Does it ever get ho-hum? That feeling of "oh yeah, signed another one"?

I can't speak for anyone else, but for Maggie Toussaint the answer is that signing a book contract still feels extra-ordinary! I worked a bit harder for this one as the publisher wanted corrections up front, but all in all, a contract is a contract.

My contracted work, On The Nickel, is a cozy mystery, the second book in the Cleopatra Jones series. In the story, Cleo has to save Mama from a life behind bars. Mama's outspoken rival got run down and killed - by Mama's car. Mama swears she wasn't driving but Mama is downright secretive about where she was that fateful night. We have many of the old cast returning, and the wonderful dog in the series gives birth to puppies during the course of the book. We have new characters as well, especially the church ladies and the victim's children.

Five Star is my publisher and I believe the book will release in 2011. I can hardly wait!

Maggie Toussaint
romance.danger. mystery
www.maggietoussaint.com

This blog was posted at http://amberpolo.blogspot.com/2009/10/maggie-toussaints-advice-balancing.html on October 26, 2009.

Amber Polo: Welcome Maggie Toussaint, romantic suspense author and yoga teacher.

How does a writer balance all the parts of life and keep writing and publishing goals on track?
   Maggie: When you hear the word balance, specific images come to mind. Maybe it’s a teetering seesaw, or a tightrope walker, or a blue heron standing on one foot. For each of these examples, adjustments are made to achieve a balanced state.

   Our lives and publishing careers often conflict, sending hapless writers into a tangle. Given that confusion, I ordered my priorities, with the most important coming first: family, church, day job, writing, friends, promotion, volunteering, and housework.
   Did you notice where writing came in? Number four. Three other things take priority. I’m lucky to get ten to twenty hours a week for writing and promotion. Once I understood what was reasonable given my “load,” I wasn’t frustrated about the hours I wasn’t writing.
    In addition, I take time for myself, wasted time, if you will. This time, while not directly productive, relaxes my mind and body. The healthful benefits spill over into every segment of my life.

Amber: How do you do it?
   Maggie: I know writers who carve writing time out of sleep time or out of lunch time; neither of those works for me. My optimum writing time is right after breakfast. Armed with that knowledge, I hoard that time for writing my first draft.
   I set reasonable word count goals per week and later, chapter edits per week. I accept that life interferes, and I won’t get all my mornings to write. And I also know that some days I’ll have an extra chunk of time, and I’ll exceed my weekly writing goals. Those are very good weeks.
   Respecting the time when I am most productive keeps my momentum going in my work in progress. I record my progress by day so that at the end of the week, I see how realistic my goals were. If I’m constantly missing the mark high or low, I make adjustments to the next goal. That keeps my expectations in line and gives me a visible endpoint.
   I also have a writing friend that I report my goals and results to on a weekly basis, she does the same for me. There’s no judging of performance, just lots of positive reinforcement for moving forward. And having that accountability keeps me on task.
   Playtime is important. My play activities include yoga, music, time spent outdoors, pampering myself, and reading. Of these, yoga is the most important to me.

Amber: Can you offer suggestions to keep the mind clear in order to write and set priorities and stick to them (most of the time)?
Maggie: Prioritize your responsibilities. Know your writing mindset. Accept the time limitations to your writing schedule. Guard that writing time like a precious jewel. Hold yourself accountable to your goals.
Take time for yourself, time that relaxes and rejuvenates you. Find a way to release tension. Yoga is a huge part of my wellness plan, along with meditation. Discern what gives you that “ahhhh” moment and incorporate that into your weekly life, if not daily life.

For me, writing fiction is like stepping into another world. While one part of my mind loves marketing and promotion, they become addictions and take over. How do you balance promotion and writing to keep the present and future?
    The first step is to recognize you are writing for publication and not solely for yourself. Authors who publish with small presses, as I do, assume a large part of the burden of promotion.
    When a book releases, I restructure my priorities so that promotion comes on par with my day job. I consider it that important.
    There are a few weeks before and after the release when my ten to twenty hours of writing time goes exclusively to promotion. Again, I view this as necessary to generate awareness of the product. But once that initial push goes by, I ramp back to splitting promotion and writing time, with the writing time percentage inching up with each week that passes.
    My study of yoga comes into play here as well. Acceptance of who I am at each stage in this process (I am writer; I am a promoter) helps affirm my choice and keeps me grounded.

Amber: Thank you for reminding me that the answer is “more yoga.”
   Maggie: Listening to my mind and body helps me balance writing and promotion. I gain perspective of the bigger picture, the world in which my family and friends live. I want to exist in both worlds, so I divide my time accordingly.
   Finding that perfect blend, that unique, balanced mix of life and writing is my ongoing goal.

Amber: With the holidays coming up many writers are going to be manic and discouraged. What tips can you offer?
   Maggie: Each holiday season I struggle with balance because there is so much extra to do (gifts, cards, parties, visits) in an already busy schedule.

   Here’s how I cope. I need to have “down” time, to be apart from the festivities. I decorate the house for the holidays, but I don’t get insane about it as I once did. I keep the level of effort reasonable, and I guard my writing time to the best of my abilities.

   Even though there are more activities during the holidays, take time for pampering. Soak in the tub with a good book instead of watching the news one night. Schedule a facial or other body treatment. Sample holiday foods in moderation.

Amber: What is your latest release?
    Maggie: My cozy golf mystery titled IN FOR A PENNY. In the book, accountant Cleopatra Jones wishes she’d gone to work instead of golfing when her wild approach shot lands on a dead banker. The police believe her best friend did the deed. Of course she didn’t so Cleo sets out to prove her innocence. There’s sizzling romance from the sexy golf pro along with family gymnastics with two teenage girls, an ex-husband, and Mama. How could anyone forget the woman who thinks up menus like Spickle Fish Lasagna? And let’s not forget the dog co-star, Madonna, who is the spitting image of my short haired St. Bernard granddog.

Amber: What are you working on now?
Maggie: I’m working on a romantic suspense. Realtor Roxie Whitaker and security expert Sloan Harding meet when a tree falls on his house. While Roxie struggles to stabilize her business, Sloan searches for his missing inheritance. Sparks fly, but his wild past and her determination to establish a museum in a building his father is accused of torching, put them at odds. Someone else wants that lost fortune, someone who will stop at nothing. This work is tentatively titled Tempest in a Teapot.

Amber: Thanks Maggie for being my guest on Wordshaping and your wise advice for writers and just about everybody else.

I wasn't sure I had much to say on this topic and then "lessons" started occurring to me. I came to these realizations after sharing most of my life with 3 live-in dogs. Here are a few things I've learned from Zack, Max, and Luke:

If you want someone's attention, get in their way.

If you spit out your medicine, you'll get it wrapped in a treat next time.

Not much point in worrying about more than the basics: food, water, shelter, sex, and family.

Dogs are allowed to do things no person can do, for instance, sniffing a person's private parts.

Nothing like a good nap to while away the hours.

If someone bothers you, nip at their heels.

If you make a big fuss about getting your nails clipped, you'll be treated to more walks.

If you misbehave, there's always the chance Ceasar Milan will make a house call.

If you really want to aggrevate the other dog, leave a little food in your dish and guard it.

Greet the ones you love with as much enthusiasm as is physically possible.

It's okay to stick out your tongue.

Wiggle when you get excited.

Decadent treats are worth the trouble they bring.

The people in charge don't know everything.

I'm sure there's more doggie wisdom out there. Perhaps you might want to add a few comments of your own!

Maggie Toussaint
dog woman
check out my granddog in In For A Penny
www.maggietoussaint.com
originally posted at http://themavensofthepen.blogspot.com on Oct. 12, 2009

For many years, I did strategic clothes shopping with my kids. We could do casual clothes in one trip, underclothes in another trip. Bathing suits or shoes took several trips. In the early years, I would take both girls with me, then as time went by and they shopped from different departments within a store, it was easier to take them separately.

The kids could've gone all day, but I have always had a two-hour expiration limit. After that length of fluorescent bulbs, people, and music not of my choosing, I'm past ready to be alone for awhile.

But here's the thing. Once the kids went off to college, got married, and lived far away, clothes shopping changed for me. I had no interest in it. In fact, thoughts of needing an outfit for a work presentation or a wedding would send me into a full-fledged panic attack. I hadn't realized how much they were helping me with my shopping.

Time healed the rift, much to the delight of my credit card company. But it was touch and go there for awhile. I still miss shopping with my best buddies though. When we get together, we do our best to keep the tradition alive.

Maggie
who almost always drops after shopping
www.maggietoussaint.com
originally posted at http://themavensofthepen.blogspot.com on Aug 31, 2009

If I had the opportunity to sit down with a newly published person or someone still trying to break in, I would tell them the writing always has to come first. Sounds simplistic, I know, but there's so much packed into those few words.

Publishing has so many segments, and they can be so very seductive. Many writers try to do it all. They mount blog campaigns, social network blitzes, book lots of conferences, schedule signings all over creation, some even manage radio, print, and TV interviews. God knows, its crushing to think of the weight of it all, and I didn't even mention reviews or book trailers or people dropping by your house to talk to you about their idea for a book.

These marketing aspects can be wildly exhilarating or a disaster waiting to happen. I've had both reactions, sometimes within the span of the same minute. My point is there's a sense of doing your part with marketing, no matter the size of your publishing house. And there's also a sense of the more you do, the more your name gets out there, the better chance you have of building a fanbase.

That's all well and good if you have a dozen or more print-ready books on your shelves. If you aren't so lucky, then you have to find a way to balance writing and promotion. I used to think story was all. That if you had a well-plotted book, you were golden. With the wisdom of hindsight, I now see that character matters the most. If a reader doesn't care about your character, they won't finish your book.

Often times rejection letters have lines like this: "I just wasn't feeling your characters." Character is key. In my opinion, exceptional characters can transcend an average plot, but average characters will sink an exceptional plot.

In summary, my advice to newly published writers is to not get totally seduced by promotion, to keep writing new books, populated with three-dimensional characters.

What's your thought? Agree? Disagree?

Maggie Toussaint
stubbornly Southern and somewhat outspoken
www.maggietoussaint.com
author of romance and mystery
originally posted at Mavens of the Pen http://themavensofthepen.blogspot.com on August 25, 2009

I was creating recipes for book characters today over at The Book Spa and decided it would be fun to come up with a recipe for a writer. Stock ingredients came to my mind: perspiration, dedication, talent, luck, networking, strong work ethic, education, professionalism, adaptability, faith, confidence, creativity, computer savvy, and analysis. The challenge was to decide on the proportions and amount of cooking needed.

Here’s my recipe for a writer:

Mix together equal parts talent, creativity, confidence, faith, education, perspiration, dedication, and computer savvy until well blended. Simmer in a moderate oven until half-baked. Meanwhile, stir up a bowl of strong work ethic, analysis, professionalism, networking, and adaptability. Layer over the baked portion, making sure all areas are covered. Bake until the writer is immune to rejection. As the writer cools, sprinkle with luck. Serve with caffeine and chocolate.

Want to give it a shot? Leave your recipe in the comment section. I'd love to read it!

Maggie Toussaint
author of romance and mystery
www.maggietoussaint.com
www.facebook.com/maggietoussaint
www.myspace.com/maggietoussaint
http://groups.yahoo.com/TheBookSpa/
originally posted at http://SRNWrites.blogspot.com on August 12, 2009