wise use of time

Lately, I have been reevaluating my use of time. With a new book out, hours went into getting it seen-- which meant networking in the places readers and writers gather. While that was happening, I was writing for two blogs (once a month for a third), editing what will be the second in the Oregon historical series, and began writing the fifth in the Arizona historicals.

I am sure there are exceptions, but professional writers, those who take writing as their job/career) must network or someone else must for them. The simple truth is to sell, work must be seen by someone who buys their genre. Writers who are particularly good at this have teams set up ready to buy their newest work, which will guarantee it to show up well in Amazon's rankings, as soon as it comes out. Once it shows up, who knows whether it will stay selling, but it has a chance.

So writing the books and doing what will get them seen are important uses of a writer's time. Thinking about this has led me to look critically at blogging. I began 'Rain Trueax' in December 2011 when I put out my first indie book, Desert Inferno. My intention was for it to be a place to write about creativity, my books, other people's books, process, and promotion. I invited guest bloggers and mostly considered I could put anything here that fit with my writing philosophy. 

All very well, except that the blogs I write take time to get them to where I want them. Mostly neither this one nor Thoughts are written stream of consciousness. I like to find a theme or topic and it takes writing and rewriting before I am satisfied. In looking at how I use my time, one of the blogs has to go. Logically, based on seniority alone, it should be this one. So here is what I plan-

1) No more regular posts here, but I will continue, on no set schedule, to post excerpts from books or related images. That kind of thing takes much less time. I have had blogs just for the books-- Rainy Day Romances (something about each book and links) and Romances with an Edge (using an alternate cover and links). They only take work when a new book arrives-- and even then the work can be used multiple places.
2) My regular blog writing will now all be in Rainy Day Thought, mixed into the usual subjects like the ranch, animals, nature, creativity, spirituality, aging, history, photography, art, travel, culture, or whatever comes to mind. If you have never been there, come on by. I will always have a new blog on Saturdays and maybe more often but that's undecided.

Whether I continue with Thoughts, I'll see as I go. I like to write in blogs, but it's not something I must do to fulfill myself-- as is writing fiction. It is something I have done since 2005, but it has to benefit me and readers for me to put into it the time it requires.

Some people make up their mind what they want, and they stick to it for a lifetime. I tend to try this or that and see how it goes. When I began the current year, I reevaluated a lot of places in my life. Times of reevaluation seem healthy for me. Is something worth the time it takes? If it's not, change it. 

So for 'Rain Trueax,' this is the last scheduled post-- although if you are interested in snippets from books, check back once in awhile.