Avoiding Burnout

An interesting phenomenon has been noticed occurred over recent months, one that has been mentioned on a number of different blogs. Bloggers have discovered that a number of familiar names in indie publishing are no longer around. Frequent posts to favorite networking sites have disappeared, there's no newly published books, and websites haven’t been updated in some time.

Some believe that the huge number of books now being published annually (I hear that it’s two million or more) has so glutted the market that many authors aren’t selling nearly as many books as they did between 2010 and 2015. Substantial royalties have therefore diminished, forcing some to return to day jobs. Still, others seem to have given up. Keep in mind that a small percentage of authors, particularly in the romance and erotica markets, are still making good incomes.

Another theory also factors in here. Burnout. On indie sites like Kindleboards, authors were touting the necessity of putting out a book every three months to stay visible and on top of Amazon’s mysterious algorithm. To me, this is akin to investing in stocks you don’t know much about, but hoping they’ll rise in your favor anyway. A number of authors have tried to do this with varying degrees of success. As those who follow my blogs know, I’ve tried to step up my pace, but it’s truly difficult.

So, I was really interested by a recent blog that discussed burnout…what it really is, and how to overcome it. Author BelleCooper identifies burnout as a combination of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. It seems that burnout is not just a matter of overworking, but of losing enthusiasm for what you’re doing to the point where you become inefficient and unproductive. I’ve seen evidence of this in my own life, so I’ve been taking steps to avoid complete burnout.

First, I put four of the six writing projects away to focus on just two. Secondly, I’m improving my diet, getting more rest when needed, and exercising more. Third, I’m adjusting my life/work balance by spending more time with friends, planning, weekend getaways, and even a couple of vacations over the next twelve months. A rarity for me!

It’s already helping. There’s more I can do, and Cooper has other great tips. If you feel like you’re working too hard and are becoming jaded by the lack of reward for your efforts, then please read her blog. Maybe it will help.

Debra

Joy and Purpose in Solitude

My father and his family were very social people. So, whenever my parents entertained or the family got together, I often felt like a fish out of water. I didn’t, and still don’t, enjoy a room full of noisy people talking over one another about things that didn’t matter to me. While I was growing up I heard occasional, barely whispered words such as “aloof”, “introverted” “shy” or “anti-social” thrown my way. This was certainly true at school as well. There were people in my world who truly believed that was something wrong with me for not being more social.

When I began writing and meeting other writers, I realized that a remarkably high proportion of colleagues (compared to high school classmates and my father's clan) felt the same about crowds, noise, and inane conversations. I realized that the preference for solitude was not only okay but that it brought each of us great satisfaction or even joy as we wrote those first lines or edited ongoing work. Many of my writing friends would rather work alone in their rooms than go to the mall, a party, or—dear god— a baby/bachelorette shower.

It was no surprise therefore to learn that scientific research has shown that creative people need solitude. An article in Quartz revealed what many of us writers have known for some time. Solitude has nothing to do with being bored or being lonely. In fact, it’s an essential component for any type of creativity. Thinking about our writing projects, bringing up emotions and memories, making connections between characters and plots and subplots and themes is essential to writing a book, and occurs best in solitude.

Writers know that this is not as easy as it sounds. As the article points out, even creative people will often go out of their way to avoid solitude because it forces them to look at things they might not want to. The experience can be uncomfortable and downright painful as emotions and memories surface. Facing a blank page can feel overwhelming at times.

I’ve come across a lot of writers who comment on various groups and forums several times a day. Others attend countless seminars, workshops, and other events. I’m sure that some activities are helpful and rev up the creative juices, but to me moderation is the key. Too many of them become a huge drain on your time.

My part-time job serves many purposes, but truthfully, one of those is to avoid being a full-time writer. I did that for three years. It was productive but difficult. I’m not ready to try again yet. More telling is that my output is nearly the same as it was when I had no day job. The promotion/marketing aspect has dwindled, but I accept that.

For now, I’m where I want to be. My days are structured but I value my solitude and my writing time much more than I did during those three years. It’s allowed me to work more efficiently and to reduce time sucks. Of course, I still get out socially. After all, it’s not that I don’t like being with others, I really do, but just not every day. My day job, writing time, and social activities are becoming more balanced, and that’s a good thing.

Debra

Word, Vancouver is Coming Up!

One of my favourite annual events to attend and participate in is Word, Vancouver (formerly known as Word on the Street). Over the past twenty years, the event has grown from a single-day festival to a four-day long celebration of reading and writing. The culmination of all that fun happens on the last Sunday of every September in various cities across Canada. This free event is a wonderful day where authors, editors, magazine and book publishers, literacy and writing organizations gather from all over the Lower Mainland and beyond to enjoy a day of readings, panel discussions, book bargains and music.

Crime Writers of Canada will once again be exhibiting on Sunday, September 28^th. This time we’ll be indoors at the Vancouver Public Library (on Georgia Street), so if it rains we’ll at least stay dry! I’ll be manning the table from 1 to 3 p.m. with fellow writer Derrick Carew to tell people about the CWC and celebrate the new titles that Derrick and I, and other writers have released this year. Hope to see you there!

Debra

Jumping on the Bandwagon for NaNoWriMo

Everybody is chattering about National Novel Writing Month this month, since this is it, and why should I be any different?

My advice on how to approach it and how to get through it is the same as my advice for anything involving writing: Do Whatever Works.

Now, the first thing to remember about NaNo is that it isn't a job. It isn't something you have to do, even if you've signed up for it. The purpose of it is to encourage you to sit down and disconnect your inner editor and just write as freely as you can. There isn't a "right" way or a "wrong" way. As far as I'm concerned, there is no "cheating", since the only "prize" is the words you write. Are you starting with a project you got stuck on halfway through? Go ahead! Do you have a detailed outline already? Fine! Do you want to turn a series of unrelated short stories into a coherent storyline? Sounds awesome! Do you have a vague idea and want to use NaNo to rough out a detailed outline? I'm like, "Cheat, schmeat--just write!"

NaNo should be a pleasure and a joy. If it isn't, shrug it off. Maybe it doesn't work for you. November might be a little lonely, while lots of people are all NaNo, NaNo, NaNo, but so what? If that's not the way you roll, set yourself another goal for November:

Friend: I've written 24,000 words so far this month!

You: I've organized my Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes and made out a shopping list.

Come December, they'll have a rough draft, a caffeine crash AND they'll be heading into the Christmas crush, and you'll have your recipes organized and your shopping list made.

If you do NaNo, don't let it become a contest between you and your buddies. It's tempting to feel pressured to write faster, write more words, and that's kind of the point. But if the pressure feels uncomfortable or unpleasant, unplug yourself from that. There's no law that says you have to post your word count publicly. Your words aren't anybody else's words; they're your words.

NaNo is a chance to dedicate some time each day to writing, which you may or may not do anyway. It gives you some leverage with loved ones who may not think to grant you that time ordinarily, a chance to say, "No, I can't do that. I'm doing NaNo, and I pledged to write 1,670 words every day."

People who don't write tend to be impressed by numbers, and they'll go, "Oh! That's a lot of words! I'd better let you get to it, then." That's one thing NaNo can do for you.

NaNo can encourage you to let go and throw yourself through the story without worrying if it hangs together. If you can't do that (and I can't), maybe it can encourage you to throw yourself a little farther into the story than you are and see if it comes together or sparks some ideas for farther along. I write 250 words at a time. That's just the way I roll.

Marian Allen is the author of EEL'S REVERENCE, a fantasy published by Echelon Press.