Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Top Six Ways to Procrastinate as a Writer with Malia Mallory

It's a tricky line we walk. As I post Malia's fun post, I'm wondering if I'm working or procrastinating!

The ABCs of Erotica
Malia Mallory
When you are sitting in front of the empty computer screen, it can be a little hard to get started. Sometimes it seems the thing to do is to work on promotion and sales. After all, authors are supposed to be responsible for their own promotion in this face changing world of publishing. No one else is going to get the word out, right? The internet, lovely thing that it is, presents a plethora of opportunities to procrastinate under the guise of "working" whether it be "promoting" or "business."

1. Twitter

Oh Twitter, you and your fast stream. Having Twitter followers seems important doesn't it? After all, we're all being told repeatedly to take advantage of social media. So I have to check my Twitter feed. Did anyone mention me? Maybe I should try to get people to sign up for my mailing list or tweet something interesting about a new release. Wait, I have to be relevant to my followers so I really need to find some good articles to retweet so people don't unfollow me. That requires of course browsing around various news, writing and publishing sites. Uh oh, where did the morning go?

2. Facebook

I have to maintain my author page. A lot people have signed up and I need to keep them informed of what I'm doing don't I? I have to do this in a non-intrusive way so it takes a bit of thought. I need to include pictures too to make my post interesting.

3.  Blogging

I need to get a good blog post up and promote it. Maybe I should try to do some guest blogs too (like this one, thanks Louisa!) If I write a new blog post, I need to tweet about it . . . better post it on Facebook too.

4.  Triberr

I need to get my blog post on Triberr. This will expand my reach to thousands of people who might, maybe, potentially, come to my site and read my blog. If they like it, maybe they'll check out my work!

5.  KDP/Pub It

After all this promotion, I need to check and see how my sales are doing. Have I sold anything since yesterday?

6. Writer Forums

I'd better check out the latest news in indie publishing. My writing friends can always be counted on to know the latest on changes at Amazon and censorship issues. If Smashwords is down, I need to be the first to know!

These six are just the tip of the iceberg. I haven't even gotten to online shopping, visiting the sites of other writers, checking my bank account balance and updating my web page.

It's no wonder that half the day (or more!) can get frittered away before any "real" writing starts.

How do you waste spend time on the internet? What do you do to try to cut it back?

Mia's Cop Craving
Malia Mallory
Blurb: Mia’s Cop Craving


Mia is just your normal girl next store with a secret fantasy. She can’t resist a man in blue. She’s desperate to find a cop of her own and fulfill all her sexual dreams. When Mia finds sexy police officer Rogan, he takes her on a tour of her own sensuality.

Available via Amazon Author Page, Barnes & Noble, All Romance and other e-retailers.


*****

Malia Mallory is the author of The ABCs of Erotica series, which includes so far A is for Anal, B is for Beach, C is for C*ck Ring D is for Domination, and now, R is for Revenge. The ABCs of Erotica covers the erotic spectrum from BDSM to ménage and everything in between. More releases in the series are on the way. She has also released Mia's Cop Craving and Santa's Backdoor Baby. She has hit the bestselling erotica lists at both Amazon and iTunes. Her books are available in electronic format at major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and AllRomance Books.

For a free copy of B is for Beach from The ABCs of Erotica, head to her website and sign up for the newsletter at http://www.maliamallory.com/Join_My_Mailing_List.php.

Connect with Malia Mallory

12 comments:

  1. Wow five of those are mine and I haven't figured out how to trim it down yet. Hoping to be able to do so..

    And soon! Great post.

    Nichelle

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  2. Oh yes we are guilty...I've been good lately..I have stayed away..

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    1. This sounds just like me...except I haven't figured out Triberr yet;-) Great post!

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  3. Thank you for hosting me today! Now if we can just find some solutions....

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  4. Hi Louisa, I found you on Twitter, don't know how. I just started it myself and it is like Facebook on crack, I can't keep up with it all. Out of the endless river I try to look out for your posts though.

    -Andrea

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  5. Malia -- Looks like you hit a universal spot here, lol! Thanks for the guest blog.

    Andrea -- Well thanks for letting me know, and I certainly hope you enjoy the articles! Are you a reader, a writer, both or? ;-)

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  6. Those first three are huge time sucks! And I'm pretty sure social media is evil.

    But *sigh* it's a necessary evil.

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  7. I just started a twitter account and am trying to connect with other writers and see how all this social media stuff is done. Now I feel guilty for doing this instead of writing. How much is enough and how much is too much?

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  8. Tammy -- At a recent OCC/RWA chapter meeting, we had two agents speak. They talked about it being good to have an Online presence, especially before being published. So don't feel too guilty! I think there's a balance. Personally, I've cut back on doing a few of the release parties on places like Romance Studio right now because I'm on deadline to finish the third book in my series. But, next month I'll be back more ;-)

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  9. Oh, and what's too much? It's probably different for each people. I love have the Twitter app on my cell phone and being able to do quick updates when I'm out and waiting places.

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  10. LOL - I'm guilty of procrastinating at many of the same places. This month I've been focusing on my writing and cutting back a little. It seems to be working, or at least the words are adding up.

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  11. Ok guys....I've followed up with the Top 6 Ways to Combat the Procrastination....

    You can see it here -

    http://adrianakraft.com/guest-bloggers/guest-malia-mallory/

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