I always have such impossibly high goals to reach for. The one that's always on my list that I never seem to leave time for? Book marketing!
One of my writing groups encourages setting writing goals at our January meeting. What would you like to achieve with your writing this year. No resolutions, just one or more things to try to focus on... and we attempt to keep each other accountable (lol). It's funny, one of the goals I've set for myself is to be more mindful of having time for myself to write and create, and to focus on "my" needs instead of everyone else's. Is that selfish? Maybe. I also think it's healthy. My anxiety grows with the pressure I place on myself, and the more writing clients I take on, the more pressure I have to deal with. The more pro-bono work I do, the less time there always seems to be for... me.
It's incredibly difficult to put myself first. I love the people I work with. My writing peers bolster me on. I just need to concentrate on finding my balance. This is something I've been actively working on for a couple of years now, but I always seem to slip back into giving too much of myself, because I don't want to let people down.
I think, it's time I didn't let myself down ;)
And... I'd like to write the first couple of books in a new series/genre I'm starting, as well as publish at least one of my MG fiction adventure chapter books that I wrote when I was in middle grade! There are always ravenous 11-year-old readers who are attracted to my YA covers, but the material really isn't suitable for them. This is a market I can tap into. Hmm... is that me looking at book marketing too? Gah! I might be onto something ;)
It's the ever elusive search for balance. We all need more. Family, friends, job, writing, etc, etc. At least trying for balance and being aware that you tend to stretch yourself too thin is better than saying "yes" all the time. There is always more and more we want to do, and being aware of tendencies will help, even if it's just a little.
Ah... the new year.
I always have such impossibly high goals to reach for. The one that's always on my list that I never seem to leave time for? Book marketing!
One of my writing groups encourages setting writing goals at our January meeting. What would you like to achieve with your writing this year. No resolutions, just one or more things to try to focus on... and we attempt to keep each other accountable (lol). It's funny, one of the goals I've set for myself is to be more mindful of having time for myself to write and create, and to focus on "my" needs instead of everyone else's. Is that selfish? Maybe. I also think it's healthy. My anxiety grows with the pressure I place on myself, and the more writing clients I take on, the more pressure I have to deal with. The more pro-bono work I do, the less time there always seems to be for... me.
It's incredibly difficult to put myself first. I love the people I work with. My writing peers bolster me on. I just need to concentrate on finding my balance. This is something I've been actively working on for a couple of years now, but I always seem to slip back into giving too much of myself, because I don't want to let people down.
I think, it's time I didn't let myself down ;)
And... I'd like to write the first couple of books in a new series/genre I'm starting, as well as publish at least one of my MG fiction adventure chapter books that I wrote when I was in middle grade! There are always ravenous 11-year-old readers who are attracted to my YA covers, but the material really isn't suitable for them. This is a market I can tap into. Hmm... is that me looking at book marketing too? Gah! I might be onto something ;)
It's the ever elusive search for balance. We all need more. Family, friends, job, writing, etc, etc. At least trying for balance and being aware that you tend to stretch yourself too thin is better than saying "yes" all the time. There is always more and more we want to do, and being aware of tendencies will help, even if it's just a little.