I probably should have preceded this blog post with one headed ‘Fatigued, Frustrated and Fed up’ as that’s exactly how I felt just a couple of weeks ago. It’s a good thing that my holiday came when it did as I was well in need of it.
‘Why was I feeling so FFF’d up with everything?’ you may ask. Here’s why:
Fatigued because I’ve been working weekends for the last seven months as well as working Monday to Friday. Basically, me and my husband have been renovating my mother-in-law’s former home as she sadly passed away last September. Although the work was mainly cosmetic we underestimated just how long it would take to complete. We also didn’t realise how much the continuous weekend working would take it out of us, especially as we have both been fully stretched in our Monday to Friday occupations recently. Plus, we’re not as young as we used to be and at times like this it really shows.
Frustrated because I desperately want to publish the novel that I wrote several years ago. Unfortunately, I’ve been so busy lately that I can’t even find time to edit it let alone put all my promotional and marketing plans into effect.
Fed up due to a combination of the above two. I do tend to push myself too hard at times, to the point where I feel extremely tired but I still find myself dissatisfied if I don’t achieve all of my goals. I planned to launch my novel in May or June and it galls me to have to accept that I will probably need to postpone the launch date.
On a more positive note, two more weeks should see the end of the house renovations and then I’ll get my weekends back – at last! I’ve also spent two blissful weeks lazing about in the sun so I’m feeling much more refreshed and ready to tackle the mountain of client work that is waiting for me. Not that I’m complaining about my client workload – it’s always good to have plenty of paid writing, proofreading and editing work. Getting my weekends back, however, will be an absolute bonus. It means that I’ll be able to take some time to chill and recharge my batteries at the weekends. I might also manage to squeeze in a couple of hours on my novel if I’ve been too busy during the week. Bring it on!
I’d love to hear how other authors find the time to organise a heavy workload particularly those who have other commitments as well as being authors. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Heather Burnside Author 
Hi Diane, I can completely relate to your feelings. I struggle with the workload of my ‘job that pays the bills’ job which as I’m self employed and work from home I can never leave behind. I tell myself I’m lucky to have so much work, and I know that I am but it already encroaches on evenings and weekends and my frustration at not having the time in which to write boils over. At the moment I’m telling myself it’s just a busy time of year and it will settle down but it shows no sign of doing so. I did set myself the ridiculous deadline of finishing my first edit by the end of April but that has been well and truly blown out of the water so I have reset to the end of May. It is frustrating I want my second book out there, people who have read my first are actually asking for it and I don’t want them to forget me! So I take a deep breath realise I can only do what I can do and concentrate on the next step – onwards and upwards! Don’t be so hard on yourself!
Thanks for your words of encouragement Georgia. It’s a tricky situation isn’t it? We have to set ourselves deadlines in our book writing otherwise we’d flounder around and get nothing done. Unfortunately, however, those deadlines can’t take account of paid work and domestic matters, which always have to take precedence. This means that we end up feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. I have to keep reminding myself that the reason I started writing books originally was partly to fill in the quiet periods between client jobs.
It’s encouraging that you’ve got people asking for your second book and I’m sure they won’t forget the first as most mainstream authors take at least six months between books. 🙂
It certainly sounds like it will be a relief when the house renovations are out of the way. I am sure it will all feel worthwhile when it is finished. After the months of hard work and rainy weather a resplendent blue sky must have felt like heaven. Hopefully things will get easier soon, and you will have more time to work on your book. It is evidently very difficult for many writers/writing professionals out there. Not only are many writers inundated with work, but it is difficult for them to predict their income, and as a self-employed person it never seems easy to sort out loans etc from the bank. Fortunately I’ve had it pretty easy of late, though I feel under pressure to sell a lot of copies of Necropolis!
Thanks for your feedback Guy. I think we all feel under pressure to sell a lot of copies of our books even if it is a secondary source of income. It’s a form of justification for all the hard work we have put in as well as recognition for our talents. And I think that most of us believe in our talents as writers otherwise we wouldn’t work so hard at it. Good luck again with your launch of Necropolis – a true manifestation of writing talent. 🙂