The Most Difficult Thing I Deal With As A Writer

You'd think that sitting down and writing is easy for me because I've been doing it for years.

But it really isn't.

Some days (like today) I'm motivated to sit and write because I'm working on an interesting project and getting a lot of writing done.

Other days (like the last 4 weeks) I've been unmotivated and found it hard to sit down and get to work. But recently that was because I was designing my new Cheriton House Publishing Website and website work isn't my favourite thing to do, but it is a necessary evil.

And being able to sit down and work every day (without a boss looking over my shoulder forcing me to work) is one of the hardest things that I've had to overcome.

There are days when I just simply don't feel like doing anything. On these days I sit down but get very little done because I find myself easily distracted.

There are other days when I just can't seem to sit down and get to work at all and everything and anything looks more interesting than writing.

I've read plenty of books about this problem because it seems that many writers suffer from it, even those who we think of as prolific and successful writers. One of my favourite books on this subject is The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield.

Anyway, I just thought I'd bring up this subject that Pressfield calls Resistance (always spelt with a capital R) that all writers suffer from in one degree or another.

The good news is that it's not impossible to overcome.

I've overcome it by reading books about it, using "to do" lists to keep me on track, and listening to audios for creativity and focus while I work.

I also allot certain hours every day to when I work. At the set time I sit down and write. And like the late, great copywriter, Eugene Schwartz, I don't allow myself to do anything but work on my current project. I can't get up and I can't do anything else, so eventually I start working and once I start it's easier to keep going.

So if you often suffer from Resistance to writing, try some of the techniques I've used or (if it helps) take a look at my writer's resource page and try out a few things and see if they help. You can even download a free demo of the  "Razor Sharp Focus" audio from Brain Salon.

Or take a trip to your local library and borrow a book or two that can help.

Then keep writing.

I Can't Believe I've Actually Done It

This has been a long time in the making.

But I've finally done it.

Yay!

What have I done?

I've finished my new website design for my publishing company.

I've been working on it for 4 weeks.

At first I tried to use a website template.

But it kept going all wrong.

Then I came down with bronchitis for a couple of weeks. I tried to soldier on, but it was hard, especially with so much coughing.

Finally I gave up on the template and created my own. A responsive design, of course (don't want to get on the wrong side of the almighty Google).

You see, Cheriton House Publishing was the only website of mine that I hadn't updated with a responsive web design.

Why?

Because I knew it would be hard to do. There was a lot that needed changing.

But I finally I had to give in, grit my teeth, and get it done.

So I've been sat in front of the computer for days, working a lot more hours than I usually do. That's because I'm not really "tech" minded so web page design takes me ages to do.

Then this week, my portable hard drive broke down so I couldn't back up my work every day. It took a couple of trips to the local Apple store to figure out the problem which turned out to be partly the fault of my computer as well (I really AM going to have to upgrade soon).

But finally HERE I AM. FINISHED!

I removed several books from the website because I'm no longer selling them so there is now only a meagre amount left, but I intend to now rectify that now that I have time to write once more.

In the meantime, you can check out my handy work at http://cheritonhousepublishing.com.

If you find any errors or broken links, please PLEASE let me know and I'll put it right.

But you may be deafened by the sobbing.

Enjoy yourself and keep writing.

You Might Get a Kick Out of This - Or Learn Something

I recently was talking to a group of people and explaining how I make money from writing.

I told them about my blog and a couple of my websites, my books and my ebooks.

They were full of questions about how much money I make and how much money it's possible to make, what brings me the most income, etc.

I was a bit put off that the questions were all about money and not about writing.

Not once was I asked about what I wrote or how I write.

Then one person said something that made me realise that I was wasting my time and that he was wasting his life.

What he said was, "What's the point of earning a lot of money anyway when you have to pay nearly half of it to the government?"

He was right about high tax percentages. The more you earn here in good ol' Australia, the more you pay in taxes and it does indeed increase up to nearly 50%.

But this question (and all the others) were being asked by people who were not making ANY money at all. That's why they wanted to know how to make money as a writer.

And yet, despite their only income coming from welfare payments, they were worried that if they earned around $200K or more, they'd have to start paying high taxes.

Seriously? That was the big issue for them?

I told them that until they were earning those high amounts of income that they didn't have anything to worry about.

Then it turned into a tirade about what a rip off taxes were (yep, those taxes that they NEVER paid and that provided their welfare money) and how could I possibly even WANT to earn a high income if I had to give half of it to the government...and on...and on... it went.

Sheesh!

They'd asked me to come and talk to them but they weren't really interest in writing at all. They just wanted easy money - and tax-free at that.

They were so concerned about how much they'd lose.

It was at that point that I made an excuse and left.

So what should you do if you live in a country with high taxes and you want to earn your living as a writer?

That's easy.

Just write.

If, like the people I was speaking to, you're focused on money (or the lack of it) and not focused on writing, you'll never get anywhere.

And as I walked home that day I thought to myself, "They should be so lucky to EVER earn so much money."

But they never will.

They're not writers at all.

Are you?

The Easy Way to Deal With Email and Keep Your Inbox Empty

It's surprising (to me, anyway) how many people suffer from over-stuffed inboxes and don't know what to do about it.

So I thought it's about time I shared with you what you can do. So here is an easy solution.

First of all, open your inbox and view the messages as "from" instead of "date" which is the default way messages are displayed in your inbox. This will group together all the messages from each sender.

Then go through them all and delete all the messages you don't need. This is easy because you can simply highlight all the messages from each sender and deleted them all at once.

Next go through the messages you chose not to delete and do one of the following four things with each one:

• Deal with it
• File it
• Pass it on
• Trash

Deal with it: If you have an email that requires a response from you, deal with it. It will probably only take you a couple of minutes.

File it: You probably have several different email folders where you store messages. I have a different one for each hosting company, friends, companies I deal with, etc. So if it's a message you want to keep, move it to the appropriate email folder or a folder on your hard drive.

Pass it on: If it's an email that someone else needs to deal with, forward it on to them and then move the email to trash. For example, I pass on emails that my book keeper or accountant needs to deal with.

Trash: This is where you place all the emails you don't need. Even if at first you thought you needed to keep it and if, on reflection, you don't need it, then move it to the trash folder.

One caveat I will mention is that once you've dealt with everything in your inbox, keep the emails you sent to trash for at least a month or two before you empty your trash folder, just in case you've trashed something by mistake.

And then every day when you check your emails, make the four choices immediately of how to deal with them.

I have my email set for manual checking and I don't check emails on my phone. That way I'm not distracted my unexpected emails popping up all the time. I dedicate certain times of the day for checking email and deal with them at that time.

I currently only have 4 email in my inbox and they're only there because the time to deal with them hasn't arrived yet, but it will soon and then I can delete them for good.

And my inbox will be empty once more.

Happy sigh...