GUEST BLOG: A Typical Writing Day by B.A. Bellec and SOMEONE’S STORY

Coming of Age Giveaway Guest Blog Young Adult/Teen

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One of the most important skills you can learn, no matter what field of work you are in, is how to manage your time. As an employer, you are going to want employees that can deal with prioritizing and being punctual. Those are two of the most important pieces of managing time. Mix in a schedule and you are basically a time expert.

You need to be prepared whether you are writing a book, marketing, doing a tax return. There needs to be a structure to how you finish your tasks. Time is a variable you can control. Make it your friend instead of your enemy by putting deadlines on yourself and working backwards.

Right now I am breaking my time as follows:

1-2 Hours of Social Media/Email
- This is my daily work health check
- I respond to new messages, tags
- Try to post new content
- Try and find new followers
- Review my website and my links to ensure everything is working
- Review emails for any priority communications
- Check-in with my collaborators
1-2 Hours of Marketing
- I have a spreadsheet with all my potential leads for Bloggers, Bookstragrammars, BookTubers, and book websites
- Try to reach out to a few every couple of days
- Look into big connections: awards, agents, publishers, big review partners
- Create content to bridge between novel releases: new songs, book reviews, blog posts
4-6 Hours of Writing, Brainstorming, Editing, Reading
- Depending on where I am in the process, I usually break this into two 3 hour blocks
- I separate the blocks with a chore, jog, or dog walk

I have no “employer” but I treat my writing/marketing like a job and generally do this 6 days per week. I will leave this schedule to deal with social events with family/friends, high priority opportunities, or ride a creative wave, but that will only be for a few days at most.

Breaks are also important. It’s good for creativity and perspective to step away. I take long breaks. When I do my 3 hours chunks, sometimes I will watch an entire move between them, or go for a 2-hour dog walk. It makes the day long but I feel the second writing block of 3 hours is often extremely fruitful because I stepped away before I exhausted myself and let the ideas simmer. When I sit back down I almost always flow state about 500 words instantly.

During the summer I start my days around 5:30 with a coffee and a walk (sometimes a jog). Not a big breakfast eater. By 7:00 I am usually working and I spend about 3 hours doing the marketing side. Then I take my first break. I do a chore and then grab a little snack/meal. When I start back up it is my first writing block and after I feel I have hit a good stopping point or a creative wall, I will take my longer break. Once ready, I get back to work for the afternoon. If I am feeling the task, I will do an extra 3-hour block after dinner. If not, I then usually watch something on Netflix or I read.

I am currently writing my second novel, Pulse. I have been sticking to a routine like this basically since COVID-19 started and I have another month or so until I am ready to beta. Then I will set new goals and work backwards, scheduling the various milestones.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In his debut endearing coming-of-age book, B.A. Bellec writes about a group of weirdos that find and save each other from the dark depths of their minds. Someone’s Story is literally Someone’s story, as in a first-person narrative of a teenager that calls himself Someone. As he struggles to ﬁnd a new footing in a new space, we encounter the many ups and downs of modern teenage life, the diﬃculties that adjusting to adult feelings bring, and a few tear-jerking surprises along the way.

Littered with music, mental health, friendship, loss, meditation, advice, pop culture, and even inspiring an EP, there is so much nostalgia, inspiration, and depth here it is hard to absorb it all. Cozy up somewhere warm and enjoy!