Productivity

  I just spoke to Kevin T Johns about writing fiction that sells and asked him for some tips on actually finishing a book – plenty of authors never finish and need more help – he delivered with this epic post! Writing a novel, especially a first novel, is a massive and complex project. The sheer amount of work involved can ... Read More »

It’s already 2017. I didn’t do a “yearly wrapup” for 2016 like I do sometimes. The last month of 2016 flew by and I still feel overwhelmed with projects. I felt like 2016 was a lot of waiting and working, without seeing major results. My income went way down, as I spent most of the year avoiding client work (just taking ... Read More »

I just learned something new from Ryan Deiss and I’m putting it here in case I forget it. It’s a simple rule to online business that rings true for me. “You don’t have a traffic problem.” What you really have is a problem with motivation and conversion. If you knew that you’d get $10 per visitor to your site, A) You’d ... Read More »

This is a follow up post to an article I just wrote about hiring a VA or getting and author assistant. Getting a job as a virtual assistant seems like an easy, low level thing: you can do basic internet stuff, you can write well, some people are making money but are too busy, why not just help them out? ... Read More »

One of the things authors always ask is “How can I find more time for my writing?” But what they mean is, “How can I just write all the time, write what I want, and not do any marketing?” The question usually comes up from either a long-term inability to finish their book; insecurity about which project they should be ... Read More »

Starting next year, when I finish my PhD in literature, I’ll be truly location independent and writing full-time. One of the biggest productiity hacks I’ve found is to put myself in beautiful and inspiring environments (that are mostly distraction free). While some argue they can “write from anywhere” – I’m a firm believer in what Cal Newport calls the “grand gesture” ... Read More »

This week a bunch of projects came together quickly, including this one, which I started last November. I had the story, courtesy of Suzanne Gochenouer and the art is by Donovan Scherer It took a few hours to format, then design the book covers, and then upload to Amazon. 24 hours later it’s published. I really think this is a great project though… ... Read More »

For awhile I’ve been feeling really bad about procrastinating and wasting time. It makes me feel guilty. And you have no idea – I’ll watch TV and movies for 16 straight hours to procrastinate from doing any work. I feel almost OCD about it. The reluctance I have towards something I know I have to do is overwhelming for me. ... Read More »

Update: these goals I set were a bit big… I’ll go permafree later but haven’t yet because I’m using KDP/KU, so I may not hit the big numbers this year. Still, my books are doing well. I’m going to stop everything for several months to focus on finishing my PHD, so some of these goals will be pushed off till ... Read More »

I can always tell when I’m speaking to a life coach. They ask a lot of questions. They are very focused on what I’m actually saying, and what’s behind what I’m saying. They are looking for negative thought patterns, unrealistic expectations, too much energy or worry being focused on the wrong projects… so that they can offer suggestions. Life coaches ... Read More »