Have you ever thought about hiring a ghostwriter? What about a personal assistant?
Do you ever think that maybe you’ve bitten off way more than you can chew, and there’s no realistic way you’re going to tackle all your writing projects, let alone one of them?
Who can you delegate to? And if you can’t delegate to a person, do you have tools to keep everything in order?
I’ve reached a point of ruthlessness in my projects about tracking everything that needs to be done. It’s no longer “Write when you find time.” I’ve got everything broken down into Next Actions. Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Struggling? Maybe it’s time to be a project manager?
Yes, I break tasks down into actions, at least when it comes to my nonfiction work. I send myself “Assignment Update” emails – basically a continuous updateable note with what has to be done and what’s left to be done (like calling an expert, conducting an interview, getting approval from an editor, and definitely the deadlines).
Maybe I should try this approach for fiction. Hmm. Now you’ve got me thinking, Eric.
I’ve been a ghost writer, btw, but I’d never turn down a personal assistant. Coffee! Chocolate! :)
The most successful people delegate. You can’t do everything by yourself. And some writing projects are larger than one person. Even when it’s your project, *especially* when it’s your project, you have to be willing to admit when you’re in above your head. It doesn’t mean you have to scrap things or scale back (although that never hurts), but at the very least you need to change your tactics and find tools or people to help.
There are virtual assistants out there who can be hired by the project. They’re relatively inexpensive because you pay them only for the time they spend on your work. They tend to work for a lot of people at once, and while I’ve never used one myself, I’ve heard that using them always pays off. All work and communication is done via email/phone/mail.
If you’re ever interested, I know of a couple of good sources.
Sure I’m interested! Share them here if you’re comfortable, if not just use my contact form:
http://www.redchurch.com/quantum/contact/
See if I hired someone, I’d end up re-doing it myself cause they just wouldn’t do it right :D
I know picky me :)
I’ll check with my sources. If they feel it’s o.k. to post about them publicly, I’ll be back to the comments. If not, I’ll visit your comment form.
Jennifer, that is a serious issue for anyone doing it. I think there’s a definite skill in how to guide people to produce the results you desire. If you have that skill, then the other half is learning to let go so those people can do their jobs, and not be a micro-managing control freak. But the ultimate test is whether you can get results.
Kristin, thanks for looking into this.
I looked at the “next actions” link. Very interesting, I hadn’t heard of this system before. I tend to procrastinate and make things seem bigger than they are instead of breaking them down into small doable things.
I haven’t gotten to the point where I need to delegate quite yet. That’s a nice problem to have. :)