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An interesting question was asked about indie authors and motivation. Without a boss of any kind, we make our own deadlines that are about as flexible as an overcooked noodle. It gets even harder when the person is a full-time author. So how does one stay on track as a solitary organism operation? Cloning? Train mice to do your bidding? Extra wives/husbands? Removing all feasible distractions from TV to ceiling fans to any length of string? Let’s see some ideas.
- A blog can help by making public goals that are either weekly or monthly. This creates a sense of accountability since you, hopefully, have people reading your blog. They will know if you slack off or aren’t writing at all. I would call this the ‘forging of guilt and shame’ path. At least you try to avoid those two things.
- Make a personal deadline for things. This is easy. Just because you don’t have anybody screaming at you to quickly finish a job, doesn’t mean you remove deadlines entirely from your life. They can be at any scale. Maybe you want to write a chapter by the end of the week. Perhaps one a day. Just outline for a weekend. It’s all up to you and everything is on your head in the end.
- Claim an out of the house spot and get into a habit of going there at the same time on the same day. Starbucks, library, or anywhere that you can get work done. Pick a place and then train yourself to continue going there. This takes a lot of dedication and can get you odd looks. Yet the result is you carve out an area that draws out your inspiration and motivation.
- Always put some time aside for family and friends. This will prevent them from actively getting in your way when you want to write. No arguments of you being anti-social or people never seeing you. If you must go these connections for any length of time then you better not be in the house. Also explain where you’re going before somebody puts a missing person report out on you.
- Try not to look at what other authors are doing in terms of marketing, sales, and rankings. You might see this as motivating yourself and that will be the case at times. The danger here is that you might try to push yourself too quickly and rush the next release. If not that then you’ll jump into a marketing venue that simply doesn’t work for you or any number of mistakes that will take time to fix.
- Sleep. If you push yourself for too long then naps may ensue. At the very least, you will find your energy drain within an hour. So even if you’re motivated, you can barely move toward your notebooks or laptop.
- Look at the progress you’ve made to help push forward. Find those silver linings and bold victories to keep yourself going.
Legends of Windemere 
This is excellent advice and I am reblogging. Thank you for always sharing your motivation! ❤
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You’re welcome. Enjoy your weekend. Hope it’s motivated. 😉
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I am writing today and tomorrow, sticking to my schedule. 😀
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I’m trying to get through editing. Looks like I’m going into next week with it though.
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Good for you. Keep at it. Best of luck. 😀
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Reblogged this on Silver Threading and commented:
Just reading this gave me tons of motivation to stay on task! Thank you Charles!
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Thanks for the reblog.
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My pleasure.
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
I went freelance 19 years ago and these helpful tips apply to anyone who is working from home. It took me a while to begin to treat each day as a working day and the bigger problem is scheduling down time. But when you love what you do…..
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Thanks for the reblog. Very true that it takes time. I’d like to add that it also takes time for those around you to get used to the idea. They see a person at home and figure they either aren’t working or have all day to get stuff done.
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You have that right.. have a great weekend Charles..
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Thanks. It’s going to be another busy one. I should probably get back to bed now to get the proper amount of energy.
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…also reblogging… great advice for bloggers, writers and scribblers of all types… thanks, that man, Charles:):)
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Thanks. Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Seumas Gallacher and commented:
…great advice for bloggers, writers and scribblers of all types… thanks, that man, Charles:):)
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Great advice from Charles – although point 5 might be difficult, after all, you’ve got to read books by others sometimes just to relax 😀
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Thanks for the reblog. As far as #5 goes, I meant more in a marketing and success way. I should step in there and clear that up.
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I THOUGHT that’s what you may have meant but wasn’t sure Charles 😀
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Yeah. I guess I wrote this one late at night and with distractions. Sorry about that.
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I am finishing up two weeks in the country away from most distractions that I’ve used to gain some headway in editing of the second “Scrolls” novel. While I haven’t made as much progress as I would like I have made much more than I was at home. I return home tomorrow and will have to buckle down on the editing and not getting sidetracked before I start classes on May 4th. I still think I will meet my announced release date of May 25th, but it’s going to be tight. Worst case scenario is I push the release off a week or two to ensure I have a novel worth reading. Book two is a little more complex in story than was book one so I’ve had a few speed wobbles, but I’m on track…
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Cool. Are you going to do a cover reveal or any pre-release marketing? Always willing to help if you need it. Getting away is definitely a good idea if you can pull it off.
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I was lucky and someone offered me a place for two weeks… I have a draft of the cover, I’m just waiting for some minor modifications and hopefully will be doing a cover reveal in the coming weeks. As usual I haven’t given much in the way of pre-marketing although I might post a few excerpts in May to do a little teasing of what is in the book without spoiling the story…I appreciate any help and will keep you posted… now back to work…my break is up and my boss (me) is screaming at me…lol
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Good luck with the finishing touches.
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“Try not to look at what other authors are doing in terms of marketing, sales, and rankings.” <– I cannot tell you how many times I've told fellow authors this. It just sets them up for feeling down. Great article, Charles!
~SAT
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Thanks. I say it all the time, but I fail when I’m feeling down. Not sure what draws me to observing the successes of others when I’m already moody. It’s a strange habit I’ve had since high school.
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Great advice. I’ve done the not sleeping much but you pay for it eventually. Thanks to Sally Cronin for sharing too!
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Definitely pay for it. Really wish it was easier to catch up on sleep. 🙂
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Having a clone does help with some aspects of being an author (someone else to handle social media or editing, for example), but as far as I have seen, it doesn’t make much difference as far as motivation is concerned.
Personal deadlines work, but the trick is not to freak out and then drop everything if you are delayed somewhat because of things outside your control.
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A clone does help clear the schedule of distractions and chores though, which can help clear the way for motivation. At least until it decides to go evil and attempt to claim the author’s life as their own. Same goes for robotic doubles too.
Benefit of personal deadlines is that they can be flexible. As you said, things can be outside of the author’s control.
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I like number 3, getting out of the house regularly to write. Great post. We all need (especially me) to stop procrastinating and WRITE! 🙂
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Thanks. Procrastination is definitely a big hindrance. Seems to come out of nowhere too.
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These are all good ways. I like number five a lot. I see stuff that I know won’t work for me but want to try it anyway just to say I’ve tried everything. Good post.
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5 seems to be popular, but I think it’s also the hardest to hold to. Being an indie author means befriending other indie authors, so you have to pay attention to when you congratulate your peers. This really does help teach humility and teamwork though.
Excellent statement on trying something just to say you tried it. You never know what will work.
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Training mice… Might try that one. 🙂
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Hamsters are smarter. At least from what I’ve gathered.
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Reblogged this on Jo Robinson.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Great list for one whose motto is “never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.”
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Thanks. Some days that motto can work. 🙂
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Great advice! I took myself right away to a writer’s retreat in Devon when I REALLY wanted to get something done. It’s where I started and planned out my book with no distractions at all and no guilt. And with someone doing all the cooking and clearing up, plus bringing me wine in the evening, it doubled as a holiday.
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I’ve heard about writer retreats and always wondered what they would be like. First time I heard about wine service though, which now has me even more intrigued.
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The one I went to is called Retreats for You in Devon. It’s fantastic! I intend to do a review of it on my blog at some point, but all I will say is – wine, flapjacks, beach barbecues, readings in the evenings around the fire, full-Engllish breakfasts, fluffy robes and slippers….it’s not 5* (ie you have to share the bathroom) but what’s great about it is that you mix with the other guests and learn from them. I have been three times and met so many interesting people – including a play-write, whose play (which she was writing and discussing when I met her) I later went to watch in my home town 🙂
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Sounds great even with the shared bathroom. It’s good to get away and sounds even better to do it for writing purposes. I don’t get to mingle with other writers outside of the computer, so it’d be a new experience.
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Do it!
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Sadly, I can’t be away from home for very long. Stay-at-home parent and even being away for a day seems to backfire on me.
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Shame. Ah well bring yourself wine in the evening and reenact the experience!
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Think there’s a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream somewhere in this house. Close enough. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Write Dorne – Putting life into words. and commented:
As someone who has the outline for a non fiction book , along with the chapters, set up; but who has yet to do something with it… this is just perfect.
I suspect I’m not alone and so I am reclogging this great post… to motivate we fence-sitters!
Thanks for visiting and have a great day.
Until the next time.
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Thanks for the reblog. You’re right about not being the only one. It seems rather easy to derail an author.
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I might even reblog it; when I have put my reading glasses on! LOL! 🙂
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Thanks. 🙂
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Good ideas, Charles, and I like the humor. 😀 — Suzanne
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Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
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Good post! I have been toying with the idea of no 1, but just the thought of it makes me feel like a failure already lol!
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That’s why you always put in a few easy goals. Part of motivation seems to boil down to self-BSing.
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Excellent post. Some days I succeed at this, others I fail royally and get about an hour of writing done. I try to do three hours every day, packing it in with all the other things I can only do when my lad is at school. It never ceases to amaze me how short the school day is. 🙂
Cheers
MTM
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The school day does seem oddly short. Though not as bad as the mornings where I try to clear my schedule for easy reading time. That always seems to go bay quicker than I expected.
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who needs a few more hours in the day. I am in awe of your productivity though.
Cheers
MTM
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We’ll see how things go this week. Too many projects have built up and I need that productivity to get through them.
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Just keep taking it bit by bit and look at how far you’ve come rather than how far you need to go.
Cheers
MTM
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I’ll try, but after a few weeks of never making my big goals, I’m just wanting some of this stuff to be done.
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I know the feeling. Have finished first draft of current W.I.P. but am currently rewriting vast tracts of it. Grrr!
Cheers
MTM
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The joys of rewrites.
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Good advice, Charles. Thank you for sharing. When I get into writing I forget about everything else including eating. Lol!
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Thanks. That eating thing does get tossed by the wayside at times. Need to remember it during my next writing run.
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