It’s been a little over a month since I started a new full-time remote gig and I’ve been worried about what that shift in hours at a day job/responsibility load would do to my writing schedule. Even WITH planning ahead for such a transition, I knew there were bound to be hiccups along the way.
And that first hiccup hit me hard last weekend. Since starting at the new job, I’ve spent my weekends catching up on the administrative tasks of being a writer: blog posts, newsletter content, social media posts, graphic prep, and reading books in my genre to make sure I’m on top of troupes, etc. You’ll notice there is no actual book writing time scheduled for the weekend. That was a deliberate plan.
M-F Write/edit in the mornings for one hour before logging into work. S-S, admin work, and any catchup of writing/editing that needed catching up. It’s a workable plan. Until it isn’t.
You see, last week, unbeknownst to myself, I was plucking along editing the WRONG draft of a manuscript. For four days, I raised an eyebrow at how much longer this round of edits was taking and got mad at myself for missing so many things. It was on morning five that I realized I was editing draft 1 of my manuscript and not draft 3. NO WONDER there was so much wrong with it! Now, in the grand scheme of things, that’s just four days lost to edits. But when you’ve mapped your whole month out based on things getting done, it does throw a wrench into the system.
Not to worry, I build in catch-up days (weekends and a few days each month because life happens.) With a pencil in hand, I re-worked all my due dates and still made it on time.
Until, another hiccup. I forgot about Easter. My kids and I to my parents each year for Easter. And while it was only about five hours I was gone, that’s five hours of catch-up time I wouldn’t have. Out comes the pencil again, because, of course, I went to see my family. I know where my priorities are. Hence, why my plans are always in pencil.
So, what does this mean for the fate of Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 of Where You Left Me? Not a thing. Those are still on track, hiccups be damned. Vol. 2 is out with ARC readers, and Vol. 3 will just take a week longer to finish. Not the end of the world.
Now, as to when all the housework is going to be done… that’s a matter for another weekend.
Until next week, my friends!
Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and balancer of all the life things
Danielle Bannister, Author 