First Quarter Round Up
At the begining of January, I set some goals as part of the Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour. I figured I would take a few moments as the first quarter of 2008 quickly comes to a close, to bring my readers up to date on how this aspiring author is doing.
Goal #1: I will make more time for my own writing.
This was my largest goal, and the one I knew I would have the hardest time with, so I put it at the top of the list. I wish I could say there have been some improvements in this area, but I can't. It's not for lack of desire; it's for lack of time.
Coordinating virtual book tours takes up abut 90% of my writing time. I love my clients and I love creating a buzz for their books, and I'm sure not going to give up a guaranteed stream of cash for the unknown; especially in light of all this family needs right now. But I have yet to figure out a way to create more hours in the day, so I'm struggling to get any of my own writing done outside of my one article that is due each month to Writer2Writer.
Goal #2: I will post at this blog more often.
Well, you guys and gals know this isn't happening. I have lots of ideas for this blog lately though, so I am working on making this a great place. Stay tuned!
Goal #3: I will appreciate my family more.
In many ways I have succeeded with this goal. More often I find myself reflecting on what a wonderful family I have and in making special memories with them. Once again, time is always an issue. There are days--like today--when I spend so much time on the computer that I feel I am ignoring the little one. I don't have an answer for this one, but I'm still trying.
Goal #4: I will not over commit.
If I received a grade for this one it would be "F". While some of the things that have led to my being overcommitted were beyond my control, most of them weren't. I wrote an article a couple months ago about learning to say "no", and it's time to practice what I preach. More of a problem for me though, is not asking to be involved in things that I really don't have time for. So often I find promotional opportunities for other writers or books I want to review, and I contact these authors to set something up. Not a bad thing if I have spare time, but detrimental with everything else that is going on.
As we move into the second quarter of 2008, I want to refocus my time and talents whenever I can, and keep working towards the day I move from aspiring author to published author.
Labels: Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour, goal setting, writing, You Are More Than Enough Achievement Journal
posted by Cheryl at
4:13 PM
3 Comments:
Bless your heart...I've got to learn how to get you to say no! I haven't written a word since I started these tours. Maybe it's where my priorities lie and maybe being a publicist is what you want (hey the cash is a good part of the deal)or rather what you are good at, Cheryl, only you don't know that yet. I'm thinking it's the age group you are in...I'm pretty well set in my goals...I know this is what I want and I will continue for as long as authors need me. The passion isn't with writing right now...the passion is with pushing myself to make Pump Up the best thing since whipped creme. Or maybe it's that I have been there, done that (although I never really fulfilled all my goals as an author as my many files of unpublished works will attest). But, you...you've got many years ahead of you and my only way of figuring how you can do both is to do a little of each? You're a perfectionist, though, and that might not work, but it's an idea. But I do know you are very very good at what you do for Pump Up. We'd be at a loss without you. So if there's anything I can do to help you become a published author and a tour coordinator at the same time, I'm going to do it. Hugs...
Thanks Dorothy. I would love to become a full-fledged publicist, but I love what I'm doing with Pump Up a lot and I couldn't do both.
I've taken steps to stop over committing by letting everyone know I can't do any more reviews, but that's a drop in the pan compared to everything else that's going on. My volunteering also takes up a bunch of time and I think I might have to tell the school that I can't keep going in so much. The other problem is that I--like many writers--have 101 ideas swimming around in my head and only a small amount of time to work on any of them. If I make a point to write down and then ignore 100 of the ideas and only focus on 1 I'll be more effective.
Thanks for stopping by and for your words of praise. They mean a lot.
Cheryl
i love setting goals and am thinking of doing a vision board to help focus my energy.
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