When I first became serious about becoming a children’s
book writer, there were many items I picked up along the way to help me learn
the craft and to get organized. Among
the first of these items were various books with words like “Dummies” and
“Complete Idiot” in their titles. Along
the way, I also added a dictionary, thesaurus, and grammar guides. All of these items helped me avoid making the
obvious mistakes that would make an editor groan and reach for a form rejection
letter. Doing my homework and using the
right tools definitely made a difference.
Now that I am published, my focus has shifted to
learning how to promote myself. Because
let’s face it…what good is spending all the time and effort involved in
creating a book and seeing it to publication, if nobody knows that you have
written it? To aid me in this endeavor,
I have found a new “high tech” ally, my Smartphone.
In addition to my writing, I also have a full time
day job and a family. My free time is
definitely in short supply. This is
where my Smartphone has become my time-management savior. I commute every day by train into New York
City for my day job. I used to spend this
time reading the newspaper or staring out the window. Now the train has become my mobile
office. I answer emails, check social
media sites, do research for my next book, or even write blog posts. In short, I’ve been able to squeeze another
productive hour out of my day that I didn’t have before.
I have apps on my phone for all my email and social
media sites. I have shortcuts on it to
my online critique groups. I have a word
processing app to proof my work and make quick revisions. And of course, I have downloaded a few games
to play because I need to have some fun.
I do try to apply discipline to this new found hour of productivity
though. It’s just as easy to waste time
on a smart phone as it is on a computer.
So if you happen to be traveling into New York City
on a commuter train and you see me intensely focused on my Smartphone screen,
you may be seeing my creative process at work as I proofread my latest
manuscript. Then again, there’s always
the chance that I’ll just be playing Spider Solitaire.
Kevin McNamee is a
writer and poet living in Yonkers, NY.
He is the author of seven children’s picture books. Kevin’s poetry has been published in the
collection, An
Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems.
To find out more about
Kevin, please visit his website at www.kevinmcnamee.com
or his blog at www.kevinmcnameechildrensauthor.blogspot.com.
