6 Signs that you’re OUT OF CONTROL

I’m OUT OF CONTROL – there, I’ve admitted it. Feels better although I know that will be fleeting. What brought on this particular episode? I can’t find an email from an author who asked for an endorsement – and if you are that author, please email me ASAP. I’ve looked through every email received in the last six weeks – nada. I looked through my sent emails – zilch. I looked through deleted emails – same result. WTF, I muttered.

Many of you are aware that being a writer these days is a challenging mission. In fact, there are so many barriers to getting an agent and then to getting published, it’s a wonder any of us remain sane. Most of us blog, we’re on various social media, we collaborate with other authors, we build and execute marketing plans – oh, and did I mention, we write novels?

Here are 6 signs that you’re out of control.

• Your desk is a horror show – piles of papers, a slew of stickies on topics from ‘sign up for Instagram’ to ‘call Mom’ to ‘make sure X character has a hobby’, coffee cups where the residue on the bottom has started to go moldy, empty bags of your favourite snack, an article you clipped out months ago because it was crucial (can’t remember why), a card you intended to send for a friend’s birthday that happened over a week ago, and so on.
• There’s nothing checked off on the To Do list you wrote a month ago. That is if you even find time for such lists. In my former career, such lists used to be part of my daily routine, as did the notebooks I used to capture ideas, document meetings, record commitments and so on. I was a very organized person – emphasis on the past tense.
• You have so many emails in your inbox (or inboxes), you’re thinking of declaring email bankruptcy – yes, there is such a term. My husband did that at least once. But, of course, you’re frantic that there’s at least one life-altering email in the pile.
• You’ve neglected to pay one of the freelancers you rely on and not surprisingly, she’s reluctant to take on any more work for you.
• You’re so pale from being huddled at your desk that your husband, child, best friend, mother (whoever cares about you) thinks you’re seriously ill. Other symptoms of desk huddling are rounded shoulders, a bad back, weight gain and the jittery feeling that comes from too much caffeine.
• You spend waste time on your favourite social media venue instead of tackling critical tasks. This is one of my bugaboos … when I can’t face the challenges, I hop on Facebook. Shaking my head as I admit this.

I’m sure there are more signs, but I haven’t got time to think of them 🙂 Feel free to add your experiences or thoughts in the comments.

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.