? Do you have an empty calendar? What steps will you take to fill it with your writing? 

I have the same number of hours: 168 but in this article I want to give you some ideas and actions about how you could fill your empty calendar. Years ago, I would make a daily “to do” list and cross things off throughout my day. It has been many years since I’ve used this method to fill my calendar. Instead I have a series of activities which fill my day. If it is something I can do quickly such as answer an email or handle some other task, it doesn’t appear on my calendar. At the moment, I am not writing on a book deadline. When I have such a deadline, I make a specific word count for my writing and plan that into my calendar. I’m going to break my regular tasks into differnet categories for this explanation.

Regular Habits & Deadlines

As I’ve explained in these entries, I have an active social media presence where I post 12-15 times each day and use a scheduling tool. Also I write a blog and post a blog article every week. Plus I have a weekly newsletter which goes out a different day of the week. I use reminders on my phone to keep track of these tasks and deadlines to make sure I meet them.

Follow-up Work

Because of my work with Morgan James Publishing,I have a variety of authors who are at different stages in the publishing process. Some of them have sent me their submissions and I need to schedule a phone conference to see if they are the right fit to publish with us. Others have received contracts and not signed them. I call these authors or email to see if they have questions and encourage them to move ahead. There are internal procedures that I need to follow in this process. When I make a series of these phone calls, it can consume a solid portion of my empty calendar.

Processing New Authors

Individual authors and some literary agents will email me with submissions. I have an internal process to get them into the system then I reach out to them and suggest a recorded conference call. It’s where I speak with them about their book and why they wrote it and their plans for the book. I schedule these meetings on my calendar and in a short amount of time I have a series of meetings for the week ahead.

Answer Emails and Phone Calls

Throughout my day I receive a variety of emails and some phone calls. Recently through LinkedIN (where I have over 19,400 connections), I will get an email from someone asking for my phone number to introduce me to a person.  I resist these calls because from my experience they are a huge time waster and not the right place to begin the relationship. Instead, I send them my work email and suggest they start the introduction on email--and normally that kills any further interaction and the time waster phone call. A substantial part of my day is spent on the phone with different authors and my colleagues at Morgan James.

Misc Projects

In this article, I’ve focused on details about what I do for Morgan James Publishing. I have other activities in other things. For example, I’m using PodMatch to pitch podcast hosts and schedule to guest on more podcasts. Also since 2000, I’ve been one of the leaders in an online writer's group called The Writer’s View. As a part of this group from time to time, I’m scheduled to lead a discussion. If you want to join this group, it is a two step process. First you need to create an account profile at: www.groups.io Once your account is created, send a request to subscribe to our group with this link: TWV+subscribe@TheWritersView.groups.io

I have many different activities that fill my empty calendar. I wrote this article to give you some ideas and actions for your own calendar. What steps do you take or am I missing in this process? I look forward to your comments.

Tweetable:

When you look at your calendar, are you facing many empty days? This prolific author and editor gives a series of ideas how to productively fill your empty calendar.   (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week another podcast recording launched:

Dan Amzallag and I spoke about 10 Publishing Myths on The Happiness Journey Podcast with Dr. Dan. Listen at: https://bit.ly/3VAZmeA

My Writing In Other Places:

With these articles, I encourage you to publish your work beyond your blog in other places. Below are three articles which were published in other online locations than this blog.

Each month I guest blog at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog. This month I wrote an article about how to increase your writing productivity.  

At Writers on the Move, I explain why self-published books are rarely inside brick and mortar bookstores.  

Once a month I guest blog about some aspect of book proposal creation for Almost An Author. This month I encouraged readers to delete any hype in their proposal.  

Throughout my many years in publishing, I’ve co-authored over a dozen books and reviewed thousands of submissions (no exaggeration). As a part of the process of working with these authors, I speak with them about their dreams and plans. Many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the details of publishing are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses. 

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

During the last year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

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Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,700 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

Be Aware of Your Choices

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Throughout your day, you are making choices, whether you are aware of it or not. What actions you take? Write this page or watch a movie or television program or read more on a book. What you eat? When you get some exercise? When do you organize your desk or your computer or learn something new? We are surrounded with good choices. 

Each of us have the same 24 hours of the day to take action and do something. Some of my days are filled with high energy and scheduled meetings with authors. On other days my calendar is empty and every hour I make choices how to fill my time. For example, with my role as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. For 13 years, I’ve been actively doing this work with authors--and even longer since I was doing this work with other publishers. The process of getting a book contract for an author has multiple steps which I have to accomplish for my colleagues to send me a contract. Working for a New York publisher is different from the two other publishers where I have worked in acquisitions. Also the process is different from self-publishing (where everything falls to the author’s responsibility). For my part, I have a series of steps that need to be completed in this process. I’m aware my choices and even how quickly I get the various steps completed will affect whether an author receives a contract or not. If I don’t complete some of the process, then that author will never receive the offer to publish their book. 

During my years working in this process, I have also learned there is much of the process which is outside of anything that I can control. For example, I can’t determine if an author will sign and return their contract or if they will send me a simple note they have decided to go in a different direction (happens) or they don’t respond at all to my contract offer (yes, editors do get ghosted in response as well as writers). While I can’t control the response and action of others, I can control my own actions and choices. Some days I feel overwhelmed with the amount of work and the details that have to be pulled together for a book to move forward. Other days I keep chipping away at the work and some of the details come together and move forward with my colleagues. I’m saying it is not a black and white process but a fluid one which is filled with choices.

Another illustration about choices would be the management of my calendar. As a part of the submission process at Morgan James Publishing, I speak with the author, record the conversation and send that author a copy of our recording. My authors are scattered all over the world--not just in different parts of the United States and Canada. In the last few weeks, I’ve spoken with a couple of different authors in Switzerland about their submissions. I will send an email with a proposed time. I use a world clock tool so my proposed time will likely work for that author. With the authors in Europe, it is often early morning in California but late afternoon in Switzerland for that author. 

It is a continual process to propose a meeting time, see if that time will work, then set up a conference call with that author (another online tool I use in this process). During the call, I make sure I ask the author for the various details I need for my colleagues (such as the links to their online presence on LinkedIN, Instagram, Facebook, etc.). If I don’t have these details, then I can’t fill out their paperwork for my colleagues and see if I can get them a book contract. Throughout this internal process, I am making many choices about how I will spend my time and which authors to move forward in the process. Hopefully from these few specifics, you can see even as an editor, I have an endless stream of choices whether to go this way or that way.

For this article on The Writing Life, I want to give you several steps to help you move forward with whatever you face.

1. Be aware of your choices. Monitor how you spend your time throughout a day. Are you aimlessly scrolling on social media or sitting at your desk with your fingers on your keyboard and moving forward on your writing? If you can’t find a block of time to write, can you write in short bursts to keep it moving forward? Break up the patterns of what you have done in the past and try something different to move ahead. 

2. Use wisdom of experience and prayer with your choices. As a Christian, I understand that prayer is one of our greatest assets in deciding which direction to move forward. I encourage you to pray throughout this process as you make your choices.

3. Handle the interruptions. No one is promised smooth sailing in the publishing process. From my years in this business, I can almost guarantee that something will spring into your life to interrupt your goals or plans. The key is your determination to keep moving forward and meet your writing deadline inspite of the interruption. 

4. Be committed to growing and improving throughout your publishing journey. As I’ve written in these articles, the publishing process is much more of a marathon than a sprint. Each of us are on the journey with an endless supply of opportunities. Which opportunities will you choose to move ahead and which opportunities will you delay or refuse?

I’m excited about the various authors and books that I work with day in and day out. The process is not simple nor straightforward but complex with many variables and choices. I hope this article helps you become more aware of your choices and possibilities in the journey. What am I missing or would you add to this process? Let me know in the comments below.

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week another podcast recording launched.

Mark Graban and I spoke about Selling Books Isn’t the Publisher’s Job: What Authors Must Learn Early On the My Favorite Mistake Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/3GByvel 

Get to a Conference:

One of the best ways to boost your writing life is to attend a writer’s conference. Here’s two upcoming possibilities for us to meet.

May 26th to 30th, I’m teaching a continuing class on a rarely discussed (yet critical) topic for authors: Unlock the Mystery: How Do Authors Sell Books? Let’s meet in person, learn the details and get registered at: https://bit.ly/4j2HVxd 

Let’s meet in Oregon next month. I will be teaching about how to Jumpstart Your Publishing at the Cascade Christian Writers Conference June 22nd to 25th plus meeting with authors about their publishing plans. Get registered at: https://bit.ly/3Z5dSNF

Tweetable:

Whether you are aware of it or not, our lives and work in publishing has many choices. This prolific author and editor gives some examples, then action steps to help you to make better choices. (ClickToTweet)

There are many other aspects of the publishing process that authors need to have realistic expectations and plans. From speaking with hundreds of authors through my years in this business, I find many of their plans are unrealistic. A great deal of the publishing process is unpredictable and outside of the author’s control. It’s why I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS, which is a practical easy reading book to help you. Get my decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,700 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

Productive Social Media

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

How in the world do I post on social 12–15 times a day? To some people it appears that I spend hours each day on social media—when in fact I don't. The truth is I have created my own system. In this article I want to give you some details about what I do in hopes you can adapt it to your own social media plans.

 

I use a scheduling tool. There are several types of these tools but I use the professional version of Hootsuite because I quickly maxed out the free one. Throughout my week, I'm reading and learning from other writers, then adding their content into my social media scheduled posts. The bulk of my posts every day are from others and not my own writing. I envision this section like I am back in my magazine editor days. On my social media feed, here's my mindset for what I'm doing: I'm essentially running a magazine about publishng for anyone who wants to learn about it.  I'm several weeks ahead in my scheduling of these posts. It's something that most people do not do and I'm fairly certain my author friends appreciate that I use their material (at least from the limited feedback I receive from them).  I read each of these articles as I schedule them and it adds to my own knowledge and information about the publishing world.

 

Once a week and often on a Tuesday, I return to my scheduled posts and fill in the rest of them. As with the other posts, I've created my own pattern or system in this process. For example, I have a series of lead magnets or resources I've created to help others. Each of these resources, ask the reader to give me their first name and email address so they are added to my email list when they get the free resource. Many authors use this method but I make sure I don't use it too much so use one of these resources in the morning and one in the afternoon.

 

Each of my posts include an image, a short link to the resource or article (because otherwise sometimes they are broken when posted) and a hashtag. Notice I have created a standard or pattern for each of these posts. If the posts are related to my work like a blog post, a free offer, a book I'm promoting through stressing the benefits or something else related to my own work, I have saved a series of these posts. They are stored in a text file which I use each week.

 

Also I have a series of royalty-free images that I've pulled over the years and stored in a file on my computer. I use this method to repurpose and promote these articles from The Writing Life, which has over 1500 searchable entries (a great deal of content). As a reminder, I've created a search tool for my various blog entries (scroll down to find it) but I use this tool often to find my own articles. These are some of the details that I open and use in this once-a-week process. If I'm traveling or going to be away from my office, then I schedule even more than a week's worth. Because I do this process on a consistent basis, it runs even if I'm away from my computer.

 

As I mentioned, I look at my social media feeds like running a magazine. If I see a potential article and it speaks about a holiday or a deadline earlier than where I'm scheduling, then I use it earlier (often that day) in my social media feed. 

 

I've given you a number of the details which I have not written about before but use each week in my social media feed. I've created my own system—and know you will have to create a system that works for you and your plans. 

 

Do you have a plan or system for your social media? Let me know in the comments below. 

 

Tweetable:

This prolific editor and author uses a system he calls “productive social media.” It's part of the reason for his large social media following and consistent use. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

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