Tag: calendars

Tips to Organize 2019

Tools for Writers, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Happy New Year!  Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays.

One thing I like to do at the beginning of the year is planning.  To me, setting up my year on my calendar isn’t really about goals–it’s just a way to help me visualize when I need to reach out to my production team for editing and design help (and to post upcoming releases on my website for readers to see my timeline).  A reader once suggested that I have a ‘Coming Soon‘ page on my site to help her keep my releases straight, and I’ve found that works well.

Ways to stay organized: 

Production calendar. I use my Google calendar and then I also put it on my wall calendar. First off, I know how long it takes me to write and revise a book from start to finish: three months.   With that in mind, I know an approximate date to ask my editor for help with the book and to send ARCs to my ARC team.   While my editor makes edits, I work on the outline for the next book in that same series.  Then I contact my cover designer and ask her to make a cover for that book (a book that won’t come out for another seven months or so).  I also start setting up my book for preorder online at Amazon, Draft2Digital (for Nook, Apple, Kobo, etc.), StreetLib, Ingram, and PublishDrive.  I announce the preorder on social media and on my website.  This process helps keep me on track and prevents any issues from arising that might result in the delay of a book.Continue reading

Calendars for Productivity

Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

Woman in a blue top holds a monthly calendar and the post title, "Calendars for Productivity" is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Happy 2018!

I’m never much of a fan of resolutions, but I do like making sure at the beginning of each year that I’m organized.

With that in mind, here are the calendars that help me stay organized and on top of everything for the year.  Since a writer’s life intersects with their homelife, there are also calendars listed that help organize my personal life.  If both parts of my life are organized, there’s a hope of retaining writing life-personal life balance.

Production calendar for publishing

You don’t have to overthink this, and it can always be changed!  Plan what you want to accomplish for the year: one book?  More?  Then pencil in those dates on your calendar for completion.  Even better, get on your cover designer’s, freelance editor’s, and formatter’s calendars.  Now you have something to work toward.

My cover designer always designs a book ahead for me.  This ensures that I don’t run into any scheduling snags.  (I do have to write back cover copy for a book that I haven’t written yet.)

Editorial calendar for blog (I use OneNote)

I used to put my blog’s editorial calendar on my Google calendar, but I found it more difficult to see upcoming posts and to make date changes.  Now I use a page in OneNote (you could just as easily use Word).

Again, try not to overthink this.  This is simply a place where I can list ideas for posts and resources to write them (or at least a note as to where my mind was going when I came up with the idea in the first place).  I list all the dates that I blog and then put the ideas/blog titles beside them.  This way I never feel as if I’m at a loss for what to post.Continue reading

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