haa-haa-haa-haa WIIPPEEOOUUUTTT

How do I avoid completely wiping out or burning out? I don't. It's inevitable as a writer, but you have to know that those are possibilities every time you sit down to fluff your manuscript.

My personal way to avoid it, is by keeping myself on my toes with a variety of tasks. Every time I sit down at my desk to work, my to-do list doesn't say "write for six hours". Here is what my weekly to-do lists usually consist of:

>Writing - duh

>Podcasts

>Alpha/beta reading

>Editing

>Cover design

>Research

>Blog post

>Social media interactions

>Plotting

>Advertisement design and publishing

This is not all inclusive, but you get the idea. Being a writer doesn't mean you're just a WRITER... there is so much more that needs to be done in order to be successful. This helps in many ways, including to keep your brain from burning out on your storyline. This can also hurt in many ways, including the overwhelming feeling of never finishing or looking at the big picture and throwing your hands up. DON'T.

Daily checklists keep me in line and with everything I cross off, I have a sense of accomplishment. If you are feeling overwhelmed, start with something small; listen to a thirty minute Podcast about publishing or suspense novels or even about something remotely close to your genre. This way, you have the satisfying feeling of crossing something off of your list.

Word of advice from me to you; DO NOT tell yourself that you will have a book written and published in a few months if you have never actually done your research to know how much time and effort gets put into one. You will scare yourself and throw in the towel within the first week. Give yourself a year, put in the time it takes to write it well. Make sure you have an editor lines up, as well as a few beta readers - you will NOT regret that.

Check back in next time to hear about my experience with the full writing process and what it takes to self-publish.

Toodles!

-A. Lynn