Don't Do Everything!

If you're an indie author like me, doing everything we "need to do" is far from possible. We wear all the hats, from head coach to wicked witch. Considering that most of us have other constraints in our non-writing lives, we just don't have the time for it all. Doing everything causes burnout, and that defeats the purpose of being an author.

Shortly after publishing my first novel several years ago, I realized the enormity of what I'd taken on. Writing a book was just the beginning; the real challenge was managing the seemingly infinite number of tasks to come. From editing and cover design to marketing and managing social media, the list seemed beyond daunting. Doing "all the things" IS impossible, so choose and pick what serves you.

Advice: Dig deep to find which things are important to you.

FINDING BALANCE

Finding the sweet spot between your authorly duties and handling everyday life will help you achieve your goals. Oddly, Stephen King's best writing advice came from a fictional character in The Shining: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." If writing is what gives you pleasure, then treat it like play, not another job. If editing is as much of a struggle for you as it is for me, then place it in the work column.

For me, writing is play, revising is interesting, engaging readers is fun, and advertising is straight-up work. If I didn't spend time with my family and on side-projects, my writing would grow tedious and publishing would grind me down.

FYI: The phrase "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" first appeared in James Howell's Proverbs in 1659.

THE PENDULUM

The balancing act between all the things never stays centered. It keeps swinging one way, then another, but that's okay as long as you average out in the long run. Here are a few examples where it's great to be "out of balance":

Family Involvement: Time commitments ramp up at the end of the kids' school year.

Book Releases: Publishing sucks up more time leading up to and following a book launch.

The Muse: Writing comes in intense sprints when inner creativity won't be silenced.

Be reasonable: Screw Stephen King's advice about writing every day. Do what works for you.

BURNOUT

This has been something I've struggled with my entire life. From nearly flunking fourth grade to becoming an academic success, I pushed harder than I should have, resulting in periods of collapse where my mind and body would simply give up. From Ph.D. to professor, I'd swing from overly productive to practically comatose. As an entrepreneur, I did it again. This tendency likely contributed to my current chronic illness. Believe me, you don't want to follow in my footsteps.

Request: Please be kind to yourself. Here are my musings on self-kindness.

GENUINE CONNECTIONS

Finding the time to interact with potential readers in the hopes that some become avid supporters takes a lot of time, which detracts from the reason most of us got into self-publishing in the first place. Spending your time on superficial engagement (like I did at first) defeats the purpose and can turn off potential readers. In marketing, find the ways you can connect that energize you rather than drag you down. Life is too short to make yourself struggle needlessly.

Experience: Here's how I engage on Twitter/X.

PITFALLS

I'm an idiot who often doesn't listen to the best advice. I learn too much from my own mistakes rather than from the mistakes of others. Here are some of those struggles and hints that might help you.

Writing: Before jumping into publishing, I dreamed of writing endlessly without a care for the other important tasks. I underestimated the time and skills it takes to write for other people. Now, having learned some hard lessons, I'm a better author for it.

Hint: Only a small percentage of people ever finish writing a story, so take it in and appreciate it for what it's worth.

Revising: My first draft always needs more work than I think. Fortunately, I'm driven to tell the story right, so the first few revisions are fun for me. After publishing a few times and interacting with lots of authors and readers, I learned tools to shorten the time it takes to revise.

Suggestion: Find writing partners and get their feedback early so you don't have to do aimless revising all by yourself.

Editing: As someone who struggles with the finer points of grammar, editing is a stupidly hard task for me. That's why I found digital tricks so I don't have to do it all on my own.

Trick: Use the trio of Grammarly, Google Docs grammar suggestions, and MS Word to find typos and grammar issues, not just one.

Cover Design: I learned the hard way that people do judge books by their covers. My first DIY cover was a disaster (it had a typo). I'm fortunate that I had early-life art lessons and mid-life digital design experience, so I love cover design.

Advice: Use a similar format for all of your novels so readers can visually identify another book by you, and you save time using the same template.

Book Formatting: My first uploaded manuscript looked great on my computer but was a jumbled mess on my iPhone and iPad. You can use digital programs to help with layouts.

Tool: I use Atticus to format my novels. It costs a bunch, but it's worth it. (Only pay for the monthly subscription on months you need it.)

Marketing: Perhaps the most daunting task. How do I sell my book without turning off potential readers? The key for me is not doing it all. No newsletters. No TikTok. No Instagram. No YouTube. I choose the avenues I'm best at: Twitter/X, Facebook, and these blogs.

Suggestion: Schedule time specifically for one type of marketing and focus solely on that. I tweet for short stints daily so I don't get lost in endless scrolling.

Advertising: If anyone tells you the secrets to advertising, don't believe them. Every platform changes its algorithms. I wrote a post on advertising, then quickly retracted my suggestions because they failed me.

Advice: If you're gonna advertise, check your statistics once a week so you know if an algorithm change screwed you and you need to shift gears… again.

Expenses: We all have limited budgets. Trying to do everything means spreading your limited funds too thin. If you're like me, you have to weigh the expenses. Here's more.

Be frugal: Save several dollars a day by switching from coffee to tea. Use that money (~$700/year) to outsource something important for your next masterpiece.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

My initial attempt to handle all the indie publishing tasks was unsustainable. I was constantly exhausted, my family life suffered, and my writing suffered. Here are a few strategies I use to manage the load:

Delegate: If I can't do it all and I want it done, someone else needs to do it. It's hard to let go of control, and managing others can feel awkward — but it's worth it.

Hint: I assign different tasks to critique partners and beta readers that align with their strengths.

Reprioritize: I shuffle what I'm working on. If the muse doesn't show up, I edit or write posts like this. If I hit a block on one story, I switch to the next. If I need more time and money for a release, I turn off advertising.

Learn Continuously: Like most authors, I've been curious all my life, but at first I didn't apply that curiosity to publishing. Big mistake. That's why I've been sharing what I learn through this series.

Batch Tasks: Set aside time for specific tasks. I typically write several of these posts in a row during times when the fictional muse won't come (afternoons and Mondays). This keeps creative time creative and marketing time for marketing.

Outsource: Don't be afraid to hire help, particularly the first time through. After learning the hard way on my first book, I hired a professional critique partner who helped me make the most of my actual critique partners. Gig marketplaces like Fiverr are full of affordable freelancers.

Realistic Goals: Break large tasks into smaller manageable steps with achievable deadlines. You'll stay more motivated when you cross them off your list. This post on focusing may help.

Use Templates: Save time by creating a folder of templates for everything you'll need — beta reader emails, chapter format, blog posts, blurb-writing Madlibs. For repetitive tasks, templates save a lot of time and headspace.

Stay Organized: It's easy to save documents haphazardly. I title all my documents and folders a particular way — e.g., "METAL - Chapter 3 - V3.9.docx" or "METAL - FULL MANUSCRIPT - V9.8 - Brandon.docx".

Suggestion: Photograph any handwritten notes and put them in your organized digital folder (e.g., "METAL - NOTES"). Most phones have OCR to convert handwriting to text.

HELP ME

I'm serious. Please help me learn new tricks to stay on track and do many of the things in a fraction of the time...or cut tasks altogether. If it's okay with you, I'll update this post with credit to you.

Note: By asking for help, I'm trying not to do it all.

ALL TOLD

I'm still learning. My self-publishing tools and hacks for doing more of the things (and accepting the things I never knew I could) are a work in progress. The point is that doing too many things will cause more headaches than euphoria. Use as many hacks as you can and say "screw it" to the rest. Remember, a successful self-publishing career isn't just about producing books...t's about enjoying the creation of each one.