Creative Coupledom, my Toronto Indie Authors Conference Top Ten Takeaways, and being as productive as I need to be
Creative Coupledom
Prolific author Ann Douglas (and I mean prolific—she’s published 26 non-fiction books, many of which are international bestsellers, and most recently published a wonderful book on midlife called Navigating The Messy Middle) writes a column for Psychology Today. Kirk and I were thrilled to be part of one of her columns on thriving creative couples. It’s here if you want to give it a read.
Ann has also published the full-length interview with me—Kirk’s will come next—in two parts in her newsletter, if you want to read them (and take a sec to sign up to her newsletter while you’re at it. She’s interesting, wise, and thinks deeply about the craft of writing.) I’ll just say that the process of being interviewed about my creative life with Kirk left a deep impression on both of us. It’s funny—we’re so in the middle of it, we don’t often think much about it. But when Ann asked us to answer her questions, we went through the exercise separately to make sure we didn’t influence each other’s responses. And when we finally read what each other had written, we got a little teary, I’m not gonna lie.
The Toronto Indie Author Conference
Last weekend, I attended the inaugural Toronto Indie Author Conference, an in-person event where I was able to connect with other writers, learn from industry experts, and gain insights into the world of independent publishing. It was so stimulating.
Here are my top ten takeaways from the conference:
1. From author/indie publishing marketing expert Tao Wong’s Marketing 101 for Books session: Ask yourself the questions: why do you want to write? Do you just want to get your book out? Do you want to make money? Make sure your answers are time-based, and then re-evaluate regularly. Life changes.
2. From Author and Author Success Coach Becca Syme’s Seven Productivity Myths and Why You Should Stop Believing Them session: Many of us are in the ‘I made a decision a long time ago that made me tired’ club. So much of our productivity is affected by choices we made that we don’t realize we made. Much of it is decided by our brain chemistry.
3. Becca: There are lots of easy answers to productivity questions, but they rarely offer the solution. Tailoring your system to you, and how you are wired, is the key to success.
4. Becca: We tend to do whatever we’re told whether we have an intuition about it or not. So question the premise—and go forward eyes wide open, doing what works for you, not for someone else.
5. Becca: the number one thing that makes authors more productive is not reaching for their phone first thing in the morning, and holding off on social media for as long as humanly possible as the day wears on. Get your writing done first.
6. From Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of fantasy and paranormal romance Eva Chase’s Writing (What You Love) to Market session: yes, it’s important to write to market—but it’s more important, and will give you longevity, if you write what you love to market. This is the key to enjoying our career. It’s easier to write books if you’re personally engaged.
7. Author Mark Leslie Lefebvre, former Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations for Rakuten Kobo, former president of the Canadian Booksellers Association, and a previous board member of BookNet Canada, who presented a session called Embracing All Your Publishing Options, agreed: rather than write to market, write the book you’re most passionate about. Start with your passion—at least you win when the project is done. And given most books don’t get published, you may as well do it for you. Have fun.
8. From Becca’s Stuck, Blocked or Burned-Out? session: Writers think their number one goal is happiness. But that’s not it – the goal is TO NOT QUIT. So know when your survival mechanisms are setting in because you’re getting uncomfortable (due to fear and all the many things). Find ways to move through that discomfort and keep going. It won’t always be fun. That’s okay. Some fear is good—it can be used positively to help us achieve what we want to achieve.
9. Becca: Don’t overwork with an expectation that work will fix the problem. (Oof. This one hit me hard.)
10. And lastly, Becca (are you getting the impression that I got a lot from Becca’s two sessions?): We feel like writing a to-do list and finishing it is righteous. People have taken productivity courses to try to finish their list. But here’s a new way to look at it: You are exactly as productive as you need to be (providing you have prioritized that list, I guess I’d add). You are getting the important things done. Completing the list isn’t necessarily the best way to fill your day.
So—here’s to shortening my to-do lists, thinking deeply about what writing really jazzes me, and allowing myself to believe I am as productive as I need to be.
Have a great weekend.
Claire
