Errors, Content, and Making It Work Anyway

Happy Monday, everyone. *big stretch and yawn* That was a tiring weekend, huh? I admit, I could crawl back in bed and sleep the rest of the week away. I’m traveling, and that’s why you’re not getting AI posts right now. My laptop is in another state, and I’ve been working from my iPad. Good times. Needless to say, this keyboard thing has a trackpad, and it’s making my life hell. I disable the trackpad on my laptop because I like to use the wrist rest. You can’t do that if there’s a trackpad in the way. Anywho…

Today, we’ll talk about making your writing work, errors and all (which you’ll see more of this week), no matter where you happen to be. If you’re ready to dive in, grab a blanket and something warm to drink. You deserve it. :) Also, I may not be here Friday. We’ll have to see how travel goes. Moving on!

Remember in Friday’s post when I talked about not going back to your work until your allotted time? That’s directly related to editing. There are a few things you can do to clean up your manuscript before you go looking for an editor. This is a step you really shouldn’t skip. It may end up costing you more in the long run. After you take your MS (manuscript) out of that drawer where you put it for a couple of weeks (or months) so you’d have fresh eyes, you need to red pen the everyloving hell out of it.

Here’s a post on errors that are easy to catch, and you need to be sure you’re also looking at pacing, storyline, and character building (see the next link for a free PDF that will help). If you don’t give a crap about the character(s), your reader won’t either.

Let’s get into content now.

As a writer, your social media presence is going to matter, so it would behoove you to start building a following before you even publish. Get your handle chosen, and get those pages locked down first. I do have a packet on branding that’s free to download and print. You can find it here.

Once you’ve gotten all your ducks in a proverbial row, you can then start to plan your content. Go ahead and make sharable graphics (or find someone to do it for you) for up to three months. You can do this by making yourself a social media schedule. Decide what kind of content you’ll publish on which days. For example:

• Monday Madness
• Tuesday Funnies
• On Wednesdays, we wear pink.
• Throwback Thursdays
• TGIF Fridays
• Weekend Woes

Choose one of those days, twice a month, and make it book related. No one will hang out on your page or give you a follow if you’re always screaming, “BUY MY BOOK! IT’S THE GREATEST BOOK!” So, be sure to share posts from your fellow authors. Trust me, there are plenty of readers to go around. Scatter the balloons so we can all float down here.

Once you have your content plan, create and schedule. Now, you’re free to write. Be sure to set aside a couple days to do this every two months or so.

I’ve been terrible about it lately, but I have a plan to get my ducks back in their rows. You just have to make it work either way (hence the blog post you’re reading right now).

Speaking of…

If you’re a traveler, and you know you’ll be on the road quite a bit, invest in something you can take with you so your work doesn’t suffer. I know one author who wrote an entire novel in Notepad on her phone while she nursed her newborn. She made it work, and if she did it, you can, too. Please, for the love of all that’s holy, plan for these things and know what works and what doesn’t. You don’t want to be stressed about XYZ.

In On Writing by Stephen King, he talks about setting aside time to write every day. While I think that’s a little extreme, I do believe you can fit it in every weekday. Yes, even when you’re traveling.

Make. It. Work. Treat writing like it’s a job, and it’ll pay you back in kind.

10 Ways to Help Yourself Write More

Hello, and happy Friday, y’all. Yay! It’s Friday. I hope everyone has amazing weekend plans, and I hope you all manage to stay warm somehow. If you’re trapped in the house because of the weather, perhaps you can put some of today’s tips into practice and see if they help you. I know these are the things that help me, but I’m also a bit weird…

Anywho, grab a blankie and some hot chocolate, and let’s get into the nitty gritty. Here are TEN tips to help your productivity (with annotations, of course).

1. Use the Damned Planner - I’m sure you all know this one and already have a beautiful, new, 2025 planner sitting on your desk that you haven’t touched. Knowing is separate from doing. Make it a habit to sit down every week on Sunday and fill it out for ONE week. Use stickers or anything else that makes you smile. What we’re after here is something you can look at so you know what to do next. Surprisingly, this helps your brain focus on what you’re doing, which is writing. Right?

2. Have a Start and Stop Time (and stick to it) - This is probably one of the most important things you can do as a writer for productivity and to write better and faster. Your brain will go into writing mode when it knows it’s time to perform. After a certain hour, do NOT go back to your manuscript. Leave that for one day out of your week.

3. Set Aside Time to Learn - You can do this on the weekend. Read freaking books on craft. Read blog posts (like this one). Take away the tips you want and discard the others, but learn as much as you can as often as you can. This will also help you focus when it’s time to write.

4. Treat Time Like It Matters - Your time should be protected. If you went to an actual office every day, no one would even think to ask you if you can do this or that during the day. You can’t unless they pay you to do it. Your time is money, too. Your home office is an office, too. YOU WORK, TOO! If little Timmy’s mom needs you to get him off the bus every day, she can pay you just like she’d pay a sitter.

5. Read and Write a Lot - Even if you’re just scribbling nonsense in a notebook, you’re writing. When you read, you’re learning how to write. Even those novels published by your peers will teach you something about plot, construct, and flow. You can’t write if you’re not a reader. You can’t write WELL if you’re not a reader.

6. Set Aside Time for Marketing - You don’t always have to be on when it comes to marketing. This goes back to #4. Your writing time is precious. Use tools that will help you market your books better. If you have yet to publish, start researching tools now. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has come a long way. Yes, it will probably cost you money, but if you do the right research ahead of time, you’ll know where to put it for maximum impact. Set aside time to tend to it.

7. Become Your Own Worst Critic - If you write something and read it later only to think, this is trash, delete it and do better. If you think it’s trash, so will your readers. Just delete it. JUST. DELETE. IT.

8. Your Books Aren’t About You - You should be writing what you’re interested in, yes, but you’re not talking about yourself, so go crazy. People may look at you and think you’re unhinged (I mean, have you read the PPSK series?), but that’s the point of all this. Writing should be fun, and you shouldn’t be concerned with what Great Uncle Walter will think of you. Have fun, It’s not about you.

9. Don’t be Afraid to Publish - This goes hand in hand with: PLEASE READ YOUR REVIEWS. Readers will point out things you can do better as far as flow and pacing, even character development, so publish your dang work then read the reviews. Yes, they may be harsh, and yes, you may get discouraged, but take a step back and go again. Rome wasn’t built in a day, y’all.

10. Write Because You Love Writing. Period. - If you’re in it for the money, you may be disappointed. It’s not about the dollars. Don’t make it about the sales. It’s about your need to put words on a page. If you don’t have that drive, that story inside you itching to get out, then you need a different career. This one won’t spark joy.

Yes, I did quote Ms. Kondo. She has a point.

When you’re creating your weekly schedule, be sure and include at least an hour a day for writing. At least. Some days, you can do more, but if you’re consistently writing an hour a day, and you manage 1500 words every time, that’s 390,000 words a year. Read that again. At just 1500 words a day. Once you train your brain to write from X to Y, you’ll be able to do that consistently. I promise. Our writing group would run sprints, and I’d actually manage around 2k words in an hour, sometimes more. You can do it, but you must be consistent.

I hope this helps you start to pump out the words. Remember! A good editor is worth their weight in gold, too. Find one you love.

Well, that’s all for today, folks!

Until nest time, WRITE ON!

Jo