Do you have an issue with BALANCE? - Janice L. Dick

I have an occasional issue with balance, apparently due to the aura that accompanies silent migraines. The problem sounds innocuous, but it can be debilitating. You can have all the ideas you want, but if you can’t sit up or hold your head steady, you can’t record those thoughts on the screen.

There’s a balance issue with writing as well. I believe in using social media; I’ve listed a few of my sites below. I must be traceable. If people can’t find me on the World Wide Web, they won’t buy my books. I must also be available. I interact with readers and writers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc., to become known there as a writer but also as a friend and colleague. I understand this concept and am learning to apply it to my promotional plan.

However, my time is limited. If you are on social media, you will realize how quickly time can fly away, disappear, never to be reclaimed. I must find a balance, a way of managing my time so I still have opportunity to write. Because really, if I don’t have anything new to offer, I have nothing to promote. Losing too much time on social media sites can be debilitating to my writing career.

How do I find a balance? I would suggest it’s different for each of us. Some writers are able to consolidate their social media, taking more time at the outset to understand and manage their sites with Hootsuite or Tweetdeck or similar helps. This saves them time later and they are able to concentrate on their writing. I admit to being a learner at this. I still spend more time on social media as a promotional tool than advisable with respect to my allotted writing time, but I don’t intend to deny its use completely.

As with vertigo, the problem can be more serious than we think. Taking time to learn the sites and to manage them efficiently is necessary to balance in a writer’s life. So I plan to schedule in some learning time. Perhaps I’ll begin with Ruth L. Snyder’s Learn Twitter: 10 Intermediate Steps, to be released shortly. But right now, I’ll return to the work of editing my current manuscript. So I will have something to promote.

Janice L. Dick began writing intentionally in 1989. From 2002 to 2004 she released three historical novels. The first two were awarded first place in The Word Guild's Canadian Christian Writing Awards and the third was shortlisted for the same award.

Besides a fourth historical novel, Other Side of the River, Janice has also written a contemporary cozy mystery, book reviews, guest blogs, articles, short stories, and devotionals. She also has some editing experience.

Writing memberships include wwwInk in Humboldt SK, InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship, American Christian Fiction Writers, The Word Guild and Saskatchewan Writers Guild. She is an Advanced Toastmaster Silver.

Janice lives with her husband on a farm on the Canadian prairies. They have three married children and ten amazing grandkids.

Drop by Janice's Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Janice-L.-Dick/e/B001KIAKLK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1436397307&sr=8-3