August in a Phrase . . .
Work-Life Balancing Acts
Are You Ready to Query? FREE Opportunity for ONE author!
I announced last month that I was working on completing Jennie Nash’s Author Accelerator Book Coaching program!
A few days ago, I completed the first major part of the course, and I’m already jumping into the second part. But I need your help for the third, and final, part!
So now, to complete this process,
I’m looking for a fiction author with a completed manuscript who’s ready to begin querying agents!
What does the author get out of this?
🖋 A synopsis to accurately represent your book
🖋 A knockout query letter
🖋 A pitch plan made just for you
🖋 A 1-hour Zoom call to discuss possible, specific (at least 10) agents to query
Preparing to query is a lot of work! Please do not apply for this opportunity if you are not prepared with a completed and polished manuscript, do not have the time, or cannot commit to the work required.
What does the author need to be comfortable with?
🖊 Providing your full manuscript
🖊 Recording the 1-hour Zoom call
🖊 Providing your synopsis drafts and final iteration, query letter drafts and final iteration, and pitch plans
All of these documents will be securely handled and provided to the Author Accelerator certification team to evaluate my work with you for certification consideration.
⭐️THIS SERVICE IS 100% FREE OF CHARGE FOR ONE AUTHOR!⭐️
All authors interested in this opportunity will be given a Q&A to fill out and return. I will then choose the author I believe is the best fit for me by September 26th.
Please email contact@curlyquotesediting.com or use the Curly Quotes Editing contact page to obtain more information, ask questions, or to receive a Q&A for consideration.
The chosen author will begin work with me on October 1, 2023.
My New Favorite Sanity Saver
As a self-employed small business owner, a tiny and exhausted part of me knows it’s so important to find a good, healthy work-life balance. Naturally, I’m absolutely terrible at it! I’ll burn myself out working late into every night, and I’ll forget to eat when I hyperfocus on something.
But how could I stop working when an opportunity could pass me by while I take a break? What if my next marketing strategy went over better if it was launched today instead of in three days? What if I didn’t keep a close enough eye on social media and missed out on a fun trend that could attract people to my own content?
It’s not hard to see why this is an unhealthy mindset and unsustainable practice.
I’ve used more calendars and sticky notes and pages of paper than I can count trying to make a schedule for myself that I could stick to. It never worked, even though I’m the person for schedules! I treat my agenda like a bible; I’ve used one religiously since I was eleven years old. So why weren’t my slew of to-do lists and organized daily agenda tasks not working for me anymore? Too much to do? Not enough hours in a day? Not enough agenda space? Not detailed enough?
And then I had a thought: what if this was less about a schedule and more about time? So, to try and curb this incessant need to work every waking moment for fear of missing out, I went looking for software to help me track my time. And I found Clockify! 🕓
Clockify is a nifty online tool for time tracking that allows you to take accurate time measurements for projects or find out what you’re really spending your hours on. I’ve found it rather intuitive and easy to use, and it’s free!
Tracking my time and labeling each activity (marketing, communication, peer reviews, editing, Zoom calls, etc.) accordingly? It works!
If I see a chart that tells me I’ve spent two hours on marketing that day, I’m much more capable of saying “Yeah, that’s enough,” and moving on to something else, because I have the physical evidence in front of me of used time. I’ve seen improved productivity in myself with a little clock ticking away at the top of my screen. My stress about “missing out” has reduced because I know I’m doing my best, and I’m only one person. I’ve learned to forgive myself on days I simply can’t work as much, because my little clocks tell me I do naturally make up that time on other days.
Do I track my leisure time though? No, I do not. And that’s for one simple reason: I’m meant to be resting, and my little clock tracker isn’t meant to be associated with rest. Sometimes I need more rest on one day than the next. One work activity may take more out of me than another. And, honestly, that’s OK.
Find yourself paddling around in the same sinking boat I was? Consider giving time tracking a shot. I hope it works for you too. 🙂
No Blog Updates for August
I’ve been super, super busy working on my book coaching certification and preparing my own story for a rewrite on top of my regular work, so while I did read a book or two recently, I don’t have any new blogs for August. Next time! 💜
I love hearing from my readers and fellow writers! While I may not be able to answer everyone, please know I always read and appreciate your comments and stories.
Cheering for you always,
~ Anna