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The to do list

Right now my to do list is an ever mutating but never shrinking creature.

Now that I’m a full time author I thought I’d be able to get on top of it and keep it nice and neat, maybe to just three things. Instead I’m finding that I’m working on more things and they generate more points that need to be actioned.

At the moment I have three lots of edits, a blog post to write, a novel to plot, a novella to plot and a continuity to tie up (I’d love to say more about this project but the two other authors I’m working with and I agreed we wouldn’t say anything until the contracts were signed…just thrashing out the details).

My life isn’t less busy without the day job, in fact I sometimes wonder how I squeezed it in. Then I remember I used to write at night or whenever I could. Not writing at night is nice plus I am rediscovering hobbies which had sat in a corner for to many years.

Not having a day job means I’ve finally had the time to branch out and try new projects (like the continuity) and new genres. And I’m sticking my toe in the self-publishing pool by continuing my In a Bottle series.

While sometimes the admin side of writing takes up more time than I’d like over the last couple of years I have realized that there is more to being an author than just pounding out a novel and calling it done.

Thus my never ending to do list.


I’m going to give one commenter an e-copy of Temptation in a Bottle. Just tell me your top tips are for tackling the to do list.
~~~
His only wish is to be free…
For centuries Gage has existed only to fulfil the most intimate desires of the woman who holds his bottle. Now Gage has a wish of his own—to be a real man and a have a real life even though he knows it’s an impossible dream. This time he plans to take his bottle and break it just to see what will happen.

Paramedic Sasha Watts has seen the damage falling in love does to people and she has no intention of being another of Cupid’s victims. She accidentally frees Gage without knowing what he is. After one kiss he walks away and she never expects to see him again, but the goddess Inanna has other ideas.

As punishment for breaking his bottle she erases Gage’s memory of everything but Sasha. Only Sasha can give him the life he longs for and only Gage can be the man she’s always dreamed of, but first she’ll have to open her heart and he’ll have to finish the job Inanna gave him. If he fails, he’ll cease to exist


Temptation in a Bottle out now: Amazon B&N iTunes
~~~
Leave a comment to go in the draw. Winner will be drawn Sunday 16 March at 7pm  (Perth time)

Comments

  1. Let me guess - one of those new hobbies is sleeping instead giving yourself whiplash nodding off over the keyboard. Best Wishes.

    As far as the to-do list, I'm a poor one to ask. I can procrastinate with the best of them on the flimsiest of excuses. However, the bottom line is that anything that can get you arrested can be considered essential. Child protective services get nasty if there's no food or reasonably clean clothes for the kids. Housecleaning can wait until the dustbunnies start complaining.
    (I'll stay out of the contest)

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  2. I thought I'd have more time when I gave up my nursing job, and I do, but time is like empty counter space; it acts like a magnet for more stuff. Good luck with your to do list!

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  3. Welcome to the world of full-time writing, multitasking, and wondering where the day went! My hat is off to those authors with kids and full-time jobs! I just have a little part-time job that takes a couple of hours out of the middle of my day, but it feels so disruptive! I'm sure you'll settle into a routine shortly.

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  4. I love my to-do list and I live by it as I have a very limited amount of time I can dedicate to working. 1) put the items in order of importance and do the most important ones first, 2) also consider whether you are a morning/afternoon/or evening person. I'm a morning person, so anything that's hard or takes a lot of concentration is done in the morning, 3) make it realistic. Don't put edit 200 pages on your list for Tuesday. Break it down over several days so you can actually accomplish it and not fall behind on other tasks. Those are my tips!

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  5. I'm like Shana! I do things in order of priority. Edits come in that have a shorter deadline, I work on them. I have a book due that I haven't started, and I need to get going with that. I have conferences all year, 4 book tours to do, etc, etc, etc. :)

    I have goals I need to make when I'm writing on my new books: 10,000 words per week. If I have a blog tour coming up and I need to do a bunch of blogs, I get those out of the way as early as possible. Edits take priority since they usually need to be done in a week's time. And then I'm back to working on my goal on the deadline book.

    I'm also a morning person, but I work all day. I just got home from a vacation with my daughter and SIL, so still trying to get back into writing today. :)

    I was working full time and writing full time. Now I just put all 80 hours into writing, promo, etc. Love it.

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  6. I love the fact that my favorite authors are supporting another favorite author of mine. Ladies have fun (and write more)

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  7. Do the easiest ones first

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  8. I got a great sense of freedom the other day when I misplaced my to-do list. But then I found it again. : (

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  9. Read a book, instead!! Seriously, when I have to tackle the to-do list, I gotta have great rock and roll to listen to.

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  10. I always try to do the things I like doing the least first, then the rest.

    annaoj (dot) mortes (at) gmail (dot) com

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  11. I'm just plain lazy! I do do the essential things tho

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  12. The winner of Temptation in a Bottle is Jane Ashford!

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