My Writing Schedule

 I thought it might be interesting/useful to beginning writers to see the schedule of other writers. The thing many people don't realise is that most of writing is in the marketing of your books, and my schedule reflects that (although I am still learning this side of writing if I'm honest). So here is my schedule:

Breakfast: While I eat breakfast with my son I do my Instagram posts for the day. One photo with a caption and 7-8 Stories. I find different people interact with Stories than with regular posts. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Morning: I hang out with my son so I put my mind off my work. I sometimes check in on my social accounts if my son is wanting to play without me.

Lunch: This is also time dedicated to my son.

Early-Afternoon: My son goes for a 1.5-2 hour nap, so I use this time for more marketing. While he sleeps I interact with people on Instagram and TikTok. I try to limit this to half his nap time, then I spend the rest of the time reading ebooks on my phone. Reading widely is an essential part to writing as well that is often overlooked.

Mid-Afternoon: My son and I have a snack and a play.

Late-Afternoon: From 5-6pm I plop my son in front of the tv (I hate that I have to do this!), and while most people are cooking dinner, I sit on my laptop next to my son and do the admin side of writing. I reply to emails, send invoices and consignment invoices, check sales, organise promotions, write blog posts etc. If I don't set aside time for this stuff it builds up, I put it off, and bookstores lose track of my books. It also eats into my writing time if I'm not careful.

Evening: Family time

As you can see, no writing!

BUT

Wednesdays 6pm-8pm: Dedicated, no interruptions, no compromise writing. Seriously, do not interrupt me during this time. I will not give this time up for anything. I usually write 1500-2000 words during this time.

11pm + : Once my son is asleep I sometimes read for an hours, but sometimes I can write small pieces, such as charater development scenes. I find that some days I am less foggy headed than others.

On weekends I also try to get another hour or so of writing. When a book is near completion I will send my husband and son away and I will spend the entire weekend reading through my book in one sitting.

So, there you go, my writing schedule. Progress is slow but steady and so different than it was before I had my son. However, I have adapted and made the huge lifestyle change work for my.

How does this compare to your writing schedule? Were there any surprises in here?