(LOGO)
Hellooo, everybody! Yes, I am still under the weather. Yes, I still have this thing on my face,
but this probably has something to do with the fact that I'm filming multiple videos in one
day. You don't get over the weather in forty-five minutes. But anywho, my point is bear with me.
Today I'm covering one of your most requested topics, which is how to write a book while going
to college, or working a full time job, or being a parent, without slowly driving yourself insane.
Before I was a full time author and YouTuber, I was a stockbroker and then an accountant, who just
so happened to be writing a book. And that’s how it is for most of us. A vast majority of writers
at least start off working a real job, and writing their book at night and on the weekends. And let
me tell you, it's a bitch. But hey, I've done it, other writers have done it, and I'm here to break
down how you can do it as well. This topic is sponsored by the amazing team over at Skillshare.
Skillshare is an online learning community filled to the brim with over 17,000 classes in creative
writing, design, marketing, business, you name it, they got it. I myself have a class on Skillshare
all about how to market yourself as an author, and I absolutely love their platform. And you guys
know that if Skillshare’s here that means you're not walking away from this video empty handed.
Stick around until the end for details, cuz we got you covered. On top of that my fantasy novel The
Savior's Champion, it's available for pre-order. I'm hosting a massive pre-sale giveaway and I will
be announcing the third winner for that at the end of this video. We got goodies out the ass, it's a
little gross. But first I'm breaking down the ten ways you can make time for writing, despite having
a cluttered, chaotic life. Number One (1): Accept that it's hard. I talk about this stuff with a lot
of people, and the number one response is “But it’s so hard.” I don't know if you know this,
but writing a book is hard, period. Add a full time job, or school, or both on top of that,
and it's batshit. But millions of people still manage to do it all the time, because hard and
impossible are not the same thing. And think about it, what great things in life are easy?
Besides pizza and Taco Bell. All accomplishments involve struggles, so you just gotta decide right
now if this is a struggle you're willing to endure. Number Two (2): Be realistic. You're
juggling multiple burdens at once, so you need to be realistic about the fact that your writing
journey is going to take a long time. If your six year old is home with the flu, your writing isn't
gonna get done that day. If you've got midterms to study for, your writing isn't gonna get done that
week. It's important to hold yourself to strict standards. I always say if you want writing to be
a career, then you gotta treat it like a career. But for God's sake, don't flunk out of school
or get fired because of it. It's not paying your bills yet. And if your writing does take a while,
which it will, cut yourself some slack. It took me five years to write and publish my first novel,
while working a full time job. But it took me half the amount of time to do the same thing,
as a full time author. Shits gonna move slower than you'd like. It's not ideal but you're working
with what you got. Number Three (3): Communicate. A lot of writers don't like telling people about
their work. And that's cool, you don't have to shout from the rooftops. But if you don't at least
tell your friends and close family, how do you expect them to respect your writing time? They're
not gonna understand why you're not available to hang out as often as you used to be. And even when
you do tell people, guess what? They might not give a shit. So depending on the circumstance,
you might have to communicate your standards firmly. “Like I said, I won't be able to go
clubbing with you tonight. Please respect my decision, Grandma.” Let the people in your life
know your needs, so they can help accommodate you during your writing journey. Number Four (4): Make
reasonable sacrifices. If you work eight hours a day I've got good news for you, there’s still
sixteen hours left to write. The bad news is, some of those hours are accounted for. Like for eating,
sleeping, general hygiene, and basically living a semi tolerable existence. If you wanna squeeze
writing a book into those sixteen hours, you're gonna have to make some sacrifices. Do you watch
twenty shows on Netflix? Now you're only gonna watch two. Do you grab a drink with the boys
once a week? Make that once a month. If this sounds extreme, you are in for a rude awakening,
cuz I haven't hung out with friends in years. What are friends? Seriously, what are they? It
sounds shitty until you consider the fact that I've turned my passion into a career, and I'm
living my dream. Take a look at your habits and be honest about what's more important to you:
writing your book, or binge watching The Walking Dead. The more meaningful tasks should probably
take up more of your time, don't you think? Number Five (5): Keep a schedule. The key to managing a
million obligations at once is to keep yourself organized. Some people like calendars, some like
planners, I myself, am a list lady. You know those quarterly goal videos I put out? I created that
system back in college so I can help manage my passions alongside my full workload at school,
and at my job. And it's not just a quarterly goal lists. I keep a monthly to-do list, a weekly to-do
list, and a daily to-do list. This may sound like a lot, but I accomplish a shit ton. Seriously,
I am on fire. And I seriously could not handle the workload of writing a book on top of, I don't
know, going to school or being a mom, if I didn't have lists to keep me on track. Oh and by the way,
if something's on your to-do list, do it. You wrote it there for a reason after all. Unless
your house is on fire, or your balls are on fire, or pretty much anything is on fire. Stick to your
schedule, you'll be glad you did. Number Six (6): Be strategic. Sometimes you're gonna be
in situations where you have the time to work on your writing, but you may not have the energy, the
proper resources, or the ability to write. When I was an accountant, sometimes I'd get my work done
and I'd have a long stretch of downtime. It sounds like the perfect opportunity to write, except for
the fact that I'd probably get fired for writing about violence and bloodshed on the company
computer. Instead, I read articles about the publishing industry. I'd read blogs about plotting
and structure. If you're driving you could be listening to audiobooks within your genre. What
if you're home from work after a hard day and you have the time to write, but you just don't have
the energy? Do you have the energy to connect with other writers on social media instead? Don't let
any free time go to waste. Be strategic about every opportunity you have, and make it work.
Number Seven (7): Compartmentalize. Sometimes your windows of opportunity are really small:
a half hour in study hall, a ten minute work break. When this happens, break up your tasks into
smaller chunks and shove them right into those breaks. This is one of the things I love about
Skillshare, all their classes are divided into smaller parts, ten minutes at a max. And so it's
really easy to get them to fit into your schedule. You can literally start and finish an entire
writing course during your breaks at work. And not only just compartmentalizing your to-do items,
get things done a lot quicker, but it also makes them a lot less overwhelming. It's so much easier
to take an hour-long Skillshare class knowing you only have to watch it in ten minute intervals,
versus having to sit through the whole thing at once. Break up your goals into easily digestible
parts, and they'll go down a lot smoother. Number Eight (8): Implement rewards. Sometimes,
especially if you've been working all day, the last thing you wanna do, is work some more. That's
when you gotta treat yourself. If I finish reading this chapter, I get to reward myself with a slice
of cake, or a slice of cheese, or a slice of cheesecake. I've also found ways to reward myself
with more work, but it's fun work. If I finish my outline, I get to reward myself with a writing
class on Skillshare. If I finish these line edits, I get to reward myself by binge watching Jenna
Moreci’s channel. Hi there. Find ways to provide a light at the end of the tunnel. That way the
journey won't feel like such a fucking nightmare. Number Nine (9): Find a cheer squad, or a drill
sergeant, or both. Back in my early writing days I was surrounded by people who would say things
like, “You don't have to work today if you don't want to. Taking a break is healthy.” I don't need
health advice. I need someone who's going to hold me accountable while I write this fucking book.
Everyone needs people in their corner to cheer them on. “Yes, finish that chapter. I believe
in you.” And everyone else needs an asshole to whip them into shape for their own good. “Quit
your whining and get to typing. Less lip flapping, more keyboard tapping. I wanna see those fingers
bleed!” “But Jennaaa, I don't have supportive friends.” What if I told you the internet is a
thing that exists, and you're utilizing it right now. You can easily meet other writers in forums
and on social media. And I see students in my Skillshare class connecting with one another
and encouraging each other constantly. These people are out there. You just gotta find ‘em,
and hand them some pompoms, or a whip. And Number Ten (10): Take advantage of resources. If you've
got a full time job, I'm guessing you don't have the time to enroll in a creative writing course at
your local college, or visit every writing event in your neighborhood. Good thing you don't have
to do any of those things in order to become a successful author. Take advantage of the resources
around you. There are libraries filled with books about agents and publishing. There are blogs and
YouTube channels devoted to the craft of writing. Like this one right here. And there are thousands
of classes on Skillshare taught by New York Times bestsellers, career authors, self starters,
and entrepreneurs. This is about working smarter, not harder. Your time is already limited. So
utilize the resources available to you that most easily fit into your schedule. So that's all I
got for you today. Just kidding. There's more. You came for prizes, and I'm here to give you prices.
The Savior's Champion is currently available for pre-order and you guys have been gobbling it up,
which is amazing. I am so grateful. I told the folks that Skillshare about my presale giveaway
and they were super excited about it, and wanted in on the action. Skillshare is a great platform
for learning especially for creators like you and me. Premium membership gives you unlimited
access to high quality classes, and it's way more affordable than most learning platforms.
I believe an annual subscription is less than ten bucks a month. However, Skillshare is giving away
one year of Skillshare premium for FREE to a lucky winner who pre-ordered The Savior's Champion, and
entered my presale giveaway. And the winner is, this person. Congratulations. Thank you so much
for supporting TSC, and I know you're going to love Skillshare. To everyone else, I'm not trying
to leave you hanging. Cyborg Queen don't play that shit. Skillshare is offering two months of
Skillshare premium for just 99 cents to the first 500 people who sign up. I've got the link listed
below. Get in on that shit that is two months worth of access to tens of thousands of classes,
for less than a dollar. A huge thank you to Skillshare for supporting The Savior's Champion,
and for always doing right by my audience. And a huge thank you to you guys for rallying behind my
channel and my writing. With that said, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new
videos on Mondays and Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell. If
you wanna read an awesome book and have access to tons of prizes, pre-order The Savior’s Champion
and enter my pre-sale giveaway. All the links are below. And be sure to follow me on social
media. I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, and of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!