November 4, 2024-As authors we need to have systems in place to ensure that we are maximizing our time, efforts, budget, and creativity. But what does that mean and how do we do it? Systems are principles, practices, and procedures that are applied to activities to achieve a specific result. It’s about creating a set of shortcuts that run automatically and things you don’t have to overthink! Let’s see how we can work these into our lives as authors (and if you don’t have systems in place, you’re going to feel overwhelmed, miss valuable opportunities, and waste a ton of time and money):
1) Writing System: A writing system would include things like what day of the week, time of day you carve out for writing, and how long you spend doing it. Other things like how often you release a new title and when those new titles are released should be included in your system too. It’s something that you do routinely, without fail, almost on autopilot. E.g., Monday morning from 9-10 I spend writing. My new title being released is called____and I’ll put out a new title every 6 months.
2) Marketing System: Let’s say every Friday from 9 am -3 pm you do all of your social media posts and schedule them to post the next week. You would decide the type e.g., reel, post, video, live etc., the message, the duration, and content. You should devote a few hours a week to executing your marketing plan, doing the content planning, recording videos/creating posts, and deciding how you will market your book. E.g., Every month we send out 100 direct mail marketing mailers in the form of postcards to local businesses to let them know about our new releases, reach out to various schools to schedule author visits, and look for strategic partnerships with other businesses that would be a good match. You decide on your budget for the month and cycle through various mediums meaning perhaps one month you want to do direct mail, the next month you’ll pay for Google ads, the next month you’ll send out catalogues etc. I plan this for our entire year so we know exactly what we’re doing, when, and how much it will cost. It’s automatic and I don’t have to think about it.
3) Communication System: This type of system focuses on how you will engage with your readers. Will you send out a monthly newsletter? Will you have an automatic landing page come up on your website that captures leads? Will you have an autoresponder on your instant messages? Will you have an automated thank you message that is sent instantly after a customer purchases from you online? Will you send out a yearly holiday card to your contacts thanking them for their support? You get the point. The more automated you make things, the easier you make your life. I like to think of it this way, what can I do to help future Pandamonium Publishing House? What can I do right now to help future Lacey from being overwhelmed? What can I do to help my future self be successful with my writing?
Some people will call this discipline and sticking to a routine. Yes, if that’s how you identify with it, by all means, call it habits, a routine, or whatever else you see it as. One of the quotes that I live by is, “You
won’t always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined.” There are days where you’re going to
be tired, sick, uninspired, out of energy, or just too busy, but THOSE reasons are WHY you must have
systems in place. If any or all of the above things happen, things will run like clockwork, and you’ll still be accomplishing your goals and what you set out to do.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we can support you on your writing journey, please send us an email at pandapublishing8@gmail.com.
Let’S get going
