I’ve been writing for most of my life, going all the way back into middle school. There were some gaps in the post-college years, but it’s been a thing I do for a while. It’s only since 2009 though that I’ve been publishing consistently, morphing it from hobby to a business at the start of 2015. Yes, I’m one of those people who really wants to spend my days being creative with the primary focus on writing.

These days I balance a day job, which I thankfully, mostly enjoy, along with this small business that I’m trying to grow. It’s staggering to me how much there is to do and I find myself juggling so many things that need my attention.

Writing, of course, is at the core of it. Like most writers, I wish all I needed to do was write. Of course, there’s the editing and revisions that go along with writing. Sometimes that goes easy and others it does not. I recently finished up edits for a fall release, and it was one of the most difficult editing periods ever. It’ll make the book better, but that didn’t ease the pain much while I was in the thick of it all.

I’m writing this post a week before you’ll read it. It’s been a difficult week as I find that, despite being a project manager by day, I’m having a terrible time managing my to do list to get done everything I want to. I’m writing, though not as much as I should. I’m also taking an online course to help me market better. I have great fans, but it’s important to find more. It’s fascinating to learn how to get myself in front of potential new readers. I’m making a big push on that over the next few months since I have a new book coming out in May (Somewhere on Mackinac from Dreamspinner press, which you’ll hear more about here on Love Bytes in a few weeks).

Getting ready for a new release has me doing a lot since I’m trying some new tactics with the launch—including some videos. It’s exciting, daunting and educational at the same time. I’d go so far as to say that ninety-nine percent of the time it’s fun too. Sometimes, however, the juggling act makes me crazed—or makes me question what the heck I’m doing.

At the end of the day, this is the life I want so it’s up to me to figure out to schedule my days so that time is devoted to the right activities. It doesn’t always work out. The day job can eat time beyond office hours (luckily that is not routine). Even more important is tackling the exact author activities I should be doing each day whether it’s writing, editing, marketing or learning. Then it’s a matter of battling the distractions, which is a big focus for me in the coming months as I know I waste too much time.

It’s very important this juggling act stay as fun as possible. I’m tremendously lucky to do what I do. When I have a funky day (or days), I try to remember that this is living a dream and that I’m thrilled for the chance. Usually that blows the clouds away (my husband is good at helping get me over the bumps in the road too) and I’m back to looking for ways to juggle better than before.

Before I go… I must wish Dani and Love Bytes Reviews a very happy fourth anniversary! I hope there are many more anniversaries for this terrific blog to celebrate. Cheers!

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Jeff Adams loves hockey, musicals, and watching a good dance—so much so he often incorporates those things into his stories. Speaking of stories, he thinks creating new adventures and characters is a blast. What he loves most, though, is his husband of twenty years, Will. You can learn more about Jeff’s writing at JeffAdamsWrites.com and by listening to Jeff & Will’s Big Gay Fiction Podcast.