by Kasia | Jun 6, 2015 | Writing
Writing and parenting – combining the two does come with its challenges. Only yesterday I was hoping to meet my writing quota for the day by putting my son in his play area and writing whilst looking over him. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Generally he naps for 2-2.5 hours throughout the day but yesterday he thought 1 hour was enough. I beg to differ. One hour is never enough. I need my rest too Master J.
Finding time to write as a parent comes with its own challenges. There are moment where you feel torn between your ambitions and goals for the day and ensuring you give enough cuddle and giggling time, check out those steps he’s mastering, or simply just spending time together – they grow up so fast, I can’t believe mine is 13 months already!
As parents we have an obligation to our children. As writers we have an obligation to our work. It’s a juggling act especially when you also add the roles of wife (or husband) and employee among others.
It is doable. It isn’t easy but whatever is worth doing rarely is. My husband gets up at 4:20am and is out of the house by 5am. This morning I chose to do the same. My son usually sleeps till about 6:30 – 7am so it gives me up to two hours of writing time before our day even begins. It’s still dark outside, my phone tells me it’s 8 C this morning, so I’m making the most of my writing time snuggled under the blankets, and writing in bed. I could get used to this.
Here are some tips that might help in finding a balance between writing and parenting without feeling guilty that one is getting more of your attention than the other. It’s all about setting priorities, boundaries and rules for yourself.
Stop feeling guilty
Becoming a parent is incredible. You are responsible for a human being and you want to nurture them to be the best they can be. But you’re not just a parent. You’re not one dimensional like the bad guys in cheap action movies. You are still your own person with your own goals and desires and you need to make time for you. Seriously, you need your sanity in tact.
Get up an hour or two earlier
This is a common piece of advice to being a more productive writer. If you don’t have enough time or inclination during the day just get up earlier and get it done. Start with fifteen minutes, even if you only write 100 words, or brainstorm an article, or come with a character description or plot point, it’s a hundred more than you had the day before.
Go to bed an hour later
If you’re more of a night owl then write at night. Personally, I can’t do this. I try and fail miserably. By about 9pm my eyes start closing on me and that’s it. But if you prefer the dark hours and staying up is an option. Put the kids to bed, settle comfortably in your writing space and get writing.
Write during nap times
If your child is a sleeper and naps during the day this is the time to get writing (if you have a newborn, this is the time to be catching up on your own sleep!).
Write and play at the same time
If you can write in short bursts and with interruptions you can still write while spending time with your kids. I like to write while hanging out with my son, usually he’s pretty low maintenance and happily plays on his own, and I stop when he wants my attention or is doing something cute or I just want a break or a cuddle.
Brainstorm on the run
Think about what you want to write before you actually sit down to write. This will save you time. Keep a notepad and pen on hand when you’re in the kitchen preparing dinner, hanging out in the doctors waiting area, standing in line, catching the train, on your lunch break, everywhere you go really. Jot down the idea and be ready for your next writing stint.
Get the rest of the family to help out
You are a writer. Whether you get paid for it or not is irrelevant. If you want to write you have to make the time. Talk with your other half about setting a few hours a week in your calendar for writing. This would be a time when your partner or spouse take over the reigns and you disappear into your writing corner for an hour or two without interruption. If you need peace and quiet, send them out to the park for a walk or play.
Use your kids as inspiration
Writing and parenting can go well together. Each day comes with its own challenges, joys, frustrations, achievements and questions. You are a writer, go write about them. Whether it’s for parenting articles or scenes in your novel, you can use the fact that you are a parent to your advantage.
Finding a balance between writing and parenting comes with its own challenges. You need to find a balance and routine that works for you and your family. Listen to the advice but don’t take it as set in stone. Every family, every parent, every child, and every write is different. Find what works for you and you’ll be a happier and more productive writer and parent.
How do you balance writing and parenting?
by Kasia | Jun 2, 2015 | Writing
It’s finally happened. I am an author. The fact that my name is on a book cover is exciting and scary at the same time.
Lethal Disposal is finally out and available on Kindle via Amazon. The paperback version will be available at the end of June.
by Kasia | May 16, 2015 | Writing
*UPDATE 25 May 2015
You may no longer need an EIN if you’re an Australian publishing on Amazon. It seems the tax treaty between the US and Australia changed last year and that 30% tax has been canned! Yay! So, if you’re an Australian resident and publishing on Amazon you will only need to add in your personal tax details and Amazon will only deduct 5% for the IRS. Make sure you double check to ensure this matches your personal circumstances!
You’ve written your book, created a cover that grabs your readers attention, your manuscript has been proofread, copyedited and formatted to fit Amazon KDP requirements, Smashwords and CreateSpace, you’ve hit publish and thanks to your savvy marketing efforts you’ve even managed to sell a few thousand copies.
Then you sit patiently waiting for your royalty cheque. You open your mail excited, you see the number and your shoulders droop and you are ready to scream, “WTF!”
So, Amazon has taken their cut, 30% or 70% depending on how you’ve priced your book, and the US tax department has grabbed another 30%. You’re standing there mouth agape with a big fat nothing and your neighbours are wondering if they need to call for help.
Ok, so maybe I’m dramatising. They can go back inside unless of course they want details of where to buy your book. This can all be easily fixed with an EIN.
If you’re not a US citizen or live in the US, you probably do not have the EIN. It’s a tax identification number and it’s seriously the easy thing I have ever obtained. And Hollywood makes the IRS look so scary.
After dialling +1 267 941 1099 and being put on hold for twenty minutes (thanks Vodafone for 300 minutes worth of free international calls!), during this time I did some research on EINs, I was having trouble finding stuff in relation to Aussie authors publishing through Amazon, I finally got through to a human.
She called me Mrs Radzka. I might be married but by no means am I Mrs Radzka. That’s my mum. I just haven’t changed my surname to match my husband’s. It’s the twenty-first century and really not a priority in the grand scheme of things. But anyway…
After telling her what I needed, she took me through a quick questionnaire, and after another 15 minutes or so, she dictated my EIN and told me I’d get some mail in the next 2-4 weeks. OMG how simple was that? I have no idea why I was putting it off for weeks.
If you want a step by step guide check out Catherine Ryan Howard’s post. She explains it brilliantly so I don’t need to regurgitate it here.
So, while I haven’t published my novel yet, (only a couple weeks to go!), I’m all set to set my Amazon KDP account and ensure that I don’t get hit with a 30% tax from the US should I sell a few books. I feel like I’m finally making progress.
by Kasia | May 15, 2015 | Writing
I recently completed the 30 Days or Less to Freelance Success course (highly recommend to new freelancers! and those wanting a refresher) offered by Gina Horkey on her website Horkey HandBook. Gina, was kind enough to offer the opportunity for her students to submit a pitch for a guest post. One of the hardest parts of becoming a freelancer is getting those first clips, so I jumped at the chance and Gina accepted one of my ideas.
Check out 3 Ways I Stay Healthy as a Freelance Writer here.
by Kasia | May 4, 2015 | Writing
I’d love to write a novel. I’ve heard that so many times. Heck, I’ve been saying it for twenty years. I’ve written several, most have ended up in the trash, disposed of before prying eyes could criticise. My own criticism sufficed to ensure that my dream of being a published author were doomed from the start.
The act of writing is a simple one. You sit down in front of pen and paper or laptop. I like it both ways — pen and paper for brainstorming and the laptop for getting the writing done — and you write. One word after another, then a sentence, a paragraph, a page, a chapter, until you type the end.
Simple enough but so difficult at the same time.
I said it was simple, but it sure as hell isn’t easy.
The best advice for getting the novel done, ‘Arse in chair and write,’ I think Stephen King may have said it, it’s been repeated by many since. It’s the truth though. Excuses are easy, we all have them. From full-time jobs to adventurous kids, a frenzied social life to a demanding family who don’t understand the concept that daydreaming of fictional characters plotting assassinations is actually a job or at least you hope it will become one when you sell a few hundred thousand books.
It took me three plus years to finish Lethal Disposal. I could probably keep working on it. The problem is when is it good enough? When is a novel actually finished? There are so many what ifs, so many variables that can be altered that before you know you’ve changed the entire story multiple times. Lethal Disposal changed twice. If you find an inconsistency, I apologise in advance, but there shouldn’t be any.
Typing The End is a liberating experience. Not the The End once you’ve completed the first draft but The End once the book has gone through your own edit several times and then again by a professional editor, and then finally once more by you. By this stage you’ve read it so many times that you are completely and utterly over it. You know it inside out and cannot spot the little errors that still crowd your manuscript. A proofreader before you click publish is a wise move.
You’re done. Your baby goes out into the world. Then you start again. Characters take a life of their own, plots evolve in your mind at the most inconvenient times of day, you reach for your notebook, jot down notes quickly in hope of not forgetting. It’s so easy to forget. Keep that notebook close by, always.
Why haven’t you written yours? No time? Bullshit. We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. We just choose to use them differently. Most of Lethal Disposal was written on the train ride to and from work, in between catching up on the latest episodes of Scandal, The Vampire Diaries, and Revenge, and trying to study financial planning.
It got done. I made the time. Now it is up to you to make the time in your schedule. Finish the book. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Perfection is overrated anyway. Finish it, let others read it. You can improve with the second one, and write an even better third one. But don’t wait until it’s too late.
Many people dream of writing a novel. Few actually go out and do it, finish it and publish it. Nike says it best, ‘Just do it.”
So, why haven’t you finished your novel yet?
by Kasia | Apr 22, 2015 | Writing
Firing up the muse during a mid-week getaway. As a writer, even when I’m supposed to be relaxing and taking time out, not writing is impossible. Do you ever have that problem?
