E D I T O R N O T E S
Oh time, please go away. I often say this silent prayer but
it never seems to work. Time is always there, pounding at me
with a hammer as strong as Thor's. It's always that drumbeat
that has me running all over the place to please someone other
than myself. It is that clap of thunder that announces I'm
not doing enough, I'm not there, I haven't arrived yet.
Even in dreams time is simply an interesting compression that
makes things illogical and, at times, pleasurable. But then we
wake up and time is waiting for us like a killer.
More writers lose weight sweating at deadlines than all the
jogging they may do. Both freelance and staff writers are
under the intense, unusual pressure of deadlines. Things go wrong.
Choas erupts in the center of a mundane day. A trusted link in
a chain of resource a writer depends on breaks and the whole
thing is transformed into a noose around his neck.
Often it's simply the writer's lack of structure that gets
in the way of using time to her advantage.
As in a writing style, the rhythm of working belongs to each
individual writer. Experience is a good teacher here.
Somewhere between over-planning and not-planning a writer
finds her rhythm.
It's important to know how long a project is going to take
to complete. And an experienced writer will anticipate the
X factor that throws a small bomb dead center into the best
laid of plans.
- How long does it take to get into a research database and
find what you want?
- How long does it take to contact a potential interviewee, get a
response, set up the interview, and then execute it?
- How long does writing a rough draft take?
- How long does the revision take?
- How long does proofing take?
- How long does it take to make queries to editors and get a response?
These questions and more go into making a decent plan of
time management for writers. Get at least one project under
your belt and then deconstruct it so that you can see the
discreet aspects of the project. You don't need a precise
number of seconds each part takes, simply get a feeling
for it. Put a number down as a general rule of thumb and
adjust it as you get more experience.
This is good to do for two distinct reasons. One is that
it creates discipline and helps make time an ally. And
second it enables the writer to know how much a potential
project is truly worth. If a project is offered for $200
and you know you can do it in two hours, then you will
know you have a pretty good gig. If you take the project and
it ends up using ten precious hours, was it worth it?
* * * * * * * *
Ten effective tips from Michael Pollock. "It's not time management.
It's self management. You can't control time and so, you certainly
can't manage it. You get as much time as anyone else. You CAN control
yourself - what you be and do in each moment of time. In the words
of English poet, Austin Dobson, "Time goes, you say? Ah, no! Alas,
time stays, we go."
Poynter has sage advice for the writer and his management
of time.
Time-management tips from Time-Management-Guide.com. I do recommend
this site if you want to delve into the subject further.
A U.K. group has a neat summary of this skill of managing
time. It's not rocket science and nearly all the experts and
their systems say the same thing. Identify time-wasters,
prioritize, have a plan, monitor yourself, and execute.
Tips for the home-based freelancer by Jean Hanson. It's
almost as though you have to hear the same advice over and
over until you finally make it your own practice.
Books can be helpful but then the books are usually written
by people who are selling their time management systems and
you either buy into their system, their buzz words, or you
don't. The most effective time management books are short
and sweet.
By the time you start to consult them you are completely
fed up with your slovenly ways and want an "expert" to
tell you what to do. The experts are there, waiting for
you.
Almost all of them say the same basic things.
The book I consult is by Robert Moskowitz called, "How To
Organize Your Work and Time," published in 1993.
One thing he mentions is especially true of the writer. That
is, you can increase your effectiveness when the desk is free of
clutter. "You don't have to live with your relations to
remember who they are do you? Why believe you must
constantly view all your projects to keep it in mind?"
It's one of the generic topics of time-management experts:
Keep the desk clean of clutter! And I look at my own desk
while writing this and see nine (9) binders piled up
haphazardly, printed out schedules, sections of three-day
old newspapers, unopened mail, a pair of sunglasses, a cell
phone, pens, CD's, and a few more odd items that never seem
to disappear.
I'm not proud of this and the only thing that saves me is
that I do so much work on the computer that faces away from
the desk.
And it's no shock I find this same problem creeping up on
the computer desktop. Everytime I turn the beast on there
are the files and folders telling me they need attention.
Letting things pile up is a bad habit like smoking. It's
hard to break. But, working to break the habit makes life
good. The skies open up to new possibilities.
A writer likes to believe he is not a corporate manager
where "time-management" smacks of Haliburton or ATT.
But the reasonable question to ask is, "why wouldn't you
want your projects to be as successful as ones at Haliburton,
especially if you have no cronies in the White House to
help you along?"
As with most simple human problems it is stupid pride that gets in
the way of doing the right thing.
* * * * * * * *
According to T.L. Stanley, "Time management is a process directed
toward analyzing work and the time it takes to complete various
assignments."
Simple enough Mr. Stanley. But writers are in a special
category for two reasons. One is that they work irregular
hours on a variety of projects and secondly they are usually
exposed to vastly more information than average people.
One of the attractions to the writing life is that the
writer doesn't check in at eight or nine in the morning,
work a straight eight-hour day, with break and lunch, then
goes home free of the burden. A writer is usually working
all the time, especially the contract writer who has a
business to run. Within that twenty-four hour period the
writer has flexibility about the ways her time is used. If
she is most productive working between three in the morning
and six in the morning then she will find that spot and keep
it as her own.
Writers are experts in sorting through information and
making it work for them. This too is part of time-management.
Unfortunately, the Web has introduced the clutter of e-mail
spam and pop-up ads. However, the real problem is if the
writer doesn't have the discipline to cut away all the rich
resources he encounters on any given writing project to
focus on only the essential. That is important to establish
before the start of a new project.
Limit the searching on the Net to a precise phrase you
write at the top of a clean sheet of paper!
[S o m e T i p s]
- Leave 20%-50% of your time unscheduled. In other words, don't
overplan. You know what you need to get done. Don't drive yourself
nuts.
- Work to a firm deadline. "Deadline" comes from the practice of
shooting military prisoners who used to cross a well-marked line.
We like to think we are honorable and not prisoners but it is
good to treat deadlines with respect. I use a simple sheet of
paper that I print out each month labeled with the things I need
to get done and the dates, 1 -31 along the left column. I know that at the end of the
month I have to produce Sunoasis X, among other things. This is
an effective goad since I can mark off my progress as I go.
- Reverse engineer your projects to figure out how to move from the
finished project back to the beginning of the project. This can initiate
a spurt of creative energy.
- Break up the day. Just a few minutes will do it. If you have a
grove of trees nearby simply walk in them for five minutes. It
will feel like five hours and allow you to feel refreshed. Or, take
a short cat nap of fifteen minutes. It's amazing what this little
activity can do for your productivity.
- Make a boundary of time by doing something "all your own" every day. In my
case I alwasy write in a file called "The Writing Life," about my
early days of writing. It is not a writing project, it simply
throws against the screen some thoughts and impressions of a time
that would, otherwise, disappear. By doing this or writing in a
daybook, one has said, "professional time will not enter into here."
Such small acts save one at times.
- Clip interesting articles when you read them and throw everything
else away.
- Designate two or three times a year to re-think your system and
toss out old files and paper.
- Prepare templates for common kinds of correspondence.
- Hire a part-time assistant. Check out how to hire an intern from
the local college.
- Learn to use whatever free time you have productively.
Some of these tips were suggested by a 1995 article in Home Office
Computing by Don Wallace.
[ CODA ]
Time can be divided between the sacred and the profane.
Even while working we can niche out little shrines and enter
for brief respites. Think of a shrine as a boundary constructed
on a modest path in a glint-shaded meadow. It is quiet and
while in it you reconnect with who you are and where you want
to get to.
You reconnect with that secret to happiness, simple
appreciation.
Even in the world of writing, time-management is often the
skill of moving from one world to the next and back again.
We are in the flow of time and the more we know it and
make it an ally, the better off our efforts will be.
"If you can manage your time without a boss looking over your
shoulder, then your chances of succeeding in a home business have
just improved. If not, don't quit your day job. Yet." So says
Patrice Lewis in Countryside Journal. That's the nexus of it.
Everyone has twenty-four hours. Can you manage those to your
advantage so that you end up with the sort of life you envision
for yourself?
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=========================
R E S O U R C E N
O T E S
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For Freelancers Only:
Tips and sound advice about freelancing overseas.
Writing for a Living. The author contemplates the difficult deed.
According to the Telegraph of the U.K., publishing will never
be the same. It is changing more dramatically than in all the last
500 years. Yes, I seem to remember saying that about nine years
ago. Which, in terms of the internet is about 500 years.
=========================
=========================
B u s i n e s s o f W r i t i n g :
This article is about Lulu and other new self-publishing companies.
An astounding 91,000 new titles have been published by Lulu in the
past year, according to this article. Despite some reservations
about it one can only admire the way in which the system builds
flexibility into itself. Horay for the free people!
Some of the most important writing you will do are simple things easy
to overlook, like cover letters. This site has many good resources on
how to do them for a variety of purposes.
David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker and Pulitzer Prize winner, offers
the best summation of the "war between blogs and print." The core of it
is this, "I don’t underestimate the value of opinion writing or
blogging or any of the rest. But the discovery of things that we
don’t know seems to me to be an essential act of living in a democracy."
Read the interview.
If you're a literary writer read this sobering analysis from
the marketing director of Copper Canyon Press.
Another review of the publishing process from the NY Times (registration).
The author of this essay outlines the ways and means of getting a
book, especially of a fictional type, successfully through the literary
system. Could it be that the Net is the new literary system for those
works and authors who want to develop a distinctive voice and stories
the mass market may not be ready for?
=========================
=========================
W r i t e r O r g a n i z a t i o
n s :
The Academy of American Poets
National Endowment for the Arts
Words of a Woman Net Society
International Press Association
Overseas Press Club of America
Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
Periodical Writers Association of Canada
======================
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M A R K E T S A N D L E A D S
Here is an index of writer
guidelines.
JOBS
Bilingual Senior Editor
University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural
Resources
Davis, CA
The University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural
Resources seeks a bilingual Senior Editor. $41,712 - $56,310.
Responsibilities include
- Assessing
- Copyediting
- Proofreading
- Overseeing production and freelance translations of printed and
electronic books, publications and other materials written in
- English and Spanish.
Full Ad Here.
Writer
Sheboygan, WI
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, located in Sheboygan, WI is
seeking a talented writer to join our audience development/marketing
team.
Responsibilities include writing, proofreading, and editing the Arts
Center's marketing materials including newsletters, press releases,
media pitch letters, feature stories, advertising copy, invitations,
flyers, posters, brochures, etc., coordinating the development of
marketing projects and ensuring that the copy incorporated into
all program materials and promotions is clear, accurate, intelligent,
and reflects the voice of the Arts Center.
Full Ad here.
Editors
Taichung, Taiwan
All People Publishing Looking For Skilled Editors
All People Publishing is located in beautiful central Taiwan, in a
city called Taichung. We focus on the production of English
educational books and magazines and their studio broadcast and
filming.
We are looking for candidates for FULL-TIME positions as Editors.
Writing and broadcasting/filming work also available for suitable
candidates. North American accent preferred.
Full Ad here.
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Job Links for new
leads!
If you have any suggestions about markets you want guidelines
for, just drop a line
A T C/ O A S I S
My Gift To Cindy
by Mike Markel
Would you think me insufferable if I begin by stating I am extraordinarily good at
what I do? Spoken by a young person, such a claim might smack of vanity, and you
would be excused for concluding that the speaker is probably mistaken.
Days Without Whites
by Vivian Yang.
The year was 1972. I was eight. The world was as outlandish a place then
as it is now. Shanghai was no exception.
Three Poems by
Lamont Palmer
Reflections on Possible Waywardness
A
Tilghman Island Tale
Picnic
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Hey, we even have a new literary newsletter and you can get it
free if you
click here!
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C O M M U N I T Y
Solstice Summer Writers' Conference
Pine Manor College
Chestnut Hill, MA
June 16 - June 24, 2006
Nebraska Summer Writer's Conference
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
June 17 -June 23, 2006
New York State Summer Writers' Institute
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
July 3 - July 28, 2006
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT
August 16 - August 27, 2006
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
Want to keep Sunoasis going? Donate through the Amazon
Honor System and wonderful things will happen!
Thanks to Steven Evans for his generous contribution. Thanks
Steven! He is an editor and has a splendid web site here:
www.the-freelance-editor.com
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F Y I
Put an ad in Sunoasis 2006 and reach its 4,400 subscribers. Just
$25 a month! Contact mailto:eide491@earthlink.net
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PUT YOUR BEST PHRASE FORWARD!
All writers need a third eye
before submitting a manuscript for consideration and I happen to
have TWO eagle eyes, ready to go to work for you, 24/7. Click here for this
great service!
* * * * * * * *
Complement your Entertainment Pages with Vançon
International Press VIP offers a choice selection of
interviews and portraits of internationally-known movie stars,
at very attractive rates.
* * * * * * * *
Sunoasis--You're amazing! A mere five hours after I sent in the
text for my classified ad I got a call for a writing project, and
within two days, the project was mine. Thanks so much for your
invaluable services! Debbie Lerman, freelance writer
http://www.sunoasis.com/classif.html
E T C/ E T C/ E T C
Editor/Publisher: David Eide
C/Oasis
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Keep up on the latest in e-publishing and other writing
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subscribing to Sunoasis 2006. It's once a month in your e-mail box
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do if you have any advice; anything you'd want to see put into
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David
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