Wednesday 7 September 2016

Insecure Writers Support Group: Time Management for Writers

Welcome to the Insecure Writers Support Group, where on the first Wednesday of every month we expose our foibles to a heartless world! This month's topic: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

Well this is and isn't a problem for me. I'm a professional writer, so I get to write all day. I don't have another job to distract me and sap my energy. That said, I have obligations to family and friends that take time. Plus I want to have a bit of a life.

The real problem, however, is that there is never enough time for all the projects I want to do. For example, at this moment I have a full plate of freelance work, including two novels that I'm ghostwriting. That all takes time away from my own work. While I have a couple of my own books coming out this month, I'm not sure if I'll get more than one more before the end of the year. That book will almost certainly be the fourth installment in my Toxic World post-apocalyptic series. I wanted to get book 4 out my Trench Raiders WWI series out this year too, but that might not happen.

I've been building up my freelance career for more than a decade now and while I'm happy about where I've gotten, I can't help but notice that more and more my own projects are getting stuck on the back burner while I do my writing job.

Oh well!

10 comments:

Stephsco said...

Even writing full time, you still need to manage projects! Almost like your write for hire projects are your day job. Thanks for sharing!

Here's my September IWSG post - my secret tool for finding writing time

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It does pay the bills. You'll just have to space out your own writing and books when you can work on them.

Tyrean Martinson said...

I'm impressed by all the writing you do, and inspired by the fact that you can say you're a professional writer! Way to go!
I'm sorry the ghost-writing is taking away from your projects, but it's always good to pay the bills, right?

I'm looking forward to the next Toxic World book! :)

Meka James said...

Congrats on your upcoming releases. Hope you are able to find a balance between your freelance work and working on your own novels.

Michelle Wallace said...

Hi Sean.
You're in the position where lots of authors would love to be...a professional who gets to write all day long.
Congrats on The Last Hotel Room being accepted by Kindle Press. That's awesome! I voted and have my copy waiting in the never-ending TBR queue...
Happy IWSG Day!

Roland D. Yeomans said...

You write more books than even I do. I tip my Stetson to you! Keep at it! Best of sales with all your books, Roland

Anonymous said...

Being able to make a living by writing all day as a freelancer is great, but I'd have to agree with you about the frustrations of not having time for your own work. I wrote feature articles for a newspaper years ago, and while it was interesting work, it was still that — work. That type of writing is not nearly as much fun as novel writing. Hope you are able to find time to fit in more of your own work. Congrats on your upcoming releases!
IWSG Co-host at http://lorilmaclaughlin.com

Sean McLachlan said...

Tyrean: If I don't pay the bills, I'll turn into a ghost!
Roland: Don't worry, you're doing quite well!
Loril: I got my start in journalism, a great training ground for fiction writers because it teaches you to just sit down and write, and stay writing!

Misha Gerrick said...

I'm busy working on figuring out a way to make a living as a writer, but I've just turned down a lucrative ghostwriting offer.

I was wondering if it was the right thing to do, but then I read this and got my answer. ;-)

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

I read a post by Alex of The Last Hotel Room that got my attention, which is how I've come here. I must say your writing life sounds fabulous, even if you do have too many projects. Congratulations on your publications.

Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Civil War Horror blog, where he focuses on Civil War and Wild West history.

You can also find him on his Twitter feed and Facebook page.