Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links

/ Staci Troilo

My brain is exploding. This week was writing, publishing, and marketing—the trifecta of stressful. Well, writing isn’t usually stressful. Not for me. Not unless I’m behind on a deadline. And typically, I’m not. (I’m obsessive about meeting deadlines.) But when editing, publishing, and marketing infringe on my budgeted writing time, I can either work myself sick or fall a bit behind.

Historically, I’ve chosen the former. This time, I chose the latter.

Probably not the best decision with respect to my work, but when you’re busting out at least five thousand words a day five days a week, it’s hard to sustain that pace if you spend eight hours a day on other things.

Could I have done it? Yes.

Should I have? Maybe.

Did I? No.

Do I regret it? We’ll see.

As it stands, I probably needed the break. Now I need to kick into high gear, though. All while promoting upcoming releases Tortured Soul, book 4 of the Medici Protectorate series and another project I’ll discuss soon. I know, I know. I keep telling you I’m going to talk about it, then I don’t. But I will. Soon. I promise. But not today. Today, I’m focusing on Joanna Penn’s wise words:

Writing is about you.
Publishing is about the book.
Marketing is about the reader.

Now I need to figure out which hat to don when, then I should be good to go.

How about you? Which hat were you wearing this week, and how did it go? Let’s talk about it.

Posts by me, about my work, or at sites I contribute to:

Story Empire

Romance University

Posts by others in the industry:

26 thoughts on “Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links”

    • At least 5K, yeah. (I have a lot of books that need to be written.) But historically, I take it easier in the summers to enjoy the kids and recharge. This year, I wasn’t really able to do that because of contractual commitments. But the last few weeks I’ve slowed, just a bit, so I don’t lose my mind. That, and I had other things to do.

      Funny you should mention my new muse. I actually am in the process of writing a blog post about it. All in all, I think it’s going to work out. He has been a bit of a… distraction. (Apparently, he loves my pool. He’s frequently wet and shirtless.) But summer’s ending soon. We’ll be okay. 😉

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  3. I spent this week wearing my writing hat and working on short stories.
    I’m excited about Tortured Soul and hope all of your promotion pays off. Every now and then we need to step back and shuffle the hats depending on what takes priority., You always make it seem easy even if you’re scrambling behind the scenes. Cheering you on!

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    • This afternoon, despite everything I have to do, I took a break and had a girl’s day with my daughter. Best thing I could have done. I’m sure I’ll be refreshed after things get back to normal here. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be back in a boring groove.

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  6. Some weeks I spin so much that I have to just sit down. It’s hard to do it all and like you I don’t like to miss a deadline either! Have a great weekend.

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  8. I also agree with Nicholas and Harmony – sometimes you need to cut yourself some slack. My week was more of solving one problem and having two more pop up. Don’t feel productive at all, but hoping to change that this weekend.

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  9. I love your quote this week, Staci. Sorry you’re having such a tough time, hun. I’m with Nicholas, and think you did the right thing by backing off a little. However, I’m like you in that I don’t cope well with being behind … I have to be well ahead or I fret and stress. Good luck with everything and have a good weekend 🙂

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    • Thanks, Harmony. Not being super-prepared is stressful for me, but sometimes you just have to change your focus. I’ve got family stuff and other responsibilities (clearly), so it’s up to me to over-work or remain sane. I’m choosing sanity now and likely insanity later. We’ll see how it works out.

      Happy weekend!

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    • Time will tell. I only have a couple of weeks before my daughter leaves for school again, so I’d really like to spend time with her. But I also know I’ll feel the fire licking my heels if I take off so much time. But family comes first with me, so I know I’ll spend the time with her and deal with the consequences later. I’ll deal with the repercussions, whatever they are. She’s worth it.

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