Organizing Writing/Self-Publishing Goals and tasks and to-do lists : Finding a System That Works for Me...
What is yours?
The text is a shortened version of my podcast episode - available on your favorite podcast app or here on Substack. Oh also… if you’d like to subscribe to my YouTube channel… don’t hesitate. :-)
Hi 😊
Hope you’re having a good October. I love love love fall. Halloween. Spooky stories. I’m going to do a rewatch of Practical Magic, Hocus Pocus and Scream…Drink tea or decaf coffee or chai from my pumpkin mug. Enjoy the colors outside. And the slightly cooler weather.
Also, I’m about to start reading Erin Bowman’s In the Dead of the Night “It’s no secret that the abandoned estate across the lake from Camp Durant is haunted.”
After I finish Freida McFadden Want to Know A Secret? YouTube baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she’d rather you didn’t know.
Writing-wise: I’m deep in revision mode for Trick, Love or Treat. Which has turned into a novel but I’m the point of happy-smiling while revising/writing the chapter I couldn’t write until I figured something. I’ve had to learn how to make sure I put emotions on the page because for me, they’re clear. From a gesture. A word. And I think… I think I’m leaning into that in a way that works.
Every scene has me thinking about how I’d love my readers to feel while reading this book.
Do you do that? How do you set up scenes in your mind? I’d love to know.
So… a little recap of the past two weeks before I dive into my new organization set-up and a bit about my Gallup Strengths.
MY WRITING AND SELF-PUBLISHING RECAP
Ups and Downs..
Some things that happened in the past two weeks in my writing and self-publishing world:
Got rejected for a BookBub. I’m trying to get a BookBub for # Most Eligible Scrooge but no dice.
Got an email from a French reader who loved Nick & Em’s story… yay!
What did I write to my readers?
My email subject lines for my Elodie Nowodazkij newsletters were - also if you’d like to read them, I’m adding the link to each email.
On October 18th (as I’m recording this I don’t have all the data yet): Almost there...(that's what she said) 🤣🤣🤣
On October 11th When the principal calls you in...Open rate of 70.98% - Click rate of 1.04% - no Answers.
On October 4th - 🦖I'm in my dinosaur era?
Open rate 77.11% - Click rate 1.49% - And so excited because one reader replied.
No unsubscribe on either. No A/B testing for the subject lines on those.
I do segment by lists – as some readers elected to receive one email per month + new release and some to receive only information about some series (I write romantic thrillers, steamy romcoms mainly) and some to receive emails every two weeks. The majority wants to receive everything every week.
My English-speaking list is about 220 readers. Most readers, right now, have come from the back of my books.
Also, I’ve taken classes by Holly Darling and Newsletter Ninja (and read Tammi’s books).
What Authors Facebook Groups did I join?
Kickstarter For Authors (gathering as much data this time around before deciding whether to do another Kickstarter – remember my last one didn’t work. I had more than 1000 dollars in pledges but my Kickstarter was for about 3000 dollars and it was for an audiobook which don’t necessarily do that well)
CKM - Marketing & Advertising Support Group for Authors: Crystal also has a newsletter that is super helpful. One of those emails that really had me thinking was: “Is Organic Social Media Worth It?” And she does FREE calls every month.
Have you already read those articles?
Are we just burning to shine? Footnotes For My Imaginary Friends… Leslye shares an article from NPR which talks about sleep apena. Just reading her article and her reminder to breathe more… intently in a way… had me sitting up and taking a deep breath.
And in her When Less is More article, she mentions:
I would much rather “create things for a few people to LOVE instead of for a lot of people to like…
And I feel like that’s where I am, too…
Alison Miller’s Love List to Herself: it’s a good reminder to look at yourself with kind eyes. Like you sometimes need to do with your manuscript. But forget to do with yourself…
Stuck in your manuscript or wanting to remember Save The Cat moment? Have you listened to those episodes?
Claire Taylor’s Podcast - What If I’m Stuck on My Book?
In this week’s episode of What If for Authors, Claire tackles one of the most common and frustrating challenges for writers: getting stuck on your manuscript. Drawing on her experience as a former in-house editor, English teacher, and story consultant, Claire provides a structured approach to understanding why you might be hitting a wall in your work and how to move past it. She offers insight into the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns that might be interfering with your progress and explains how using your Enneagram type can help pinpoint the root cause of the issue. In the second half of the episode, Claire shifts gears to break down specific storytelling elements like your protagonist, antagonist, and theme—three key areas where story issues can lead to feeling stuck. This episode is packed with actionable strategies and introspective questions to help you get unstuck and back to crafting a story you love.
Wish I’d known the… for authors: Jessica Firpi on Writing Compelling Save the Cat Moments
Ever wondered why certain characters steal your heart? This week we chat with Jessica Firpi, a TV and movie reviewer as well as a K-drama enthusiast and podcast host. We explore everything from effective “save the cat” moments to why a sunshine character can make a dark character shine.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make your characters compelling, relatable, and unforgettable, we’ve got some ideas for you. Plus, we’ve got examples from your favorite Kdramas and blockbuster movies.
MY NEW LET’S-GET-ORGANIZED SETUP
Alright now onto my new organization/planning that seems to work for me. It’s no silver bullet, but it’s making more things.. happening. I know, I know, I’m the one making them happen but sometimes I feel like my brain just wants to do a thousand things when I only have time for ten. Or one.
If you speak Becca Syme’s Better-Faster those are my top Gallup Strengths – I’ll give you my top 12:
Achiever
Intellection
Empathy
Input
Learner
Connectedness
Developer
Communication
Arranger
Context
Individualization
Relator…
I’ve been struggling for years to find a system I use consistently. I tried planners. So. Many. Planners. So. Many. Pretty. Planners.
I tried online to-do lists. I tried online calendars. I tried paper desktop pad (that worked okay but still not great). I did Sarra Cannon’s HB90 (highly recommend because it did/does help me be a bit more realistic with my goals and I’m basically using a modified version of a Kanban board for my weekly and daily goals).
Becca Syme’s Better Faster Academy has helped me a lot. I can’t remember how I got to Becca Syme’s content. Maybe it was Leslye Penelope’s talking about it on her podcast? Or maybe I heard her on the Creative Penn? Can’t. Remember.
I’ve taken several of her classes and attended her online conference.
From my past work as communication/press officers, I know that I enjoy playing with different moving parts. I also need to have visual reminders. Really. You should have seen my desktop at the ECB. I had post-its everywhere. But. It. Worked.
I also need find tangible ways to communicate and be helpful. Maybe why I’m trying to become more regular with this podcast again. Hi.
I also do need to keep track of certain things—so I’ve been better at updating my Google Calendar which syncs with our Alexa.
And In order to not fall into the “I can still do one thing” trap, I have set up an end of the workday at 3.30pm. I usually start working when I first wake up (between 5am and 6am and work until I make breakfast then start again around 8am or 8.30am).
If I work later on certain days, I then make it a point to take off an afternoon during the week. Granted, it’s mostly because I need to do things in the house, but still…
Also, I am giving myself more grace about taking naps when I need them. Even if it’s been five years since my autologous stem cell transplant, the months of chemo before and everything still means I do get more tired if I don’t sleep enough. And my SVT can get triggered more easily. (basically my heart starts beating wayyyyyyyy too fast. Not dangerous. But still do not recommend. Not 0/10 because again not dangerous. But still not fun.)
Now… When it comes to keeping track and getting organized. I have several visual items now.
The. Board.
Today, I’ll talk about The Board. Oh, I should give it a name.
One of my colleagues in the Office has a black board with post-its on it.
I tried Kanban before for the quarter and yep, it doesn’t work for me. I need to “do” things, “achieve”, cross them off… see that I’ve accomplished something. If it’s in progress all the time it doesn’t work. And doing alllll my tasks for the month would then be too much.
So I’m doing a weekly/daily one. Every Monday morning I’ve been setting what I know I have to do for the week:
Two episodes of my on-going main Vella story
Revising chapters of my steamy romcom
Newsletters
Yoga/Workout
Prepare one of the podcast/newsletter about Kindle Vella data
And then I add other tasks that I want to get done. For last week, I had:
Pen name TikTok videos
Bilingual One Dream Only Dutch / English
Other Vella
Figure out how to add Always Second Best on YouTube (knowing that my past video maker doesn’t seem available)
Send postcards to readers
Work on my form for my newsletter for the steamy romcom (which will be a magnet for a few months only).
… and more. I also add some personal items I want to accomplish and I color-code all of them.
Bright pink: Vella
Blue: Steamy romcom
Green: Social / Contact with Readers
Orange: Work / Helpful / Volunteering
Purple: Personal / Me
Yellow: Additional stream of income / other pen names / other projects.
I have a to-do column, a progress column and a done column.
I also have a “reminder” box with heart post-its with things happening during the week I need to remember (or things I need to do during the week that’s not a task per se).
Like birthdays. Or bills that are due. Or…
And after the end of the day or the next morning, I put the done post-its in a mason jar.
This has helped me. A. Lot. Because I don’t need hours to make it happen. I *see* it in front of me as I work. I put it in front of my laptop. And I can move things around.
I have a couple of other visuals: such as a clear poster board with post-its with reminders about my current work-in-progress.
And another board with emails received from readers and positive reviews.
As mentioned before… a lot of that was inspired/re-arranged from content I’ve learned from Becca Syme and Sarra Cannon.
Also, at some point I also used ToDoIst and Pacemaker.press. Pacemaker press was recommended, I think, by Golden Angel over on TikTok (her just the tip series). All links below.
Becca Syme: Better Faster Academy
Sarra Cannon: https://sarracannon.com/indie-writer-resources/
Golden Angel’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@goldenangelromance?lang=en
In the mean time, I’d love to know: