by Ruth Harris
You might have thought because you’re staying at home that you’d have more free time to start/finish a book or take an on-line yoga class. But in reality, because we’re all spending so much time at home, much of that time is consumed by eating which means food prep and cooking (which means there’s a kitchen to clean and dishes to be washed), bathrooms to be cleaned and tidied plus, of course, more toilet paper to be purchased (if we can even scrounge up a few rolls somewhere), laundry duty, garbage and trash removal, dusting, vacuuming and, of course, sanitizing.
As one day melts seamlessly into the next, and we can’t tell Sunday from Tuesday, weekdays from weekends.
Our moods whiplash between “This sucks” and “It could be worse.”
We’re bored, anxious, and tired. We’re having trouble sleeping and concentrating. Much less writing.
“A lot of us are mentally exhausted, because the energy it takes to mentally manage everything that’s happening is very draining,” says Vaile Wright, director of clinical research and quality for the American Psychological Association. “The habits we’ve worked to develop over time to keep us healthy and productive can fall by the wayside.”
It’s not just you.
As Anne wrote in an earlier post, she’s heard from a lot of writers about the difficulty they’re experiencing writing in the midst of a deadly pandemic.
She had a meltdown involving a TV remote.
I had one triggered by laundry. I don’t know if there’s actually more laundry, or if it just feels that way, but it seems that no sooner have I finished folding and putting clean laundry away, magically new dirty laundry appears in its place to replace the old dirty laundry. Not good for my mental health—or my disposition.
Needless to say, feeling overwhelmed by an Everest of laundry or frustrated by a cranky TV remote even as we are bombarded by relentless reports of death and disease, does not contribute to creativity.
Instead of fighting what can feel like an unwinnable battle with the lack of inspiration, let’s consider what we can do that does not take the same level of intense concentration as writing.
Why not take advantage of these strange days to focus on ways we can improve our skills or acquire new ones?
1. Author Platform Care And Maintenance.
Use this Covid-19 pause to reconsider and refresh the elements of your author platform.
- How long since you’ve updated your website, posted to your blog or pruned your mailing list?
- Is your bio as good as it can be? Anne offers solid guidance on how to write an author bio—even if you don’t yet feel like an author.
- Is your FaceBook page or Instagram feed consistent with your brand?
- Are all your books linked to your Amazon author page and BookBub profile or do they need updating?
- Don’t forget your presence on GoodReads, Linked-In and/or Pinterest.
- Add to your catalogue by creating a box set with Vellum (Mac only, but there are workarounds for PC users) that makes compiling several books into one title as easy as drag and drop.
2. Better Blurbs For Better Living.
Are your blurbs OK?
Meh?
Less than meh?
Or are they old, tired and saggy?
As we’ve been told over and over, the cover is the first thing that grabs the reader’s attention. The cover tells him/her what kind of book s/he is looking at: romance (sweet or steamy), women’s fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, sci-fi.
The blurb (also known as the sales pitch, cover copy, or on Amazon, the “product description”) is the second.
But once you grabbed/seduced/lured the reader, then what?
Then you have to make the sale—and that’s where the blurb comes in.
Even if you have a good/OK/fabulous blurb, blurbs, like magazine subscriptions (remember those?) need to be renewed every now and then. At a time when you’re finding it difficult to write, refreshing an existing blurb can be a productive use of your time, a satisfying outlet for your creativity and an opportunity to increase your sales.
Here’s a simple, four-step guide to writing a killer blurb—with examples.
3. M Is For Metadata.
Review your categories.
David Gaughran tells us that “KDP is now explicitly stating that we are permitted TEN categories for each of our books.” It’s a big change and David argues that most writers aren’t making the most of the opportunity. He goes on to explain exactly how authors can maximize their oprtions.
If you haven’t already signed up for DG’s newsletter—he keeps a sharp eye on publishing and is generous about sharing info—now would be a good time.
Revisit your keywords.
Out with the old. In with the new—and more relevant.
Dave Chesson’s Publisher Rocket does the tedious work of searching for keywords (and does ditto for categories) that will help make your book more visible to browses and readers.
4. Brainstorm for Brilliance.
When you can’t write, maybe you can brainstorm, which is, after all, the fun part. When you let loose, when you forget about sparkling prose, passive verbs and adverb infestation, who knows what brilliant thoughts are just lurking in your subconscious, waiting to be unleashed?
Scapple ($15 for Mac and PC) makes brainstorming easy and lets you connect those fab insights in a logical way that might become a plot, subplot or even a new book.
Give it a shot. See what happens. See where it leads. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Better—much better—than feeling frustrated.
As Keith Blount, the creator of Scapple, says, “Ever scribbled ideas on a piece of paper and drawn lines between related thoughts? Then you already know what Scapple does. It’s a virtual sheet of paper that lets you make notes anywhere and connect them using lines or arrows.”
Scapple comes with a generous FREE trial.
5. Liberate Your Inner Artist.
If your sales—and income—have been hit by Covid, DIY art and graphics are more appealing than ever. Learning your way around on-line art sites can be fun that yields practical results.
Maybe you’d like to try making a cover even though you’re not a designer.
Perhaps you could jazz up your blog, Instagram feed, or FaceBook page with a new banner.
Or refresh your ads, create a new business card or bookmark.
On-line sites like BookBrush and Canva let you do all these (and more) without knowledge of Photoshop. They present you with a selection of almost infinitely customizable templates that allow you to change images, backgrounds and fonts. Even the FREE versions give you enough to optiions so that, with a little practice, you can create an attractive, genre-specific basic cover.
At Dave Chesson’s Kindlepreneur blog, you will find a detailed comparison between BookBrush and Canva.
David Gaughran cites 12 free graphic tools for writers.
Nate Hoffelder lists 10 free image manipulation—resizing, background removing, 3D cover creation, etc—sites.
6. Orphaned Books. You Know, The Kind That Don’t Spark Joy.
If you’re stuck at home, but, like so many of us, the words won’t come and you can’t write, perhaps this period of enforced down time is ideal for you to revisit unfinished and abandoned books. Maybe the solutions to the problems that once stopped you in frustration, will become apparent now that some time has passed.
Plot holes—they’re not forever.
Rescue endangered books from the brink.
Janet Evanovich’s simple method of not-exactly-outlining might help you figure out where you’ve gone wrong and how to go forward.
7. Strengthen Your Characters.
If the plot’s OK, but the characters are wooden (or maybe plastic—and you’re not writing sci-fi), now might be the right time to pay them a visit and give them a pulse.
Here are 8 suggestions about how to create a memorable character.
8. Embrace That Crappy First Draft.
- Typos.
- Clichés.
- Passive verbs.
- Banal descriptions.
- Lapses in logic.
- Adverbs!
We’ve all committed these sins (and more because we’re creative), but, because we take our work and our readers seriously, we don’t give up.
We can and should use that lousy draft as a building block.
Henry Guinness at the NYT calls himself “a big fan of awful first drafts” and shares a useful trick about how to use that embarrassing first draft to move toward a finished product you can be proud of.
9. Learn To Self-Edit.
Harry Guinness goes on to explain: “The secret to good writing is good editing. It’s what separates hastily written, randomly punctuated, incoherent rants from learned polemics and op-eds, and cringe-worthy fan fiction from a critically acclaimed novel.”
As a long-time editor, I would go even further and say that good editing is (almost) everything. Obviously, you have to get the words down first, but, after that, multiple rounds of editing will help you clarify your thinking and lead to a polished work in a way that can seem (almost) magic.
Another plus is that several rounds of self-editing before you unleash your work on the public or on your editor will save you one-star reviews and your editor time. Which will consequently will save you money.
10. How to Feel like a Real Writer.
If none of these ideas appeal to you or if you’re just feeling generally blah, why not do what real writers do?
Procrastinate. 🙂
by Ruth Harris (@RuthHarrisBooks) April 26, 2020
What about you, scriveners? Is your muse still social distancing from you? Have you started any new writing-related projects like learning to use Canva? Did you know KDP now allows 10 categories for a book? Do you think your laundry may be multiplying while you’re asleep?
This week on Anne’s book blog, we have another visit from the Manners Doctor. She talks about how to deal with a garden variety pest, the Internet Troll, and why you should ALWAYS apologize. “The person who apologizes has the power to alleviate the suffering of the person demanding it. So by all means accept that power. A nice apology also makes an escape much easier when you need to make a quick call to law enforcement.”
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Africa. An Orphan. A Love Story.
FOR READERS WHO LOVED WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.
They rescue endangered animals, but can they rescue each other?
Available at
Apple, Kobo, Nook, Google Play, Amazon
OPPORTUNITY ALERTS
CRAFT Short Fiction prize. Up to 5000 words. All genres. 1st prize $2000 plus publication. 2nd and 3rd prizes $500 and $300. $20 Fee. Deadline April 30th.
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest: $20 Fee. 6000 words max. two $3000 first prizes for best fiction and essay. 10 Hon Mentions $200 each. Deadline April 30th.
AAR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize Unpublished short stories: 2,000–5,000 words. 1st prize $6,000, 2nd $4,000, 3rd, $2,500. $15 fee students, $25 others. Deadline May 1st.
The Writers Digest virtual SciFi-Fantasy weekend conference. This looks like a great opportunity for new authors in these genres. You get to pitch to agents specifically looking for your subgenre. Plus there are lots of great courses with personal feedback on your writing.
THE STRINGYBARK TALES WITH A TWIST AWARD $14 ENTRY FEE. 1,500 words. Must have a twist at the end of the tale! 1st prize A$350 2nd prize A$250, 3rd prize A$125 cash. Stringybark will publish the winners. Deadline May 13, 2020.
RAYMOND CARVER SHORT STORY CONTEST$17 ENTRY FEE. Literary fiction up to 10K words. Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, and two $125. Three literary agents do the judging. Winners announced August 1. Deadline May 15, 2020.
LITERARY TAXIDERMY SHORT STORY COMPETITION$10 ENTRY FEE. Prize $500 as well as publication. Write an original story of up to 2,500 words in any genre. The catch: We provide your opening and closing lines from a classic work of literature. You provide the rest. Deadline June 4, 2020.
12 PUBLISHERS FOR MEMOIRS! You don’t need an agent. From the good folks at Authors Publish
A terrific and broad-ranging list, excellent stuff Ruth! I read it and then scrolled back just to register all the highlighted links you have as they whizzed past. These blog posts are compendiums (compendia?) for scattershot writers like me to come back to.
The quarantine hasn’t actually changed that much about my world. I’ve had the privilege of working from home for over two decades. The big change now is my daughter’s “schooling” takes place over Zoom in her bedroom, and we jokingly welcome her “home” when she comes downstairs. But there is a heightened tension whenever I venture out in my mask for vital supplies. People are nervous, and I sometimes think I’m getting a bit agoraphobic. Eager to get back to this chair, even if I have to write while I’m here! Not yet, but maybe soon…
William—Thanks. Hope that some of the links come in handy.
Sorry you’re experiencing tension with your mask. Here in NYC everyone I see—although the usually busy streets feel almost deserted—is wearing a mask. Seems to make people feel safer. As I do, for sure.
Ooops. Forgot to add the remind me stuff!
William . . . we were just talking about agoraphobia in my writing group. How we could become agoraphobic.
Good points, Ruth. All of them. Especially the procrastination one. I took the past Covid week to get over a big procrastination problem I’ve had for a long, long time.
I finally chopped the Amazon rope and “went wide” on Kobo and Nook as well. It was a time-consuming process with a bit of a learning curve as each platform’s dashboard has its idiosyncrasies. It involved revisiting 5 manuscripts in their entirety and making them work as EPub files instead of Mobis. Then, there was the cross-linking of back-matter to make each book site-specific. It’s done, and I woke up this morning to see a few organic sales on Kobo 🙂 Yay for Covid!
ps… Stay safe!
Garry—Yay for you! Making good use of the unexpected time. Ditching bad habits is never easy but soooo worth it.
Yeah, lots of picky detail work in going wide. Congrats on your Kobo sales!
Take care!
Great suggestions, Ruth,
So far, I’m, finding myself in the Very Fortunate Camp of being able to focus on my WIP & move it on down the road. I’ll hold onto this post, though, in case my Very Fortunate status shifts gears.
CS—the VFC is a great place to be, so no shifting gears, OK? Keep the pedal to the metal. 😉
Great advice, all of this, Ruth. I’ve heard from my publisher, as I know most have with big publishers: they don’t know what the heck to do, and so all contracts that were going to be granted are…poof! Who knows who will survive this year, and which lines will still be still going. It’s paralyzing. I don’t know whether to continue writing the next book in the series, or start something fresh… Good to have your list, to at least do SOMETHING!
Melodie—Sorry you’re dealing with this. Hope the list give you somewhere to start at least. I find that doing SOMETHING is definitely better than feeling stuck and paralyzed.
Up until a few days ago, writing was non-existent. Then suddenly, in the middle of a very dull work day, inspiration hit, so I immediately whipped out a google doc and started writing (I can do this, as I currently work at home for my job, which is 5 days of stress followed by 9 days of dullness). Got one paragraph written before I decided to back off and get back to work.
All of what you’ve suggested are great ideas, and some day, when life gets back to semi-abnormal again, I’ll start working on a few of those suggestions.
I’m waiting on edits but I could start something new and small. Of course, I’m still working, so there’s not any extra free time for me at home.
Alex — New and small can result in something big. So why not?
Love the fun tone and humorous take on ‘Real Writerness’ here…I have been putting off streamlining my titles caught between Amazon and Ingram Spark; guess I could do that now…but I’m curious, how do you prune a mailing list? I’m on Mailchimp and delete bounced users, but I know there are hundreds more loafers…I tried sending the last newsletter only to ‘Active Users’ but it didn’t change much except my open rate and back-end stats: no new sales. Any insights or reference posts, if you use Mailchimp? I know I’ve fallen behind on this one the past couple years.
Margaret—Always appreciate kind words! See if this article helps:
https://www.rickwhittington.com/blog/prune-email-list-in-mailchimp/
A great list, Ruth, and I’ve been forced to do several of them in anticipation of my next book coming out in 2 months – website redesign, FB Author page redesign, writing posts for my FB Author page and on and on. It helps to do something “creative” instead of just going through my closet and pulling out clothes I haven’t worn in 20 years!!!
Patricia—LOL I have clothes older than half the population, so I feel you. 😉
I’ve been doing cover and interior refreshes for my books–I have at least 48! The interiors need an update to be consistent with the other titles available and sample material. Some of the covers are feeling a little dated for me, so they are being changed out. And I just pulled the trigger on a omnibus.
Linda—Brava! Now’s a good time for updates and refreshes.
Your post is like being grabbed the shoulders and given a good shake. lololol :O)
I’ve worked from home for decades, so the only real difference for me is going outside where zombies might be, and having my client list (authors & writing gigs) cut by half. Most cite the dramatic change in scheduling time to write due to working from home, spouse working from home, kids learning from home.
I decided to do two things with my ‘extra’ time: the first was to identify all the excuses I’ve ever used for procrastination, and then go through and ‘do’ them all, catch them all up, turn them into non-excuses. It’s been pretty satisfying…
The second was to go through every single email in every email folder and cull out any that are no longer active communicators, unsubscribe to newsletters I never have time to read but wish I did, consolidate emails and their folders, etc. It was as tedious a task as I’d always imagined it to be, which is why I constantly procrastinated in keeping up with it. But the result has been very freeing.
I’ve also expunged ‘extra stuff’ from every room in the house (and my house is small). Now, the extra bedroom is full. It will be emptied via donations and again, my mind will feel freer for clarifying my environment.
Playing audible books – loudly – while doing mundane chores has produced a forced concentration mode that often gives me inspiration on issues I encounter when editing and perfect examples to illustrate them.
Thanks so much for all the pro-active ideas, Ruth.
Maria—Sounds like you’ve used your time really well. So satisfying! (Unlike what the Stones insist.)
Procrastination, in my experience, comes from being overwhelmed by lack of knowledge or understanding. My first novel launches on May 6, which is great, but, the marketing is at a standstill. I don’t understand social media, or blogs, or mailing lists. I read how to, why to articles, watch youtube vids until my eyes cross, and end up even more confused. I get frustrated by my website, blog, and other platforms, and want to do so much I get nothing done at all.
Perhaps that is the problem. I need to focus more on one or two things instead of trying to eat the whole elephant in one sitting. I think I’ll go back to my orphaned book that needs a hug, pick one platform and give it my all and let the Devil take the hindmost.
Great post, as always.
Brenda—Yes! One (small) thing at a time. Feeling overwhelmed and confused is the worst! No wonder we all struggle to one degree or another!
Great post Ruth. So true how we go back and forth to reality that sucks and back to gratitude. It’s natural that we should all be on a merry-go-round of emotions, and undoubtedly, one irritating frustration can morph into some sort of a release now and then, lol. But great ideas on your list so thanks. Stay safe! 😉
dgkaye — Thanks for the kind words. Especially now! I like the way you frame the benefits of the occasional meltdown: “a release.” Better than, oh, I don’t know, murder and other assorted mayhem. 🙂
Lol, no kidding! Necessary for sure. 🙂
In March, I purchased Publisher Rocket and spent the next 4-5 weeks adjusting all of the keywords and metadata on our books. Now is a good time for a lot of up-check and maintenance.
L. Diane — Totally agree: excellent time for upkeep and maintenance. Yay for you!
Thanks for the happy dose, Ruth and Anne. My head knows we’re all in this together, but it helps my heart seeing shared frustrations and your spot-on suggestions…..even procrastination -: D.
Cat Michaels — Thank *you*! And thanks for your nod to procrastination. Sometimes, if you procrastinate long enough, you don’t even need to do the thing you’ve been avoiding. (Not that that’s ever happened to me.) 😉
Thank you for this inspiring list, Ruth. And to add to it: get inspired by a talented author by reading a fine book.
Leanne—Excellent addition! There’s such an enormous range of books to choose from, too. In fact, something for every taste and preference!
I’ve been finding that focusing on writing a brand new short story every month for the subscribers to my email list is about as much as I can manage! It keeps me writing new fiction, but also gives me content for my list. This month, I also collected all the previous stories into an exclusive ebook for them too!
Icy—Brilliant, just brilliant! New stories *and* and new ebook. Great use of this unexpected down time. A++++++
Thanks for the tip on Scrapple. It was cool, but I was hoping for a bit of an embedded random connector, sort of like those sites that are random generators and scramble main character, plot, and setting for titles or loglines. Hee hee. If anyone’s heard anything like that, please point me to the right direction! Thanks!
swiveltam — Glad you found Scapple useful. Maybe just move around your notes to produce some random ideas?
Thanks for all the great suggestions, Ruth, and the graphic — so suitable for “these uncertain times.” How I have grown to hate that phrase.
My problem: not enough time. Constant disinfecting of surfaces and stepping around family who are now home twenty-four hours a day consume hours I might otherwise spend on writing.
But your tips are wonderful. I’m bookmarking this.
Kathy—Yes! Constant cooking, cleaning, disinfecting. Rarely discussed now that we have *all* this new-found free time, but CCD is basically “women’s work” so doesn’t really count, does it? blech
I’ve actually been doing a bit of graphic design in regards to books. It’s a nice way to be creative in regards to my writing, especially since it doesn’t require as much brainpower as creating a sentence. All I need to think is “Does this look good?” and answer yes or no.
Patricia—Excellent use of time when writing gets even harder than usual. Good for you!
Excellent ideas, Ruth. When the pandemic first hit I found myself unable to write fictions is to too many family worries. Yet I felt so guilty about not writing…until I wrote a post about allowing yourself time to process the new normal. It’s amazing how writing can help us heal.
I also turned to hypnosis (thanks to Anne) and deep meditation. But it was my love of reading and research that really got me back on track. I found a new true crime case that I’m SO excited about! My true crime publisher had asked for a new book proposal (yay!). Roman & Littlefield closed their divisions till May 5, so I’m shooting for that date. Deadlines, self-imposed or contracted, are excellent motivators. ????
Stay safe, ladies. ❤️
Autocorrect!!! “Is to” should be “due to” *sigh*
Sue—Yay for you—for finding a way through the pandemic slump *and* for not giving up. Reading and research led the way to an exciting new book. Congratulations!
Thank you, Ruth. This is an amazing post . . . stating for all to see what we know is happening but couldn’t . . . or don’t want to put into words, because that makes it a “reality.” I’m more busy than ever, which is good, but also draining to work under what feels like a pressure cooker. Will be SO GLAD when the “new normal” happens.
Found this thanks to the Story-Reading Ape :). So glad I did—both for the reassurance and for the concrete tips, which I’ll be looking at and working on. I need to do pretty much all those writerly things you mention, and you’re right—since I can’t seem to edit my novel, this is a good time to do other things.