It’s damning when a fellow writer asks you what you’re working on, especially when the best you can say is you’re getting really good at procrastinating.
That “thing”
“Is what they say really true — that writing the second book is harder than the first?” a friend (and poet) asked me.
Yes, it is.
But not for the reasons you might suppose (at least for me). Many writers feel writing the second book is difficult because of expectations they’ve imposed on themselves. They usually sound something like: 1. the first book was really successful, so I’ve got to do just as good, or 2. the first book tanked, so I have to get over that hurdle.
My albatross
Social media is in my way.
Shortly before my book was published in 2015, I reluctantly started a Facebook Author Page and became active on Twitter. Right before my book launch, I revamped my website and started blogging consistently. Then I started an Instagram account. I really enjoy it all, too. I’ve found readers, bloggers, reviewers, promotional opportunities and friends. I’ve also found gems like this:
All of this is well and good, but social media is distraction I didn’t have when I was immersed in the thick of my first book. That’s the difference between then and now.
Yet it has value
The problem is, as a writer friend said when I talked about how social media sidelines me, “You don’t want to give that all up because that following will help you when your second book is finished.”
I can’t win.
My second book will never get finished if I don’t find a way to balance this. I recently heard of Time Blocking, which sounds promising. Basically, you set aside a block of time to work on your prioritized tasks, and during this block of time, you shut down the phone or internet and whatever else it is that distracts you.
“Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.” -Anonymous
Is social media a problem for you? If you have any good tips on how to balance social media and work, please share them!.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is the author of the award-winning novel In the Context of Love, a story about one woman’s need to tell the truth without shame.
2016 Sarton Women’s Fiction Finalist
2016 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist
2016 Readers’ Favorite Finalist
2016 USA Book News Best Book Finalist
2015 Great Midwest Book Fest Honorable Mention.
“…at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey.” ~ Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of National Book Award Finalist, American Salvage, and critically acclaimed Once Upon a River,and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters
“With tenderness, but without blinking, Linda K. Sienkiewicz turns her eye on the predator-prey savannah of the young and still somehow hopeful.” ~ Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller, Deep End of the Ocean
Buy now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Buy local: Scriptorium in Royal Oak, MI
Well I am not immune to distractibility, and recently Ancestry.com entered my life with some big revelations, which adds to the quandaries of where to focus, but I have this tiny tip I am going to try: My iMac has an option to have software launch on login. So I’m choosing to have Scrivener open at login and it will be the thing I see first when I settle in to work.
Great topic to explore, Linda, since we are all A) drawn to social media by its B) very addictive persistence and C) we need it as an authorial marketing and networking tool. Thanks for starting the convo!
Not bad– having your manuscript right there every time you log in! But, hey, good luck with ancestry research. That sounds like a worthwhile distraction. Thank you for weighing in, Jann!
I’m there too, Linda! Those social media distractions really gobble up my writing time. They are so easy to access that I have to make it impossible. I use software called Freedom which will not allow me access to social media; I can program it for any number of hours. However, it does not block email. For that, I disable my adapter in my computer’s control panel. Some problems call for severe measures!