Here are the latest Publishing Talk newsletters, with details of a January Masterclass and more, for my followers to peruse:
Publishing
Talk: 4 steps to plan your writing projects
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4 steps to plan your
writing projects Posted: 23 Dec 2020 08:30 AM PST  If you’ve got some
unexpected time on your hands over the holidays, this can be a great time of
year to catch up on some reading, do some writing – or simply plan some writing.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Christmas is a funny time of year
for writers. While some years you may be so busy with social gatherings and
visiting family you can’t even think about writing, this year things are very
different for many of us. You may be unexpectedly on your own – or at least
spending a scaled-back Christmas with far fewer people. Where I live, in the South East of
England, we’re locked down in ‘Tier 4’ with no mixing or travel allowed. The
only Christmas mixing I’ll be doing this year is gin with tonic. So that’s a
bonus. I find the ‘dead time’ between
Christmas and New Year particularly conducive to planning – even in a
‘normal’ year. Most people are off work, there are few distractions, and you
have a hiatus between two public holidays when nothing much is going on to
take a pause and do some strategic planning for the year ahead. If strategic planning sounds too
businessy and administrative for a creative writer, remember that, if you are
a writer, writing is
your business – at least part of it – and it deserves your considered
attention. You can scribble on the back of an envelope, use that nice new
notebook you got for Christmas, juggle Post-It notes, fill in a spreadsheet,
start a new planning document in Scrivener,
or try various digital project planning tools such as Trello or Mindmeister.
Personally, I use a mix of spreadsheets and Scrivener – but I sometimes write
things down or flirt with Mindmeister. But do whatever works for you. Here are four key areas of your
writing life to think about: 1. Contracted Projects
If you’re lucky enough to have a
publishing contract, this should be your first priority. When is it due?
Check your delivery dates, and re-negotiate them if necessary. I know from
experience that publishers always like as much notice as possible if you’re
likely to miss a deadline! What milestones do you need to hit over the next
year in order to deliver on time? How will this affect and fit around your
other projects and commitments? 2. Works in Progress
(WIP)
What are you working on at the
moment? It can be easy to lose track if you’ve started writing multiple
projects, abandoned some, got distracted by an exciting new project, or
forgotten about that great thing you started at the beginning of the year –
but life (and COVID) got in the way. Revisit any projects you’ve actually
made a start on, make a list, and sort them into order of priority. What will
you actually work
on next year? What’s realistic? How many words will you aim for, over what
period? Which WIP will you finish next year? If you’re self-publishing, which
WIP will you publish
next year? 3. Ideas List
Next is your list of projects you’ve
not even started. This may be an existing list you keep somewhere, or
something you want to start now (see next step). Many of us jot down new
ideas as they occur to us, so we don’t forget. (Though Val McDermid
does the opposite – she says: “If it’s not interesting enough to remember,
it’s not interesting enough for a reader to want to read about it.”) If you
do keep a list, revisit and update it. Do the ideas on the list still excite
you? Which ideas did
you remember – and keep mulling over? Are there any you want to drop? Are
there any you want to move up to your WIP list and start working on next
year? 4. Something New
A time when you can pause and
reflect is a great time to get creative. Use this time to generate at least
one new idea, which you can add to your Ideas List – or create an Ideas List
from scratch. Use whatever method works for you to generate ideas. What have
you always wanted to write? What would you like to read, but hasn’t been
published? What aspect of your life, experience or career can you draw on?
What could only
have been written by you? What news stories have grabbed your attention this
year? What do you know a lot about? What topic fascinates you? What do you
wish you’d written? What did you particularly enjoy watching on TV or Netflix
this year? Why? What music inspires you – and would be a great soundtrack to
a movie adaptation of your book? Think about how things might have turned out
differently – for you, for someone you know, or in the world at large. Answer
the question: “What if..?” Go on a long walk and let your mind wander. You
can generate a long list of ideas – but only one might make it to your Ideas
List. The time and space to think up new
ideas and new stories is a luxury – use it. Nothing in the world happens
without it first being an idea. “Fantasy’s reality’s childhood”, as The
Carpenters once sang. Repeat this process – and come up
with at least one new Something New – every year. This can go onto your Ideas
List, and from there might work its way up to your Works in Progress. When
one of these lands you a publishing deal, that becomes one of your Contracted
Projects! Your best ideas will rise to the top of this list – like a pyramid
of publishing projects. Whatever you’re doing over the next
week or so – and whether that involves writing or not – be sure to take a
pause. And I wish you a peaceful Christmas, and a productive New Year. This blog post is based on this
week’s Tip of the Week in the Publishing Talk Newsletter.
Read it online,
or sign up to receive
the next newsletter. Photo by Alejandro
Escamilla on Unsplash The post 4 steps to
plan your writing projects appeared first on Publishing Talk. |
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Publishing
Talk: 6 ways to overcome procrastination and beat writers’ block
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6 ways to overcome
procrastination and beat writers’ block Posted: 22 Dec 2020 02:00 AM PST
We all procrastinate – but you
can overcome it and beat writers’ block with practical strategies. So
stop putting off your dreams and reward your future self, says Bec Evans. Bec Evans is running a masterclass
on How to Build a
Writing Habit in 2021. Join us on Weds 6th Jan 2021 at 6:30pm
UK time, and get your writing year off to a flying start! Reading Time: 6 minutes I’ve spent the last hour in an
internet wormhole ‘researching’ procrastination. I made the usual excuse that
it was necessary groundwork for this blog post but. to be honest, I was
delaying the task at hand. The instant hit of clickbait was preferable to
knuckling down and earning the satisfaction that comes from effort. I’m not alone. We all procrastinate,
often several times a day. Humans are hard wired to seek pleasure and, in
this age of distraction, getting side tracked is the norm. Postponing writing
Writers are the masters of
procrastination – it’s far simpler to type a search term into Google
than it is to write the first line of a novel. Whether you’re a full-time
writer, a part-time scribbler, or a dreamer with ambitions to write, it’s all
too easy to delay. Dr Robert Boice, author of Procrastination and Blocking: A Novel Approach,
spent two decades delving into the minds of writers to work out why they are
so easily distracted. The people he studied wanted to write – for many it was
a requirement of their job – but they put it off because there was something
easier or more pleasurable to do. Procrastinators chose alternative
activities. He said they “opt for short-term relief through acts that are
easy and immediately rewarding, while generally avoiding the thought (and
anxiety) of doing more difficult, delayable, important things.” This focus on
immediate pleasure side tracked people from their intention and prevented
them from starting. Procrastinators opt for short-term
relief through acts that are easy and immediately rewarding – Robert Boice But it’s not just about postponing.
Boice found many writers get stuck in the middle, often when things get
tricky, and this blocks their progress. He explained that this was because
of: “paralyzing anxiety and uncertainty, often because the task will be
evaluated publicly.” He called this second group
‘blockers’ and their fear stopped them making progress even though they might
have already invested significant time and effort. The procrastination
mindset
Whether you’re a put-off-starting
type or a stuck-in-the-middle writer there are certain characteristics that
all procrastinators have in common. Boice found that both had an unrealistic
belief that the work will get done – somehow. It’s as if saying you’ll pen a
novel is enough. There was also a disproportionate
focus on the outcome, rather than the input required to make that dream come
true. This caused increased levels of anxiety. Thinking about writing a whole
book is understandably scary, whereas writing one word, one sentence, or one
page is much less frightening. Finally, there was a tendency towards busyness
and rushing as writers tried to compensate for the delay in starting. The path to
productivity – changing your mindset
Just because your procrastination
can be defined doesn’t mean you are defined by it. There are simple tricks
you can take to avoid distraction and delay to make progress towards your
creative dreams. “There has to be a change in mindset
so your present self acts in the interest of your future self” At heart all procrastinators value
immediate rewards more highly than future rewards. There has to be a change
in mindset so your present self – the one that wants immediate satisfaction –
acts in the interest of your future self – the one who wants to complete a
book. This means putting in place a system that rewards long-term activities
and punishes the short-term distractions. 6 ways to overcome
procrastination and blocking
1. Scheduling
Committing time to write is one of
the best ways to avoid procrastination. There are lots of different
approaches to finding time to write but essentially it all comes down to
scheduling. Take your diary, find time that you
can use for writing and make an appointment so you treat it like any other
commitment. Start small – it could just be fifteen minutes a day – and build
up from there. It’s important to get into the habit of sticking to a
schedule. Researchers have found the most
productive schedule involves writing every day, for no longer than 90
minutes, with regular breaks and fixed end point. Developing a daily practice
will take the effort and willpower out of deciding when to write. 2. Rewards
Giving yourself a treat when you’ve
completed your task can help you avoid getting side-tracked. Rather than
indulging yourself in a procrastination activity before you start, why not
use it as a reward for when your writing is completed? Think of something
small enough to encourage, but not too big that writing become all about the
reward, and you’ll find your motivational sweet spot. The idea is to reward your future
self, even if the future is only an hour’s writing time away. 3. Environment design
Keeping your desk free of temptation
is a sure-fire way to avoid getting distracted. Dieters have long been told to take
candy from their cupboards and replace it with healthy snacks. It’s far
harder to gorge yourself on sweets if they aren’t there; in the same way
using an internet blocker like Freedom,
not having your iPhone next to your computer, and tidying away papers, will
keep you focussed on the task ahead. If reorganizing your writing space
gives you an opportunity to procrastinate for days on end, go and write
somewhere else. 4. Mental clutter
If your problem is mental
distraction you need to file away those diverting thoughts. Channel those
mindfulness masters and allow thoughts to pass through the mind without
disruption. Why not use the tried and tested
productivity tip from David Allen’s Getting Things Done? He proposed a
‘tickler’ file where you park other ideas – in short, when a thought comes
into your head just note it down. When you’ve finished your writing session,
you’ve got a handy list of all the other things you can turn your attention
to. 5. Free writing
If you’re in a blocking situation
and unable to write because you’re scared, anxious and overwhelmed then give
free writing a go. Sit down and write anything, get all those fears out of
your head and on to the page. If you’ve scheduled time and cleared
the clutter you could try Raymond Chandler’s ‘Nothing Alternative’ method. He
explains: “Two very simple rules: a) you don’t have to write; b) you can’t do
anything else.” It’s write or nothing. I guarantee that you’ll want to make
use of the time so just write whatever comes into your head. Soon the fear of
the blank page will decrease and you’ll be able to get back into your
project. 6. Accountability
Setting up an accountability system
will keep your writing on track. If you need external support go and find a
writing buddy, join a writing group, sign a writing contract, tell your
friends and family, go public. Take action against
distraction
Set yourself up for writing
productivity by saying no to procrastination. Ask yourself: § What type of
procrastinator am I? Work out if you struggle to get started or get stuck in the
middle. § When is a good time to
write? Find a slot in your diary and schedule some time. § What is my motivation
treat? Think of something small like a cup of coffee or five minutes
of Facebook and reward yourself every time you complete a session. § How can I minimize
distraction and interruption? Design your environment to remove procrastination triggers by
dealing with clutter or finding a more zen-like environment to write in. § Is anxiety preventing
me from working on my creative project? Try free writing and
liberate yourself. § Who or what will hold
me to account? Work out if you need external support or an internal boost and
set up a system to keep you on track. This post previously appeared
on the Prolifiko
blog, and first appeared on Publishing Talk on 05 March 2016. Bec Evans is running a masterclass
on How to Build a
Writing Habit in 2021. Join us on Weds 6th Jan 2021 at 6:30pm
UK time, and get your writing year off to a flying start! The post 6 ways to
overcome procrastination and beat writers’ block appeared
first on Publishing Talk. |
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Publishing
Talk: 7 ways to get things done – and be a more productive writer
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7 ways to get things
done – and be a more productive writer Posted: 10 Dec 2020 05:07 AM PST Productivity expert Bec Evans of Prolifiko
offers her top tips for getting things done and being a more productive
writer – so you can spend time doing what you love. Bec Evans is running a masterclass
on How to Build a
Writing Habit in 2021. Join us on Weds 6th Jan 2021 at 6:30pm
UK time, and get your writing year off to a flying start! Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s no secret I’m a productivity
freak. A friend recently drew a cartoon birthday card of me as Little Miss
Just Get It Done and my secret Santa gift from colleagues at Emerald Group
Publishing this Christmas was a mug emblazoned with the words: Get Shit Done.
At home, my shelves are overflowing with books on productivity,
self-management and life hacks – if you set about reading them now you
wouldn’t have any time for anything else for the next twelve months. But productivity isn’t just a way to
show off to colleagues and suck up to your boss. Getting things done allows
you to spend more time doing the things you love and want to do. Here’s a few
tactics to make short shrift of the long to-do list. 1. Tackle your Most
Important Task (MIT)
Many of us ease into the working day
by checking emails over a cup of coffee, perhaps catching up on some
professional reading, and networking on Facebook. A lovely start to the day,
but not the most productive. When meetings kick in at 10.00 you won’t see
your desk for the next seven hours, so don’t leave your work until home time. The Most Important Task, MIT for
short, was coined by Zen Habits
master Leo Babauta. It’s an essential part of his morning routine, and he
tackles this task just after waking up and having a glass of cold water (none
of this caffeine and Facebook slacking). 2. Prioritize
Nailing your MIT will only work if
you’ve effectively prioritized. Working on your prioritization skills will
help you deliver better results. Here’s a few approaches to hone this super
power. First up is Eisenhower’s
Important-Urgent Principle, a matrix that helps you calculate where a task
falls. You tackle tasks in the following order: § Important and urgent § Important but not
urgent § Not important but
urgent § Not important and not
urgent. It’s certainly an effective method,
but for me it takes too long to divide my to-dos into quads. I prefer working
out what not to do and take my inspiration from unnamed female General in the
US Army who was quoted by Roy F Baumeister in his excellent book Willpower. She said: “First I make a list of priorities
one, two, three and so on. Then I cross out everything from three on down.” My advice is to write your priority
list on a post it note – the space is too small to fit too much on. You get
bonus points if you prioritize the night before as you’re clearing your desk
to go home. Finally, just learn to say no. As
Steve Jobs said: “Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000
things.” – Steve Jobs 3. Swallow a frog
Back to getting things done. A
variation on the MIT is swallowing a frog – namely, that beast squatting on
your to-do list which is hard and horrid to do. Stop feeling bad about how long it’s
been sitting then and just do the damn thing. And follow Mark Twain’s advice
to do it first thing: “If it’s your job to eat a frog,
it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat
two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” – Mark Twain If you need an incentive, tap into
your baser psychology and plan a reward for when it’s done. When you’ve eaten
your frog, treat yourself to a victory shopping spree, or tuck into whatever
edible reward tickles your tummy. You’ll radiate with productive smugness all
day (or that could be the frog repeating on you). See Brian Tracy’s bestseller Eat That Frog! Get More of the Important Things
Done – Today! for more detail on this idea. 4. Follow the masters
of getting things done
If that frog has been squatting on
your to-do list for a while, there’s probably a good reason. Yes, it might
just be a hard task you’re avoiding, but it’s likely it’s too big, or not
clearly defined. This is where the master of
productivity can help. David Allen’s Getting Things
Done (GTD) is a classic for many reasons. Packed within this
tome is a bunch of super helpful tips, so even if you don’t embrace the whole
GTDTM system, you can pick out the tactics that work for you. Allen talks about “creating the
option of doing”, which I loosely translate as: start doing things. Allen
quotes one of the founding fathers of productivity, yep the frog swallower
himself, Mark Twain: “The secret of getting ahead is
getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex
overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the
first one.” – Mark Twain Allen suggests selecting a task on
your list, and asking yourself: what’s the next action I have to do to
contribute to that task? 5. Take super small
next steps
Allen’s next action advice has been
thoroughly researched by Stanford’s B J Fogg and turned into a practical Tiny
Habits Programme. In short, Fogg recommends breaking down tasks into such
tiny actions that doing them is easier than procrastinating. He uses the
example of flossing teeth – start with just one tooth. Tiny indeed! At Prolifiko
(formerly Write Track) we’ve been working on a small steps
system for writers. We developed a 5-day writing challenge
which helped writers identify a goal and break it down into small steps that
must be achieved by midnight the next day. We had hundreds of people sign up
at New Year and have over a 60% completion rate. 6. Don’t diss the list
LinkedIn found that 63% of
professionals use to do lists. Yet, despite their popularity, people rarely
achieve what’s on their lists. Research by team progress tracker I Done This
found that 41% of items on a list are NEVER completed. However, lists can be super helpful
if you think differently about their purpose. When I’m feeling overwhelmed by
the sheer volume of stuff I need to do, I write long list of everything
racing around my head. I use a version of morning pages each day to help me
focus – you could try The Five Minute Journal and make like Titan Tim Ferriss. It’s a similar idea to David Allen’s
tickler file (just the name makes me happy). A tickler is a folder you keep
on your desk and the moment you get a distracting thought about something
else to do, you write it down immediately and file it. Then each week you go
through to allocate a priority and time to complete. Job done. 7. Set some goals –
from hairy to smart
There’s no point assembling a series
of small steps and actions if you don’t know where they’ll take you. To head
in the right direction, you need a goal. Silicon Valley is in thrall to the
moonshot – a catchier version of Jim Collins’ Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or
BHAG for short (actually I’d rather not). It’s a goal so big it will inspire
and direct your work for 10-20 years. Or intimidate the hell out of you. More common is SMART goal setting,
often used in workplace appraisals. It’s a handy system, and easy to
remember: § Specific – the goal must
be clear and with no ambiguity about what you want to achieve. § Measurable – it should be
quantified so you can tell if it’s been accomplished. § Achievable – it must be
realistic and attainable with your skills and available resources; you can
stretch yourself but not too much. § Relevant – it must make
sense in the wider context of what you are trying to achieve and be aligned
with your purpose and values. § Time bound – this can take
two forms, either giving yourself a target deadline date to complete or
specifying a time when you should perform the task each day. As games designer Jane McGonigal
says: “Smart goals, or quests, ensure that
every day you’re making a better life for yourself, right now, in the present
moment. An epic win is in the future; a quest, or smart goal, is what you do
today.” – Jane McGonigal Fundamentally that’s what
productivity is all about. Being productive isn’t an end in itself; it’s the
means to a better life, one where you have the time for activities that
matter to you. So, with that in mind, go forth, get
things done, and spend your new found freedom on a side project, hobby, box set,
volunteering, or with people and animals. This post previously appeared
on the Prolifiko
blog, and first appeared on Publishing Talk on 17 Feb 2017. Bec Evans is running a masterclass
on How to Build a
Writing Habit in 2021. Join us on Weds 6th Jan 2021 at 6:30pm
UK time, and get your writing year off to a flying start! The post 7 ways to get
things done – and be a more productive writer appeared first
on Publishing Talk. |
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Publishing
Talk: MASTERCLASS: How to Build a Writing Habit in 2021 – with Bec Evans
(Online, Weds 6th Jan, 2021)
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MASTERCLASS: How to
Build a Writing Habit in 2021 – with Bec Evans (Online, Weds 6th Jan, 2021) Posted: 06 Dec 2020 08:29 AM PST
How to Build
a Writing Habit in 2021, with Bec Evans – Online, Weds 6th Jan 2021 Join productivity expert Bec Evans of Prolifiko,
and get your writing year off to a flying start. Masterclass: How to Build a
Writing Habit in 2021 This post contains Amazon
affiliate links to the books mentioned. See our Affiliate
policy for more details. Books by our masterclass speakers are
also available in our Bookshop.org
bookshop. Want to write more in
2021? You don’t need a New Year’s resolution: you need a sustainable writing
habit!
Do you struggle to find time to
write? Do you get distracted by important or urgent tasks, feel blocked, or
fail to make progress with writing projects? Then stop worrying and sign up
to our January masterclass! Being productive is about more than
New Year’s resolutions. To achieve your writing goals you need to find time,
support and the systems that keep you writing long term. Bec Evans of Prolifiko will guide
you with tried and tested approaches that will help you create a writing
habit in the busyness of your life. What we will cover:
§ Prioritise your
writing and make time for it § Set motivating and
achievable writing goals § Beat distraction by
understanding what stops you writing § Improve your
productivity and feel positive about your progress § Bec’s top tips for
keeping going long term. Workshop includes:
§ Valuable insights,
practical tips and inspiring advice from Bec Evans § Your chance to ask Bec
anything about starting and keeping going with writing § A PDF resource § Access to a video
replay of the event. About Bec Evans
Bec Evans is a writer, speaker,
coach and consultant who works with the publishing and creative writing
sectors. As co-founder of Prolifiko,
she helps people become more productive writers, and offers courses including
a free 7-Day Writing
Sprint and an intensive 4-Week Writing
Bootcamp. Bec has spent a lifetime reading,
writing and working with writers. From her first job in a bookshop, to a
career in publishing, and several years managing a writers’ retreat centre
for Arvon, she’s obsessed with working out what helps writers write.
Bec’s first book, How to Have a Happy Hustle: The
Complete Guide to Making Your Ideas Happen, won the Startup
Inspiration category at the 2020 Business Book Awards. It is available from Amazon and all books
by our masterclass speakers are also available in the Publishing Talk Bookshop.org bookshop,
which helps support local, independent bookshops in the UK. About the Publishing
Talk Masterclasses
Our online masterclasses are talks,
interviews, seminars and workshops from successful authors, publishers,
agents and industry experts designed to help you fulfil your potential as an
author. Find out more on our masterclasses
page. Discounts available for
Patrons. See our Patreon page for details. You will be sent a link to the
online workshop 1hr before the start time of 6.30pm (GMT). You can join this masterclass from
anywhere in the world. If you’re outside the UK, please use this time zone converter to check your local
live streaming time. 6.30pm GMT | 10.30am PST |
1.30pm EST | 7.30pm CET The post MASTERCLASS:
How to Build a Writing Habit in 2021 – with Bec Evans (Online, Weds 6th Jan,
2021) appeared first on Publishing Talk. |
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