Where does the time go?

Word Wranglers is happy to welcome erotica author Cheryl Brooks today. She gives us a new look at time management. Welcome, Cheryl.

I recently cut back my hours at my real job, working 3 twelve-hour night shifts a week in the ICU, thinking I’d have all the time in the world to write, but I’m finding that there are still only 24 hours in a day. I started this new schedule the second week in December, and though it was nice to have the extra time to prepare for Christmas, I was a little worried about the money aspect. Believe it or not, mid-list authors like myself do not exactly bring home the bacon! At least, not like nurses do. Scheduling myself for one night a week made a huge difference in my paycheck, and also the time I had to write…at first.

Then the weather turned warm. I’d given up on a lot of yard and barn duties—we have 30 acres and two horses—but with the lovely weather and the extra time, I found myself doing things I hadn’t done in years. The paddock around the barn now looks like a lawn. The fence row is clear of wild roses and last year’s weeds. The concrete drainage ditch around the barn is as pristine as it was the day it was finished.

But have I written anything? It doesn’t seem like it—at least, not as much as I’d hoped to write. I finished the manuscript for The Cat Star Chronicles: Wildcat on time, even sent it in early, but I’d intended to have another self-published novel up on Amazon and B & N by the time Stud (book 8 in the CSC series) came out in February. No such luck. I’m also in the process of rewriting some early manuscripts, converting them from first person to third—not an easy task, by the way—and adding new characters and situations to link three of those stand-alone books into a series. I’ve done so much revising, I might as well have started from scratch—something else that takes time.

Somewhere along the way, the group of erotica authors who called themselves The Sextet (of which I was one) disbanded, leaving me with an unpublished story that was one of the hottest things I’d ever written. So I submitted it to Siren as a solo act, and they agreed to publish it. I’ve already been through the edits and revisions and one version of the cover that I hated and one that I loved, but the release date always seemed so far away. Not anymore. Time has eluded me once again, and the release date is today! I’ll tell you about it, but first, let me warn you, it is NOT for the faint of heart!

The Sextet Presents… Small, Medium, and Large: A Toy Story
By Cheryl Brooks

Passion ignites when Toby Lawrence meets Renee Swarovskiin a sex toy shop. But when he introduces her to his roommate, LanceSvahnstrom, she uncovers the latent attraction between the two men. She’s fallen for both of them, but will they need her now that they have each other?

Have you ever thought you had all the time in the world to complete a task, only to find yourself scrambling to finish it as the deadline approaches? I’m giving away a PDF of Small, Medium, and Large and a print copy of Stud today. For your chance to win, tell us your tales of timely woe. I’m sure everybody has at least one! Two winners will be drawn, one for each book.

I love to hear from readers!

Website: cherylbrooksonline.com
Email: cheryl.brooks52@yahoo.com
Twitter: @CherylCatMaster
Facebook: Cheryl Brooks
Blog: Cheryl Brooks Erotic Blogspot

Comments

  1. Cheryl, I totally get where you're coming from! I have nothing but timely woes right now--trying to get a giant editing gig finished while at the same time helping Husband get our yard into shape before we go up to the summer place and open up. We really thought we'd be opening sometime in late March, but there is no time!! I'm a freelancer, so I have to take work when it's offered, even if that means doing three projects at one time. Unfortunately, writing has taken a back seat to the paying gigs, although I keep forgetting that my writing is currently also a paying gig. But it's not going to replace the editing anytime soon as the main source of income. We do what we have to do, don't we? Things will all work out.

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    1. Kudos to you on the summer place! I can't imagine trying to keep up with two houses. Simply could not do it! I'm finding that writing is taking a back seat to the yard work at the moment, particularly since I don't have a deadline to meet. Must take advantage of the time while I have it!

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  2. What an interesting topic and post today, Cheryl! I've got an ambitious to-do list today (don't we all). The first thing that comes to mind for "Where did the time go" is in dealing with my kids. I could find numerous examples in my writing, just nothing real specific. And I would say there's a flip side to your work story. I added a job of just a couple hours a day and at first, I really missed that time. Now, I think I'm more efficient because of that commitment. To a point, being busier actually helps me. It holds procrastination at bay.

    Back to kids. i have a senior in high school. How did this happen? And just senior year has flown by. What happened to all the time I had to plan a phenomenal graduation reception (not that I really would have, but I can dream!). And what happened to that big college fund I had all that time to accumulate. lol

    I'd LOVE to win Stud. I've heard so much about it. I think the erotica is not my speed. Sorry.

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    1. You're right about being more efficient when you're busier; I'm the same way. However, never having ANY downtime was about to do me in. I feel much better now.
      Good luck with the graduation plans!

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  3. that is *so* true, Cheryl! When I was still working in TV I worked a weird 4-day schedule. And I should've been able to get a LOT accomplished on those 3 off days...but life got in the way - a lot. I'll admit I let life get in the way sometimes, too. It's definitely a balancing act...one I'm still trying to perfect - even though I'm a full-time mom, feelance writer and romance novelist.

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    1. Whenever I would work three nights in a row, it would take the next day to recover, so it was more like working 4 nights. Plus, the nap prior to the first night stole a lot of my time. The hours you actually work aren't the only ones involved, are they?

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  4. Welcome to WW! Time? Where does it go? I work three days a week, and boy, you'd think that would give me pleny of writing time. Not with a farm and 14 horses, it doesn't. Time just flies away.

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    1. Thanks, Ann!
      I used to have five horses. Two are much easier to manage. I can't imagine looking after 14 of them! My hat's off to you!

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  5. Thanks for coming today, Cheryl. I know my time after I retired filled up very quickly for the simple reason that I want to to do everything I never had time to before. I enjoy it immensely, but there aren't nearly enough hours to go around!

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    1. Thanks for inviting me, Liz!
      That's part of what's been happening to me. All the things I've missed doing have quickly taken up the extra time. Extra time is like a vacuum, something nature abhors.

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  6. Cheryl, since I retired I have so much more free time. But I seem to do less and less of the tasks I hated. Housework. And concentrate more on the things I love. Reading, Gardening, Cooking, FB, Roleplaying, Reading Blogs, Googling, and last but not least, going to workout at Curves. And you know, I love to read your work. I have the books. So you don't need to enter my name.

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    1. Good for you, Donna! No sense spending your retirement scrubbing floors! Rock on!

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  7. Nice to meet a fellow nurse turned writer here. I know about those 12 hour shifts, I used to do three twelves when I worked in oncology at one of the hospitals here. Now it's eight hours a day, five days a week, and I don't know where all my time goes. I suppose if I spent less time procrastinating, I'd get more done,lol. Your book sounds interesting, and the cover is drool worthy!

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    1. Thanks, Shawn! Not sure I'd ever want to go back to five 8 hour days a week. I would if I had to, but....
      Good luck in the drawing!

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  8. wow your book look great and then jobs come first they bring in the money but the yard and animal are inportant love the cover of the books

    desi the blonde at msn dot com

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    1. Thanks, Desi! I guess it's all important, even our own downtime. Good luck in the drawing!

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  9. I'm starting staycation tomorrow---nine days off just to write and hopefully finish my book for the third time or at least make a pretty big dent in the rewrite. I might throw in a movie or two--and if the sun shines and dries up my lawn, I might even mow.

    there are things to do that I keep avoiding--like windows. My windows are starting to look like the hick in My Cousin Vinnie. What's that smudgy stuff on the window? Dirt.--

    Good luck with your books, your writing, and your scheduling!

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    1. Hi Margie!
      Cleaning windows was another thing I'd been avoiding. I finally cleaned my kitchen window--which is actually two windows side by side--and I couldn't believe the difference. It was worth the entire morning I spent doing it.
      Thanks for commenting!

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