Deborah Cooke: Author

As a working writer – maybe just as a working person! – I have lots of things to juggle. There’s no shortage of items on my To Do list and sometimes it’s overwhelming. First of all, there’s the writing itself. I’ve been lucky enough in recent years to have been quite consistently on deadline, i.e. always with a project to deliver. That means there’s always writing to be done.

In addition to writing each book, there are admin responsibilities associated with publishing – this week, just for example, I’ve provided ideas for cover conference and have received page proofs that need to be read. I have a synopsis to write and deliver for the next book on my schedule, and I’m expecting a revision letter on the last one I delivered.

There is also promotion to be done, which is increasingly time consuming for authors: Facebook pages to be updated, this blog needs to be written, print promotion needs to be mailed etc. etc. etc.

Beyond the writing, there’s real life – my dustbunnies need to be routed at least once in a while, we’ve had lots of snow to shovel, there are groceries to buy and meals to cook, dishes to wash and laundry to do. There are friends to see, emails to write and calls to make, birthdays to remember. And there’s family, too, which sometimes can add a lot to one’s plate.

Frequently, it seems that there are just too many things to juggle, and any kind of balance is elusive. Like many people, I have times when I end up rushing around and not working as effectively as would be ideal.

And then there are weeks like this one, when everything seems to come together in an effortless balance. Wow. It feels so easy this week to be efficient and effective. Not only am I getting a lot done, but it’s almost stress-free. The characters are behaving themselves and the words are flowing. This, too, shall pass – there will come that moment when nothing proceeds easily with the story and the characters become uncooperative – but I’m loving the process this week.

I want to put this in a jar so I can find it easily again!

Do you have weeks that are more productive than others? Do you have tricks for finding the balance? Or do you have some of this magic stuff in a jar someplace to pull out as necessary?