8 Tips on Balancing Work and Writing

By Evan Ramzipoor @ER_Ramzipoor 

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: It's not easy finding the balance between working and writing, but it's something almost every writers faces at some point. Evan Ramzipoor returns to the lecture hall today, with tips on how to find that precious balance 

Evan Roxanna Ramzipoor is a writer based in California. She also works as a content marketer, writing about cybercrime and online fraud. She studied political science at UC Berkeley, where she researched underground literature in resistance movements and discovered the forgotten story of Faux Soir. Her writing has been featured in McSweeney's and The Ventriloquists is her first novel. She lives with her partner and a terrier mix named Lada

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Take it away Evan…

3 Good Reasons Not to Quit Your Night Job

By Maggie Wells, @MaggieWells1

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: Finding time to write is an issue nearly every writer faces, no matter where they are in their writing journey. Maggie Wells visits the lecture hall today to share some thoughts on managing a writing life, and tips to balance work, life, and writing.

Maggie Wells is a deep-down dirty girl with a weakness for hot heroes and happy endings. By day she is buried in spreadsheets, but at night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, this mild-mannered married lady has a naughty streak a mile wide.

Fueled by supertankers of Diet Coke, Maggie juggles fictional romance and the real deal by keeping her slow-talking Southern gentleman constantly amused and their two grown children mildly embarrassed. The author of over forty published works, she believes in love without limits.

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Take it away Maggie…

Balancing Real Life with Writing Fiction

By Patricia Caliskan, @Caliskaniverse_

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Balancing real life and writing is hard for almost everyone (even full-time authors like me). Patricia Caliskan returns to the lecture hall today to give us a few tips on how to juggle our busy writing lives. 

Patricia Caliskan began her writing career as an entertainment journalist, before joining Trinity Mirror Newsgroup. She likes a nice, flouncy scarf, a good pair of boots, and laughter. Lots of laughter. Otherwise life feels far too grown-up for her liking.

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Take it away Patricia...

How Busy Full-Time Working Writers Can Find Time to Write

By Drae Box, @Draebox

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: I don't think I've ever met a writer who didn't want to find more time to write, so please help me welcome Drae Box to the lecture hall today to share some tips on how to do just that.

Drae Box is an author success mentor and fantasy author whose debut fantasy book reached 10,038 downloads and purchases in eight months and eleven days after its release. For a decade, she has picked apart, researched and experimented with different ways authors can build their success, and she would love to share her knowledge with you. Head here for the free worksheets to help you find more time to write, including a worksheet for The Reverse Why.

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Take it away Drae...

The Writer’s Life: How to Juggle Multiple Tasks and Thrive

By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoach

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Being a productive writer used to mean writing quickly and getting one to two books out a year. But these days, authors wear multiple hats and juggle multiple jobs--from actual jobs that pay our rent, to being our own publicist, designer, editor, and publisher. Rochelle Melander visits the lecture hall today to share some tips on how to live the writer's life without losing your mind. Please help me give her a warm welcome.

Rochelle, the Write Now! Coach, helps entrepreneurs and professionals write business-boosting books. Her latest book—Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It)—offers more tools and tricks for writing your book fast. Sign up for her Plot Your Write Life challenge and learn how to design your ideal writing life. To learn more about the Write Now! Coach, visit her site.

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Take it away Rochelle...

On Balance vs. Burn-Out

By Bonnie Randall 

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

I was vending my novel at a Word On The Street festival this past weekend, and had the great fortune to share my table with marvelous children’s author Amelia Lionheart. Amelia does a whopping 96 signings/year, attends schools for lectures, works at her day job, and (of course) continues to craft fiction for her young audience. As a writer I was humbled by her hectic calendar, yet as a counselor our conversation made me think about balance—what we take on versus what we are capable of, and how we weave that trite concept ‘self-care’ into the intensity of all we do and commit to. So, if you are a writer who has ever

• Got slammed by a flu or a cold immediately after a big signing or event.
• Battled anxiety
• Fell prey to depression.

then maybe you could use a little balance. The reality is, the body will say “No” when we push ourselves beyond capacity, and there are twenty-four hours in a day for a reason. So let’s deviate a little this month from talking craft, and instead talk balance and how to get it—or at least approach it. Some suggestions for your reflection:

Muscle Memory (Or: how Maggie got her groove back)

By Maggie Wells, @MaggieWells1

Part of the How They Do It Series

Balancing work and life is sometimes a challenge (and we've been talking about that a lot the last week or so), but sometimes work needs to take a back seat. We need to recharge and reconnect and find the right balance for ourselves. Maggie Wells visits the lecture hall this week to share some tips on how she managed to work less and gain more.

Maggie is a deep-down dirty girl with a weakness for hot heroes and happy endings. By day she is buried in spreadsheets, but at night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, this mild-mannered married lady has a naughty streak a mile wide.

In April, Maggie celebrated the release of her 30th published work, FLIP THIS LOVE (Kensington/Lyrical-Shine)!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes& Noble | iTunes |

Kensington  | Google | Kobo | Indie Bound

Take it away Maggie...

Balancing Writing and Working Without Losing Your Mind

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Writing is one of those things we can do at home in our spare time, so it’s a flexible pursuit that fits into our schedules. Unfortunately, it’s also a pursuit that takes a lot of time and energy to do, so it’s common that the little time we have to spare is the time when we least feel like writing.

The key to balancing work and writing is easy. Make writing a priority and then actually write.

It’s the implementation that’s hard.