Time management through the self-publishing process

Another important piece to consider for a self-publisher is time management. When most authors think about writing a book, they think about the time it will take to write. But the editing, formatting and distributing, and then marketing a book is a lot of work as well. And these additional tasks are not typically tasks an author has experience with.

Here are some tips about managing your time while writing a book:

Editing: I recommend waiting to do any deep editing until you finish your entire first draft. If you try to edit along the way, it's easy to get bogged down in trying to make it perfect and not finish. This won't work for everyone and I'm not advocating you change your writing process if you're someone who edits along the way. What I am saying is that from a time management perspective, getting into the habit of finishing things and then revising them rather than working on the same thing for a long period of time will get you into the habit of creating and hitting send or post, which will be valuable to overall momentum and marketing.

Formatting & distributing: Unless you have a strong desire to learn these technical sides, I recommend hiring someone else to format your book for different eBook outlets and for print. Distribution can also be tricky unless you're use to the process. It's usually worth paying a few hundred dollars rather than spending days or weeks struggling through it.

Marketing: Make a plan and start early. For social media and blogging outreach, it will take months to build up connections that will help. Start doing these for an hour a day a few months before your book is due to launch rather than trying to spend a huge chunk of time blitzing it when your book come out. It will make your marketing stronger overall and save you a lot of stress.

Image courtesy of Earls37a via flickr