Productivity tips for authors from a productivity author? Sounds good to me!
by Laura Vanderkam
I began writing for local newspapers during college as a way to make money.
Many wanted coverage of campus events. I did journalism internships during the summers, culminating with a year-long internship at USA Today after graduation.
I began writing columns for them, and used those clips to land other writing gigs. Your last story never writes your next one, but I do find that the last story can help you land the next one!
A Productivity Book for Authors Working from Home
Time management is just a topic I’ve always been interested in. I keep trying to do things a little more efficiently, and learn from people who seem to handle life well.
[My latest book] The New Corner Office offers strategies for working productively and ambitiously from home. I wanted to create a manual for the millions of people who are working from home for the first time in the wake of Covid-19.
I know a lot of writers have decades of experience with this, but I think there are still a few challenges people encounter.
3 Challenges of Working from Home
1. One is knowing when to stop working.
A commute forces the issue, but when you work from home, it’s easy to half work and half not-work all night. Come up with some end-of-day ritual, or else put something in your personal life (a hobby, or family dinner) that forces a stop.
2. Another challenge is feeling obligated to do most of the housework and errands because, well, you’re there.
It feels productive, but housework can consume all available space! Best to limit these distractions to chosen break times.
3. And perhaps the biggest challenge is feeling the need to be constantly responsive.
We all want to stay on top of our inboxes, but just like housework, email can expand to fill all available space. Consciously limiting the inputs for a while can give us space to come up with great ideas.
Productivity Tips for Authors: Give Yourself Time and Space
In the past, working from home was often seen as a work/life balance perk — it was for people who wanted to take their foot off the gas for a bit.
But now that everyone (in some organizations at least) is working from home, this impression is changing. And that’s good! Because I think it’s quite possible to “lean in” while working from home.
That’s why I call it the new corner office — you are calling the shots. Key to that is giving yourself time and space to think about what you want your career to look like, and what steps (and relationships) are necessary to make that happen.
Take on speculative projects. Try stuff it out. It will probably lead somewhere.
Productivity Tips for Authors
Here are a few of my favorite writing productivity tips for authors.
Write first, edit later.
Write a quick first draft, and then leave some time to think about it. When you come back to your work, you’ll have a fresh perspective. I also find it is much harder to turn nothing into something than to turn something into something better, so the sooner I can get the first draft done, the better!
Write a lot.
People trying to run faster generally increase their weekly mileage, because the body develops efficiencies as it runs more and more. Same with writing. I find that writing blog posts and podcast scripts doesn’t really compete with other writing, they complement it as I figure out how to write articles faster (and better).
Make a later list.
Once you get in the flow with writing, do whatever you can to preserve it. If you think of something you need to do (take the meat out of the freezer for dinner!) write it down on a “later list” so you remember it, and then get to it when you take a break.
Same with finding statistics or quotes. Don’t interrupt your writing to go find the quote or statistic from your notes or your inbox. Once you do that, you’ll get distracted and start checking other messages. Stick with the flow as long as you can!
My Top 3 Marketing Tips for Writers
For people to buy your book, they have to know about it, find the topic interesting, and feel some personal connection to it.
1. Create an email list.
I’ve found that the best way to build up this audience is to create an email list. I send weekly and monthly newsletters, and I’ve built up the subscriber list over time.
Now, every time I have a new book come out, I can email 50,000 people who’ve opted in to tell them about it.
2. Appear on podcasts or start your own.
I’ve found that podcasts also create a more personal connection than printed words. When people hear your voice, they feel like they know you (video does the same thing — people see you and feel like you’re friends).
So consider starting a podcast as a way to share your ideas and cement a relationship with your audience.
3. Network.
And, of course, having influential people rave about your book is never a bad idea. Friends with their own email lists, podcasts, or social media followings can provide social proof.
If they recommend your work, other people will pay attention. These relationships have to be authentic but that doesn’t mean they aren’t marketing!
Advice for a Young Writer: Diversify!
Writers — and content creators in general — do best with a portfolio of income sources. I earn money from my books, my podcasts, from freelance article writing, and from speeches. When one disappears, it’s OK.
This happens even after years in the business. I spent much of 2017-2019 traveling to give time management speeches at conferences. Covid-19 completely ended this business line, and it probably won’t come back for another year or two. So I’m glad I could scale up the others!
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Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books, including The New Corner Office, Juliet’s School of Possibilities, Off the Clock, I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune.
She is the host of the podcasts Before Breakfast and the New Corner Office, and the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the podcast Best of Both Worlds. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children.
For more information about Laura and her work, please see her website, or subscribe to her newsletter for a free time makeover guide. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova from Pexels.
The New Corner Office: How do you do great work while sitting near the same spot where you watch Netflix? How can you be responsive without losing the focus necessary for getting things done? How can you maintain and grow your network when you spend less time face to face?
The key is to detach yourself from old ways of working and adopt new habits to match your new environment. Long before public health concerns pushed many of us indoors, some of the most successful people fueled their careers with carefully perfected work-from-home routines. Drawing on those profiles and her own insights, productivity expert and mother of five Laura Vanderkam reveals how to turn “being cooped up” into the ultimate career advantage.
Available on Amazon.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: Laura Vanderkam has combined her three popular mini e-books into one comprehensive guide, with a new introduction.
It will help readers build habits that lead to happier, more productive lives, despite the pressures of their busy schedules. Trough interviews and anecdotes, she reveals . . .
- What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast—to jump-start the day productively.
- What the Most Successful People Do On the Weekend—to recharge and prepare for a great week.
- What the Most Successful People Do at Work—to accomplish more in less time.
Available on Amazon.