Behind the Scenes of Indie Publishing

At YABC we work closely with a lot of Indie authors. Some are best sellers and some are just starting out, and many more fall in the middle of that spectrum. Today we are excited to introduce you to Frost Kay, Author of Rebel's Blade. She brings us a peek into one of the more difficult things any author has to deal with.

Welcome Frost Kay!

Time management. What is that? I’ll let you know when I completely figure it out.  

     I’m my own worst enemy. How many of you think you can do allthe things? If so, you’re in the same boat as me. I almost always bite off more than I can chew.

Between my family, travel, and my wee beasties, life is utter chaos. Throw writing, editing, marketing, web design, ad management, social media, and a slew of of other things that writers take on when they decide on the indie route, it might seem impossible. I’m here to tell you it’s not. There are enough hours in the day. The question is, how do you spend them? 

     Me? My day is centered around my wee beasties. Breakfast, school, cleaning, playing, lunch, cuddles, nap time, run errands, work on homework, make dinner. So where in the world do I find time to write? During their nap. Sometimes it’s a real struggle to sit down during nap time and write every day. There’s a million things I could be doing while the little tornados rest, but keeping a schedule is uber important. No matter what your life looks like, you have to set aside specific time to write without distractions. 

     “There’s no such thing as writing without distractions, Frost.” 

     Wrong.

     What we let intrude into our writing time is completely up to us. You make the decision to either stick to your routine, or be sidetracked.

     So how do I keep focused? Time blocking. It’s seriously magic.

     I have always been a multi-tasker, but it's been proven in studies that you get more things accomplished in less time if your work is blocked out. Again, I was skeptical because I love doing all the things. When I gave it a serious go, I was surprised. I accomplished more in three hours than I did in three days. Crazy right? 

     Here is how I’m able to write 5 chapters a week, market, edit, and spend time with my family. 

So instead of:

- Respond to an email

- Write 500 words

- Scroll IG 

- Respond to another email

- Check facebook

- Cuddle the cat (this is distraction #1)

- Write 1 chapter 

My time is better spent:

- Responding to all the emails for the day. The others can wait. They won’t disappear.  

- Write 2000-3000 words

- Schedule one day a week to work on ad content and promotional stuff 

     One of the reasons most authors don't get their marketing in is because it's time consuming, and then they get sucked in the black hole of marketing and end up not writing. Therefore, I recommend time blocking. If you give yourself a set amount to accomplish something, it’s less likely you’ll keep scrolling whatever social media site you were only meant to be on for fifteen minutes.

     It’s not actually magic but it's pretty close. I know it changed things for me for the better. Writing is usually not the problem. It’s something else in our life distracting us. Keep up the fabulous work, and never give up. Being an indie is challenging and difficult, but not impossible. Ya’ll got this.

Happy writing,

Frost Kay :)

Meet Rebel's Blade (The Aermian Feuds book 1)

War. Secrets. Betrayal.

Fed up with the neglect and corruption of the crown, swordsmith Sage Blackwell steps forward to challenge and spy on the crown. She knows the risks of rebellion - imprisonment or death - and yet, she's still willing to take them to protect her family.
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But when plans unravel, Sage finds herself facing the devils themselves, her sworn enemies, the princes of Aermia.

Tehl Ramses is drowning; crops are being burned, villages pillaged, and citizens are disappearing, leading to a rising rebellion. As crown prince, and acting ruler, Tehl must find a way to crush the rebellion before civil war sweeps through his beloved kingdom.

Tehl will do whatever is necessary to save his people. Yet, his prisoner is not at all what he expects...

Start Reading Rebel's Blade now