Here is a tasting menu of the advice to writers I’ve read on blogs in the past few months:
Write a minimum of 500 words every day.
Spend at least ten hours a week on your author’s platform.
Post to your blog at least once a week, on the same day and time.
Go to at least 2 – 3 conferences a year.
Post as much free content to your website as possible.
Create a mailing list and send updates to everyone on it at least once a month.
Submit at least one work a week.
Network daily on social media.
Keep a notebook with you at all times so you can write down ideas as they come.
Whew!
I get overwhelmed just reading this advice, let alone putting it into practice, so I’m going to offer a suggestion that’s a bit different—something that has helped turn my own writing life from harried to happy. My suggestion is this: relax.
If you are tormented with thoughts that you’ll never be able to do all the things you should be doing for your writing career, take a deep breath, and remember this: You don’t have to follow every word of advice you read. You can’t do everything, and you shouldn’t be trying to.
When I first started my author’s platform, everyone I talked to said I should be active on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and MeetUp, write at least one guest post a week on a major blog, and and post to my own blog every single day. Of course, I was supposed to be doing all that while sending out short stories, trying to find a publisher for my last novel, and writing my next major work. Did I mention I also have to earn a living?
Back then, I spent quite a few sleepless nights with my stomach in knots because I couldn’t keep up with half the social media sites I was on. I was spending almost all my time blogging and the rest feeling guilty that I wasn’t making progress on my novel. No matter what I did, I just kept falling further behind.
Finally, I realized that I couldn’t possibly do all the stuff writing gurus were suggesting. I weeded out all but the most essential, and started afresh with a bare-bones approach. When I added on work later—such as deciding to build my Twitter following—I only did so when I felt ready and knew I had the time. The result was a fresher, happier, and more successful writing life.
There are several reasons you should consider taking it easy.
First, there is no magic formula to good writing or a successful career. The writing and publishing worlds are unpredictable. Nothing you do is going to guarantee you a place in the sun.
I know successful authors who write every day and equally successful authors who don’t. Some of my friends labor for months over revisions. Others consider too much revision perfectionistic.
Two of my friends just landed major book contracts without much in the way of authors’ platforms—exactly what most advice-givers will tell you won’t happen. Meanwhile, I know quite a few writers with lively platforms who are struggling to get their work published.
In short, no one is completely sure what steps will lead to the best writing or the quickest success.
Second, being overwhelmed is the worst thing that can happen to your writing.
Nothing will block your creativity faster than feeling swamped. Following all the advice being handed out in the blogosphere is more likely to leave you choking on anxiety than blossoming as a writer. Your writing life should be joyful, fulfilling, and fun, not stressful and anxiety-ridden.
If you are feeling like you can’t keep up with all the things you should be doing, try this:
Wipe the slate clean. Cut back to the bare essentials of your writing life. If you are writing even a little, you are already doing the most important thing.
Gradually experiment to find the things that work best for your writing process, your author’s platform, and your career. If something fits your writing life well, continue it. If it cuts too deeply into your time and your peace of mind, eliminate it.
Rid yourself of the idea that more is better. Do a few things well rather than a lot of things poorly.
Finally, buy into the value of being comfortable and joyful in your writing life. You don’t have to be stressed to reach success. Take a deep breath. Relax. Love your writing.
What do you think about all the advice we writers are bombarded with? Is it useful or harmful? How do you decide what to follow and what not to? What do you do to keep from feeling overwhelmed with it all?
Jill Jepson is the author of Writing as a Sacred Path. She can be reached on the Writing a Sacred Path blog. Get her free ebooklet: Calling Up the Writer Within: Writing at 50 & Beyond. Sign up for her free weekly strategies for writers.
Well said, Judy!
"Nothing will block your creativity faster than feeling swamped" - this was me yesterday, today and tomorrow. I am better a organizing, than sitting and writing. There is never a good time, so I fit things in as time presents itself, and I feel the struggle like a tired swimmer. Over time, I move forward, and parts of my writing life are stronger than they once were. My piece of advice? Review your goals, test the waters for temperature, and swim when you can. And do it with patience.
I'm so glad to hear this worked for you--at just the right time, Nan!
This came at exactly the right time for me, Jill. I've been resisting advice to fill my days with busy-ness and focusing instead on my writing. But now that I'm about to start shopping the manuscript around, I've been anxious about just how much platform-building I need to do. I keep telling myself to just do what feels right and won't shortchange my creativity. Your post strengthens my resolve to do that.
Great advice! It is so easy to get carried away and starting to beat oneself up for not achieving all targets everyday.
Amen!
Thank you so much to all of you for commenting on this post. Apparently, I hit a nerve. I hope we can all take a deep breath and feel more tranquil about our writing (myself included!)
I appreciate your words of wisdom - relax and do what you can. I'm writing a Transplant Murder Mystery Trilogy so most of my writing time is spent working on the first drafts of all three books. I am currently finalizing my authors website and decided to slow down and have fun learning how to create pages and posts. After I go live with that, then my next step may be to learn on to tweet - when I'm ready. Nice Blog - came just when I needed it.
Thanks
Amy S. Peele
Thank you for this comforting post, Jill. Sure resonates with me!
I have to laugh when I see all of the writing advice in one place like that. I am a home-schooling mother of an 11-year-old daughter. She sees how much I love writing and sometimes joins my writer's group to journal in her notebook in response to a prompt, and shares what she has written. She's come up with some great stuff! If I can contribute to her continued love of reading and writing, I'll feel successful. I usually write around home-schooling, gardening, and walking labyrinths....and working to find some employment to pay the bills. ~:0)
The past winter was a hard one. Somehow I did not get to all the tasks I wanted to. I feel as if I am just getting back on track as an author....and feel good about that.
What a great post, Jill! The best path seems to come from doing the things that reflect who we are as writers and people. Perhaps, the best advice to listen to is ourselves. You're right, there are no magic formulas!
Enjoyed your blog. I totally agree. I'm relaxing now with my novel which is almost finished. I'm just writing these days and taking a break from marketing. I like the idea of a blog post every week same day. Good idea.
This has clearly struck a chord and for good reason. Blogging or sending a newsletter once week? Perhaps a more thoughtful blog/newsletter once a month would be better. How many of us really want weekly blogs and newsletters filling our in-boxes and lives every week? All this stuff about making sure our "readers" don't forget us is over-the-top. I figure they won't forget us if they get something enjoyable from us once a month, and they are less likely to groan when they see yet another newsletter, blog whatever. And Twitter, FB and all those other things? Likewise I think. Better quality and lower frequency. If Twitter is what you really love, yes, make it work for you, but if it feels too much like flippery and trivia,don't spend time every day on it. I know that on the days I actually get some good time writing my actual novel, I feel so much better and more productive than if that day is spent on social networking, and those walks on the beach not only make me happy, they feel healthy and give me time to think about my characters and plot!
Thank you so much for the reminder to remember to breathe and have fun with our writing careers.
Thank you for this Jill! I love the reminder and message to relax and write. I guess the social media has made what should be a simple activity complicated. I enjoy social media but when I'm limited on time, I interact on the ones that I have the largest target audience. I usually only blog once/week which is much less than many bloggers. It's enough. Plus, I take 2 weeks off the whole thing every August. Thanks again for your suggestions.
Thank you for this uplifting reminder!
Haven't written much for three weeks while I sorted out the suggestions from a new publisher about the social media I should be active on. I took a class on the subject which lessened my anxiety, and now find myself spending hours rolling through sites like Pinterest, salivating over the recipes, in awe of the art, then going to Facebook reading posts, both interesting and time-consuming. And very worrisome. How will I get more friends, followers? What should I post? This essay helps me begin to focus on what I want to do and be. I am going to return to the first three sentences of my next book. Now. Thank you.
Thanks for the reminder because it is all overwhelming.
Thank you!! Being overwhelmed is the worst that can happen to our writing. I read all kinds of posts on writing, book launch, platform building, and then I end up chatting with friends on FB. And then do the inner fretting. Vicious cycle and naming it breaks that bubble.
This is the sentence I chose to value: "The writing and publishing worlds are unpredictable." Thank you, Jill! When I read this, something snapped in my mind. In a good way. If these worlds are unpredictable, the message for writers and publishers is to align with it and be unpredictable too! There is no fear in unpredictability! Find the FUN in it and use it as a portal entrance to even more creativity than what comes out in your writing. The truth is, everything is unpredictable. (Sorry, my psychic friends, even you are delighted when you show up to surprise parties given in your honor!) Let go of the resistance to unpredictability and enter the resistance of just writing. It always gives some kind of a ride!
Excellent post, Jill. I totally agree that "Your writing life should be joyful, fulfilling, and fun!" I'm sharing this!
The best advice I've heard all day, summed up in one word--relax!
What great advice--relaxing and enjoying it. We could go broke paying for advice, sleepless w/all the suggested reading and writing--leaving us spent when it comes to writing our own words. I think it's like faith. We need to hope we will succeed doing the best we can. This is a great reminder. Thank you.
Great advice...I always feel guilty. Was supposed to start novel on May 1st and well...not much has happened. I am taking a class starting next week that i hope will force me into more concrete efforts!
Love this post, Jill. Not only is it impossible to do it all, most of the advice I've tried is not even effective in the slightest. I'm concentrating on honing my craft, creating a daily writing habit, and turning out polished work I'm proud of. My only active social site is Twitter, which I genuinely enjoy. I take ongoing craft classes online, study and analyze the books I read, and of course, I have to support myself. It's ENOUGH!
Thanks for adding a note of common sense into the nonsense that abounds on the internet.
This is perfect timing, Jill. I was in the midst of feeling very overwhelmed with choices about what I should do next/first in the social media world, and that feeling results in paralysis. Paralyzed writers don't write. Thanks for keeping the emphasis on why we are in this community: we write!