Busy Writing…And Not

I am very busy these days, but how much time do I spend writing?

I tend to stay away from too many “biographical” posts, but this is one of those.

It is often on my mind that my last grammar book came out in September 2018. That is a long time ago! Then I realize that my dating memoir came out in 2021, and I don’t feel so bad. And I wrote a romance novel last November for National Novel Writing Month. I am in the editing/second draft stage, but it is taking me forever. Weeks go by without my touching it. Why?

I am not up to my usual writing speed. This could be partly because, after all,  how many grammar books can one person produce? However, I have been planning for years to write a business-writing book. Where is that book? Nowhere  much– yet — although I have a few scribbles written in preparation of writing it. 

Since my first book came out in May 2010, and I have 14 finished books, I am a little behind my former speed. And I seem to be so much busier now, even though I had a full-time teaching job when I wrote my first book, and a 60% teaching job after that through 2015.

I intended to write one book when I started. Then, I just don’t know what happened. The book did quite well, especially for an independently published book. Maybe that spurred me on:

• The Best Little Grammar Book Ever: That was going to be it. 
• Correct Me If I’m Wrong: A friend of mine had a dream that I wrote a book by that title, so I decided to do just that.
• Beyond Worksheets: My student teacher told me I should put my grammar lesson plans into a book, so I did that.
• The Great Grammar Cheat Sheet: An even littler book was needed for those who wanted some fast tips.
• The Best Grammar Workbook Ever: I heard workbooks did well. Best idea I ever had!!!!!
• I Wrote a Book. Now What? I thought I would put all the knowledge I had gained abut publishing your own book into a publishing guide. I have since taken it off the market because things changed over at Amazon several years ago, and it wasn’t doing well enough to spend time updating it. 
• Girls of a Feather: My first novel, which I wrote for National Novel Writing Month in 2011 (called Trashy Novel in its first iteration, but I renamed it with a new cover and released it again later).
• The Best Little Grammar Book Ever, Second Edition: Grammar changes, so I updated that first book.
• The Best Little Grammar Workbook Ever: I thought  a smaller workbook was in order, one to accompany the second edition of the grammar book.
• Does Your Flamingo Flamenco? So many confused word pairs, so I thought this would be a useful book: affect/effect, lie/lay, loath/loathe, etc.
• The Best Little Grammar Collection: I wanted a boxed set, so I put the preceding three books together in one binding. You cannot actually have a boxed set if you have print on demand.
• Fifty Shades of Grammar: This blog began at the beginning of 2013, so a few years after it started, I put 50 of my favorite posts in a book. Time for another one!
• To Comma or Not to Comma: A book on punctuation was definitely needed.
• When Life Hands You Frogs: The dating memoir friends had been urging me to write.

And next, my romance novel, if I can get it into shape. The only thing I consistently write these days are these blog posts, which have now been going weekly for nine years. So if you have any ideas or topics you would like to read about, please let me know! Or, of course, if you would like to write a guest post.

So, why don’t I have any time to write? The answer is that everyone has time to write if they prioritize it. Why don’t they prioritize it? Lots of reasons: fear they won’t succeed, life getting in the way. You name it. 

But thinking about it, I do have a lot to do, although much of it is my own doing. (And I am not complaining. My sales are good, so I am doing OK — for now.)

• Since I own a home and live alone (with my dog), I have to do everything myself. Thank goodness I do not have to mow or trim the bushes, but I do have to do the laundry, the cleaning, the grocery shopping, the cooking (or whatever you call my brand of food preparation!), and whatever I need to do to keep the outside looking nice.
• I have to take care of my dog. Feed her, walk her, take her out, take her to the vet, make sure she has food, treats, poop bags. 
• I don’t consider myself a social person, and I tend to be an introvert, but I belong to all kinds of clubs, political and book-related. And I am on the board of two of them as secretary. So I have two board meetings a month (some virtual, some not) that I have to take notes at and then prepare final reports. Then I have three other meetings a month, virtual and in-person. 
• In Florida, where I live now, you need “people” to do things: I have the air conditioning people (coming next week), the bug people (just came), the water treatment people (just came), and then I had the floor people clean the tiles and the carpets last week.
• My daughter and son-in-law live down the road, ten minutes away (which is why I am here in the first place), so  sometimes I watch their two dogs or socialize with them.
• I am expecting my first grandchild, so I am knitting (and shopping).
• I have a publishing conference to attend next weekend, a board retreat in October, and another conference I haven’t decided about in October.
• I have a son to visit in California.
• I do like to have lunch with friends on occasion!
• I get lots of e-mails, mostly business, and spend time on social media, both business and not, every day. My book business includes keeping the records, checking sales, making sure no one hacks my bank accounts. I work on these things an hour or two every morning. 
• I love to read, so I have to set aside time for that.
• Then there is exercise, which I try to do every day.
• Then there is shopping for necessities, like paper towels, etc., which takes time whether online or not.
• Maintenance: car repairs, getting gas, hair, nails, doctors’ appointments.
• Volunteering
• TV (gotta do some of that)

It’s a lot, isn’t it? And I am lucky I am able to do all of it, and most of it, I really enjoy! And I promise that romance novel will be out “soon,” and that business writing book will follow!