This month, we're looking at balance ... and how that works for writers! If you missed the previous two newsletters, you can find them
here:
Today, I wanted to think about the balance between writing and marketing. This is a tricky issue for a lot of writers: many want to simply write and not think about anything else,
but all writers need to do some marketing in order to succeed.
Marketing might take lots of different forms. For instance:
- If you're a freelancer, marketing might involve building up a social media presence and going to networking events.
- If you hope to be traditionally published, marketing might involve carefully crafting a synopsis and cover letter, and sending it to agents.
- If you've self-published a novel, marketing
might involve crafting ad copy or reaching out to book bloggers.
Sometimes, of course, marketing can involve writing! For instance, as a freelancer, you might market yourself by writing guest posts. As a fiction author, you might market your work by writing free short stories ... or even a whole novella to give away for free.
Often, though, marketing is a separate activity from writing, and a less creative one.
So how
do you balance the two?
In the third edition of How to Market Your Book (which is a great read), Joanna Penn writes about "two kinds of time", which she calls "creative time" and "downtime". She suggests that:
"[Creative time] is when you have the energy to be your creative best and when I suggest you write and produce.
[...] Then there is that other time that is not taken up by your family, or work
commitments when you're mentally tired and not feeling creative."
I certainly agree that it's important to, where possible, put your writing into your most creative, energised times of day ... but as a mum to a four year old and a two year old, I don't have all that much "downtime" that isn't taken up by family! Personally, I want and need some non-work time every day – to watch TV, to read, to do a bit of mindless internet browsing – and I don't
want to cram marketing into every spare moment.
So if you, too, struggle to find the time (or energy) to write and market, I have every sympathy for you! You might want to try:
- Blocking out specific bits of time for "writing" versus time for "marketing".
- Picking two or three marketing activities to focus on, rather than spreading yourself across dozens.
- Considering whether you'd rather spend money, instead of time, on your
marketing. Buying ads, for instance, might be a better fit for you than spending hours guest posting.
- Making a very clear action plan of marketing steps you want to take – I often don't have the time to do much in one go, so this keeps me on track.
Good luck finding your perfect writing-marketing
balance!
