A Slam Bam Finish

Some days I want to stay in my soft jammies and cuddle my cat just like the character in my picture book and not think about marketing, social media, or the business side of writing. But alas, like all of you I write, and I need to make money from that skill so thinking about marketing, social media and the business side of writing is a must. Sooooo, folks there are only 10 Saturdays till Christmas and that screams to me that there are only 10 ish weeks until the end of 2013. If I want to rally and make the most of the rest of the year for my writing I need to do a couple of important things, some of them may be slightly painful.

 I need to FOCUS. Now more than ever I need to stay focused on the tasks at hand. The end of the year is not time to dilly and dally but rather time to look long and hard at what I still need to do to meet my writing goals for 2013. I still have a few submissions floating around out there so one I need to check the calendar and see if it is time to send them out to the next publisher on my list, etc to get those current submissions into the hands of someone who may read them before the end of the year.

Once I have checked those floating masterpieces and updated my submissions list, next I need to list the most important tasks left undone. I have invoices that need to be sent, two query letters to fine tune, and at least one story that needs to be sent to my critique partners. Little tasks like these sometimes get put aside for another day and it is time to get it done. I also have to fine tune my target list of publishers and look again at my list of topic ideas to see if there are last minute article ideas I can send out.

Next, my weakness is promoting myself so this is the painful part for me. Promotion is the number one thing writers need to do to finish strong in 2013. I need to get my media package fine tuned for the hospitals and Childhood cancer centers, research centers, and key parents who want to help me promote my new book. I have difficulty asking for help from others and you may too, but the reality is the books we write will not sell themselves. We must ( meaning me) help get the word out by asking for reviews, sending copies to key contacts, and using social media including Facebook and Google + to say " hey I have something you have got to see. "

Finally, as we go into the holiday season with all of the busy activities of family and friends take time Rest. While you are resting and appreciating your blessings also take time to Plan. Planning and  mapping out your writing and promotion goals for 2014 will help you  to see where you have been this year and where you want to go in 2014. I have many ideas swirling in my head for 2014 and focusing and planning will be key.

 Here is hoping you all  have a slam bam finish to 2013.