Last week, many of you participated in my poll. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions.
I was thrilled to have twenty-five responses. Some of you gave more than one response to the question, so I based the percentages on the total number of responses. For instance, there were thirty answers given to question one. Rather than using twenty-five as the denominator, I used thirty for question one. The number of reponses per question is in parentheses next to each question. I did not include my own answers in the percentages, but you can see my responses in green at the end of each question.
Here are the results!
Writer's Time Poll
1. What time of day do you write? (30 responses)
37% (a) morning (11)
13% (b) afternoon (4)
10% (c) evening (3)
40% (d) Any time I can fit writing in (12)
Jill's answer: a
2. Would you prefer to write at a different time of day but your schedule doesn't allow it? (25)
36% (a) yes (9)
32% (b) no (8)
32% (c) sometimes (8)
Jill's answer: c
3. If you could write whenever you want to, what time of day would you pick? (27)
78% (a) morning (21)
19% (b) afternoon (5)
3% (c) evening (1)
Jill's answer: c
4. What do you aim for when writing? (26)
50% (a) A certain word count (13)
4% (b) A certain number of pages (1)
11% (c) A certain amount of time (3)
24% (d) No goals, just whatever comes out (6)
11% (e) other New category written in! (3)
Jill's answer: a
5. How often do you write? (25)
4% (a) 7 days a week (1)
60% (b) 4-6 days a week (15)
24% (c) 1-3 days a week (6)
8% (d) sporadically (2)
4% (e) all New category written in! (1)
Jill's answer: b
6. Would you like more time to write? (25)
80% (a) yes (20)
4% (b) no (1)
16% (c) sometimes (4)
Jill's answer: a
7. If you could ditch one of your biggest time commitments (like your full-time job) to gain more writing time, would you want to? I realize most of us can't ditch our big time commitments--it's just a fantasy question! (25)
64% (a) yes (16)
24% (b) no (6)
12% (c) maybe in the future (3)
Jill's answer: b
8. Is writing a top priority commitment in your life, meaning you'll give up other activities before you give up your writing time? (25)
60% (a) yes (15)
4% (b) no (1)
36% (c) sometimes (9)
Jill's answer: a
9. A genie offers you one thing to help your writing career. Of the following, which would you pick? (25)
36% (a) More time (9)
16% (b) More motivation (4)
44% (c) More skill (11)
4% (d) More ideas (1)
Jill's answer: a
Did the results surprise you? It didn't come as a shock that 80% of you want more time to write. It did come as a shock that 78% would pick mornings to write if you had the choice. I'm a night-owl at heart, although my life does not allow it. So I would pick night if I had all the freedom in the world!
The one clear message I got from this quiz is that all of you are dedicated to your writing. Whether you write in the morning or evening, one day a week or seven, you're devoted. Talk about inspiring!
Thank you so much for taking this quiz. I had fun making it up and really enjoyed tallying the diverse results!
Join me this Friday--the final Friday in October!
Showing posts with label time commitments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time commitments. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Writer's Time Poll
Since I'm usually hunting for tips on managing my writing responsibilities with the rest of my life, I'm thrilled to have all of your brains to pick. Today, I want to know your secrets to making it all work.
Photo by crazyeddie
I've created a poll and if you are interested in taking it, you can leave your answers in the comments or, if you'd like to keep your answers private, you can e-mail me at jrkemer@charter.net. Any results e-mailed will be treated as confidential.
The results will be posted in percentages next week. Yes, I know many of you are gagging at the thought of a percentage-based results poll, but come on, I love crunching numbers!
Writer's Time Poll
1. What time of day do you write?
(a) morning
(b) afternoon
(c) evening
(d) Any time I can fit writing in
2. Would you prefer to write at a different time of day but your schedule doesn't allow it?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) sometimes
3. If you could write whenever you want to, what time of day would you pick?
(a) morning
(b) afternoon
(c) evening
4. What do you aim for when writing?
(a) A certain word count
(b) A certain number of pages
(c) A certain amount of time
(d) No goals, just whatever comes out
5. How often do you write?
(a) 7 days a week
(b) 4-6 days a week
(c) 1-3 days a week
(d) sporadically
6. Would you like more time to write?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) sometimes
7. If you could ditch one of your biggest time commitments (like your full-time job) to gain more writing time, would you want to? I realize most of us can't ditch our big time commitments--it's just a fantasy question!
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) maybe in the future
8. Is writing a top priority commitment in your life, meaning you'll give up other activities before you give up your writing time?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) sometimes
9. A genie offers you one thing to help your writing career. Of the following, which would you pick?
(a) More time
(b) More motivation
(c) More skill
(d) More ideas
Thanks so much for participating in this poll! I'm always curious how other writers feel about these things. Watch next week for the results!
Join me on Friday for my tongue-in-cheek look at how to unbalance your life.
Photo by crazyeddie
I've created a poll and if you are interested in taking it, you can leave your answers in the comments or, if you'd like to keep your answers private, you can e-mail me at jrkemer@charter.net. Any results e-mailed will be treated as confidential.
The results will be posted in percentages next week. Yes, I know many of you are gagging at the thought of a percentage-based results poll, but come on, I love crunching numbers!
Writer's Time Poll
1. What time of day do you write?
(a) morning
(b) afternoon
(c) evening
(d) Any time I can fit writing in
2. Would you prefer to write at a different time of day but your schedule doesn't allow it?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) sometimes
3. If you could write whenever you want to, what time of day would you pick?
(a) morning
(b) afternoon
(c) evening
4. What do you aim for when writing?
(a) A certain word count
(b) A certain number of pages
(c) A certain amount of time
(d) No goals, just whatever comes out
5. How often do you write?
(a) 7 days a week
(b) 4-6 days a week
(c) 1-3 days a week
(d) sporadically
6. Would you like more time to write?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) sometimes
7. If you could ditch one of your biggest time commitments (like your full-time job) to gain more writing time, would you want to? I realize most of us can't ditch our big time commitments--it's just a fantasy question!
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) maybe in the future
8. Is writing a top priority commitment in your life, meaning you'll give up other activities before you give up your writing time?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) sometimes
9. A genie offers you one thing to help your writing career. Of the following, which would you pick?
(a) More time
(b) More motivation
(c) More skill
(d) More ideas
Thanks so much for participating in this poll! I'm always curious how other writers feel about these things. Watch next week for the results!
Join me on Friday for my tongue-in-cheek look at how to unbalance your life.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Balance: Like the Food Pyramid
Balance does not mean giving equal time to each area in our lives. We all have oodles of obligations each day, but some tasks are done in fifteen minutes, whereas others require hours of our time.
How do we determine if we're allocating our time properly?
We could look at it as scales where one side is weighed with family, work, and free time and the other is weighed with writing tasks. But the two will never be equal, so I don't like that picture.
I think of it more as the Food Pyramid. Each layer represents what I spend my time doing. The bottom layer is where I spend the brunt of my hours. The layer above it would be my next biggest time commitment, and so on.
Everyone's bottom layer will be different. Look at how your hours fill up. Put the activity you spend the most time at (besides sleep!) in this slot. Examples: work full time, homeschool your children, volunteer every day, write full time, or if you're a student, attend classes and study.
The next layer? Maybe this is where you put your writing, spending time with family, volunteering, driving the family carpool, or household management.
The middle layer might be your free time or anything else you spend a good chunk of time at each day. It's easy to think we have no free time, but is that really true? I have a few hours every night,and I've learned to give my brain a break during them. No, those hours aren't productive, but they are free.
The top layers are smaller tasks. Housecleaning, paying bills, writing-related activities that aren't huge time-wasters, keeping in touch with loved ones, running errands, and socializing.
If you aren't sure where your writing fits, keep a log for a week on how much time you spend at every activity. A typical day might look something like this.
Monday: 1 hour--getting ready, 9 hours--work, 1 hour--chores/dinner, 1 hour--helping Johnny with homework, 30 minutes--writing, 2 hours--television/Internet.
Your pyramid would be: bottom layer--work, next layer--family/chores, middle layer--relaxation/television, top layer--writing.
By looking at this, you might think, "Oh, I only wrote for 30 minutes." But how much free time did you have? Two and a half hours. Thirty minutes is 20% of your free time.
Sure, your writing is the smallest chunk of your day, but you're still making progress. Could you really squeeze more in without having your brain explode? And would you want to? Blech!
By the way, I can hear you laughing at that schedule. Where's the trip to the grocery store to pick up food for dinner, the lost fifteen minutes looking for Johnny's permission slip, the "quick" call to Aunt Lucy that turned into a half hour, the smelly cat litter which begged to be cleaned, the traffic jam on the way home, and the seventy-three loads of laundry? I know, I know!
Try not to feel discouraged if your life isn't allocated the way you want. No one's life is ideal. We have to work with what we have to find our own right balance.
Have a terrific weekend!
How do we determine if we're allocating our time properly?
We could look at it as scales where one side is weighed with family, work, and free time and the other is weighed with writing tasks. But the two will never be equal, so I don't like that picture.
I think of it more as the Food Pyramid. Each layer represents what I spend my time doing. The bottom layer is where I spend the brunt of my hours. The layer above it would be my next biggest time commitment, and so on.
Everyone's bottom layer will be different. Look at how your hours fill up. Put the activity you spend the most time at (besides sleep!) in this slot. Examples: work full time, homeschool your children, volunteer every day, write full time, or if you're a student, attend classes and study.
The next layer? Maybe this is where you put your writing, spending time with family, volunteering, driving the family carpool, or household management.
The middle layer might be your free time or anything else you spend a good chunk of time at each day. It's easy to think we have no free time, but is that really true? I have a few hours every night,and I've learned to give my brain a break during them. No, those hours aren't productive, but they are free.
The top layers are smaller tasks. Housecleaning, paying bills, writing-related activities that aren't huge time-wasters, keeping in touch with loved ones, running errands, and socializing.
If you aren't sure where your writing fits, keep a log for a week on how much time you spend at every activity. A typical day might look something like this.
Monday: 1 hour--getting ready, 9 hours--work, 1 hour--chores/dinner, 1 hour--helping Johnny with homework, 30 minutes--writing, 2 hours--television/Internet.
Your pyramid would be: bottom layer--work, next layer--family/chores, middle layer--relaxation/television, top layer--writing.
By looking at this, you might think, "Oh, I only wrote for 30 minutes." But how much free time did you have? Two and a half hours. Thirty minutes is 20% of your free time.
Sure, your writing is the smallest chunk of your day, but you're still making progress. Could you really squeeze more in without having your brain explode? And would you want to? Blech!
By the way, I can hear you laughing at that schedule. Where's the trip to the grocery store to pick up food for dinner, the lost fifteen minutes looking for Johnny's permission slip, the "quick" call to Aunt Lucy that turned into a half hour, the smelly cat litter which begged to be cleaned, the traffic jam on the way home, and the seventy-three loads of laundry? I know, I know!
Try not to feel discouraged if your life isn't allocated the way you want. No one's life is ideal. We have to work with what we have to find our own right balance.
Have a terrific weekend!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Setting Boundaries
The world's bursting with a rainbow-colored array of things to do. Everywhere I look, I find another fascinating topic I could pursue. Millions of hobbies, countless volunteer opportunities, and vast possibilities call to me on an ongoing basis. And I want to do them all!!
My library bag can attest to it. I can think of seven hobbies I'd love to pursue but don't have time to at this point in my life. Make that ten. Twenty...
It's a challenge I face every single day, sometimes several times a day. How do I mesh my desire to LIVE with my life? Does that make sense?
I'm the type of person who is never good in a bubble. My writing takes up a large portion of my day, but I'd get burned out if I let it overtake my entire life. I need variety, structure, and a constant stream of magazines to flip through.
I talk to many women who are writers--I'm sure it's the same for men, too--we're all juggling enormous responsibilities. It doesn't matter if we're single, married, with kids, without kids--we're juggling many duties at once. And the juggling doesn't always go smoothly.
Every two to three months I spend a little time in thought and analyze my current balance. How am I doing with my writing? Would I feel better if I were writing more or less? Have I let the promotional side of writing overtake my day? What about the non-writing stuff: am I doing the job I want to with my family, my household, my free time? Are my relationships suffering? Have I taken on too many volunteer positions? Not enough?
The answers are always different because my life is always changing. I realized recently that my schedule was not working for me any longer. I'd let little things slip in here and there until they'd overtaken my main purpose.
So, I put up fences to protect my personal time. Since the computer--specifically, the internet--can suck up my day if I let it, I've made a few rules: I have 45 minutes to check e-mails, etc... before I write. Once I've met my daily writing goal, I can pursue what I want until 5:00 pm. However, after 5:00pm the office and computer are off-limits.
This is hard people!!
I've done it for one week, and already, it's made a positive impact on my life. My mind isn't racing at 7:00pm. The stack of magazines on the coffee table? I'm savoring each and every one.
And best of all, I'm enjoying my family, not working feverishly to do "one more thing."
What about you? Is your schedule working for you? Do you feel satisfied or overwhelmed each day? What can you change about it? Sometimes we have to make tough decisions in order to get our life back on track.
I'd love to hear from you!
Join me on Friday for a few fun links.
And...
Write Already! It's Wednesday!
My library bag can attest to it. I can think of seven hobbies I'd love to pursue but don't have time to at this point in my life. Make that ten. Twenty...
It's a challenge I face every single day, sometimes several times a day. How do I mesh my desire to LIVE with my life? Does that make sense?
I'm the type of person who is never good in a bubble. My writing takes up a large portion of my day, but I'd get burned out if I let it overtake my entire life. I need variety, structure, and a constant stream of magazines to flip through.
I talk to many women who are writers--I'm sure it's the same for men, too--we're all juggling enormous responsibilities. It doesn't matter if we're single, married, with kids, without kids--we're juggling many duties at once. And the juggling doesn't always go smoothly.
Every two to three months I spend a little time in thought and analyze my current balance. How am I doing with my writing? Would I feel better if I were writing more or less? Have I let the promotional side of writing overtake my day? What about the non-writing stuff: am I doing the job I want to with my family, my household, my free time? Are my relationships suffering? Have I taken on too many volunteer positions? Not enough?
The answers are always different because my life is always changing. I realized recently that my schedule was not working for me any longer. I'd let little things slip in here and there until they'd overtaken my main purpose.
So, I put up fences to protect my personal time. Since the computer--specifically, the internet--can suck up my day if I let it, I've made a few rules: I have 45 minutes to check e-mails, etc... before I write. Once I've met my daily writing goal, I can pursue what I want until 5:00 pm. However, after 5:00pm the office and computer are off-limits.
This is hard people!!
I've done it for one week, and already, it's made a positive impact on my life. My mind isn't racing at 7:00pm. The stack of magazines on the coffee table? I'm savoring each and every one.
And best of all, I'm enjoying my family, not working feverishly to do "one more thing."
What about you? Is your schedule working for you? Do you feel satisfied or overwhelmed each day? What can you change about it? Sometimes we have to make tough decisions in order to get our life back on track.
I'd love to hear from you!
Join me on Friday for a few fun links.
And...
Write Already! It's Wednesday!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Time Commitments
I thought I'd share this link from a literary agent. Rachelle Gardner is an agent with WordServe Literary and she writes a terrific blog. A few weeks ago, she wrote a post detailing the time commitments newly published authors will face and how to prepare for them. Check out rants & ramblings: on life as a literary agent to read her post.
Her article was thought provoking because many people underestimate how much work any job is. It's easy to assume movie stars don't work hard or that published authors have it easy. All jobs require effort, and the amount of effort isn't always discernible to someone not doing that particular job.
If you intend to become published, writing is only one part of the equation.
Revisions, critiques, writing a query and synopsis, research, and organizing take time. And let's face facts: most writers do not sell their very first book to the first editor they submit to. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's rare. So all the work you put into the first book will be repeated with number two, and three...and you may be doing it without the benefit of a contract.
At some point in this journey, it'll hit you that other unpublished authors have websites and blogs. They go to conferences and seem to know all these insider people. And you will feel the tug--the tug to up your game. Peer pressure! Again, more time involved that doesn't directly relate to your book but is essential to your career.
There's nothing wrong with waiting until you publish to set up your promotional tools. After all, an editor will buy your book because of the writing, not because you have a website. However, after "the call," there are many new and exciting issues you will have to deal with like contracts, revisions, line-edits, art-sheets, and possibly, a contract for another book. Do you really want to be figuring out how to get a website up and running while you're bombarded with all that? You will need a website; editors expect you to promote your book through it, which means it'll have to be up and running pretty quickly.
And the process isn't over. Editors want writers who have more than one book in them. They're taking a chance on a new author. They get thousands of queries and proposals every year. You will have to prove yourself to them. If the book you sold took four years to write, be prepared you won't have that luxury with the next book. A good indication of what editors expect from their authors is to look at their current roster. Are their best-sellers putting out two books a year? What about their newer authors? It should give you an idea of their expectations.
My intention isn't to scare you. It's just that many new authors don't fully understand what is involved with getting a book published.
Join me on Friday for a breather from all this heavy stuff!
And...
Write Already! It's Wednesday!
Her article was thought provoking because many people underestimate how much work any job is. It's easy to assume movie stars don't work hard or that published authors have it easy. All jobs require effort, and the amount of effort isn't always discernible to someone not doing that particular job.
If you intend to become published, writing is only one part of the equation.
Revisions, critiques, writing a query and synopsis, research, and organizing take time. And let's face facts: most writers do not sell their very first book to the first editor they submit to. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's rare. So all the work you put into the first book will be repeated with number two, and three...and you may be doing it without the benefit of a contract.
At some point in this journey, it'll hit you that other unpublished authors have websites and blogs. They go to conferences and seem to know all these insider people. And you will feel the tug--the tug to up your game. Peer pressure! Again, more time involved that doesn't directly relate to your book but is essential to your career.
There's nothing wrong with waiting until you publish to set up your promotional tools. After all, an editor will buy your book because of the writing, not because you have a website. However, after "the call," there are many new and exciting issues you will have to deal with like contracts, revisions, line-edits, art-sheets, and possibly, a contract for another book. Do you really want to be figuring out how to get a website up and running while you're bombarded with all that? You will need a website; editors expect you to promote your book through it, which means it'll have to be up and running pretty quickly.
And the process isn't over. Editors want writers who have more than one book in them. They're taking a chance on a new author. They get thousands of queries and proposals every year. You will have to prove yourself to them. If the book you sold took four years to write, be prepared you won't have that luxury with the next book. A good indication of what editors expect from their authors is to look at their current roster. Are their best-sellers putting out two books a year? What about their newer authors? It should give you an idea of their expectations.
My intention isn't to scare you. It's just that many new authors don't fully understand what is involved with getting a book published.
Join me on Friday for a breather from all this heavy stuff!
And...
Write Already! It's Wednesday!
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