5 Tips to Deal with Burnout

Watching the sun rise. Your day in the sun will come again.

Watching the sun rise. Your day in the sun will come again.

I finished writing the first draft of my next book in the Cinderella's Secret Diaries series and I have a secret to share: I'm tired of writing the series and need a break. After more than 3 years of working on books, blog posts, training for half and full marathons, I am burned out and have come to a decision. I will be taking a break for about a week or two and will focus on doing the things that I haven't been able to make time to do.

If you've reached that burned out point, here are some tips to help you:

Admit You're Burned Out

I have a hard time with this because I tend to grab onto a task and wrestle it to the ground, refusing to give up. But here I am, tired and sick of writing. I've made it through the first draft of my latest novel and I'm stepping away. I know I have a lot of work left to do, will need to do major reconstructive surgery on draft 2, and to get to a better creative place I'm simply allowing myself to admit the truth. I'm tired. I do not feel like writing my book anymore. The simple act of letting go and admitting how I feel has helped me in the past. It's allowed to me to get in touch with what I'm not happy with and find ways to get back on track. You can do the same.

Redirect Your Energy

My writing schedule is fairly simple: I get up between 5 a.m. or 5:30 a.m. and write before work. I do this on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The rest of the week I run and train for my next race. By giving myself off from working on my latest novel, this allows me to work on blogging, maybe I'll do some freelance writing, journal writing. And what a scandal: I might choose to simple read and focus on something different. The important thing is to take the time that you used to put toward writing and trying something different. This does not mean to stop all writing, but try a different kind of writing. Flex your muscles.

Be Creative and Try Something New

I have a really crazy idea. I have been meaning to do this for almost two months now but with raising kids, working, writing, running, well, there is just never enough time. Until now. By giving myself some time off, you'll be able to try another creative project. What do I want to do? I want to learn how to play the ukulele. Sounds wacky, right? Two months ago I traveled to San Diego for a social media conference and I met a fellow attendee during a networking session who shared with me that she and her husband love playing the ukulele. I have wanted to try my hand at a musical instrument for many years now, but I've not made the time. I'm hoping my entire family will benefit and we'll sit around and sing and listen to music. If this sounds corny to you, then find something that you've always wanted to do and do it!

Exercise Frees the Mind

I learned a little more than four years ago (yeah, I'm a late learner) that regular exercise helps me deal with stress, problems and inspires me to be more creative. I have taken to running and biking. However, during my time off, I'd like to focus on building up my core to become a better runner. I'm happy with my performance as a runner, but I know that I could be faster if I spent more time in training and building up my core muscles. My goal is to have fun with exercise and to take the time to be thankful that I have come from doing no exercise four years ago to becoming a long distance runner who has completed two marathons. Getting in touch with yourself on a long run is a great way to clear the cobwebs.

Say What You Feel

This is hard for me to write, but I must. I am not happy with the first draft of my latest book. I am not happy with the plot, where some of the characters go, with some of the characters that I created and the book in general. I hate parts. I slogged through writing it over five months and I feel that I've taken too long, wasted a lot of time and that only a very small portion of the 78,000+ words is good. Have you ever felt this way? If you're a writer, you probably have. I believe that these emotions that I'm feeling are warning signs. They are signs that I need to take a break, take a step back and to express how I feel and after some time I'll get back into writing my book.

I am so frustrated with the lack of time I have to spend on writing, but, at the same time, I'm just damn tired of working on my current book. I'm sick of how wimpy the main character is and the horrible choices she's making and how the book is just driven off a cliff and burst into flames. Do I exaggerate? This is the key to getting back on track: Allow yourself some distance from your work. Take a step back, focus on other writing and other things in life and then revisit. With some distance, I'll then be able to return and sift through the 78,000 words I've written and throw out the dirty water but keep the baby. And then, I'll rewrite and rebuild. You can do the same.

Better Days Are Coming

I have written five books now and have three published. I will allow myself this break as can you. Take the break to do other writing. No matter if it's a blog, journal, poetry, film reviews--whatever floats your boat. Just do it and soon you'll be back on track. Trust yourself and allow yourself to feel why you're so disgusted with the writing you're working on. Take a step back, recharge and then come back. It'll be okay. Really.

What It Takes to Succeed

Yesterday I ran my fourth Philadelphia Broad Street Run which is a 10 mile race through the streets of Philadelphia. I had decided not to run this year because the organizers had made the race a lottery with so many people trying to enter it. There's around 40,000 people who run the race and this year was no exception. With my mind set on other races, I decided that I did not want to run Broad Street and deal with a lottery and then the Boston Marathon bombings happened.

I admit that I became swept up in national pride. I wanted to run Broad Street, wear my red socks, and help raise money for a charity. Within 12 hours of my posting an "Anyone know how I can get into the Broad Street Run?" message on Facebook, I had my bib to get into the race and a spot on a bus that took me down to Philadelphia and back.

What I saw in yesterday's race gave me hope. I saw thousands of people wearing red socks in memory of those injured and who died in Boston along with people wearing shirts representing major charities. I also saw people out in throngs in North Philadelphia standing on the corner giving high fives to the runners as we went by. One black woman, in her 60s, stood on the corner breathing oxygen from tubes under her nose. She wore Mickey Mouse hands and gave high fives to people as they passed. I saw many such things that choked me up as I ran, but the biggest heart wrenching moment for me had to be running past one of Temple University's medical buildings.

I heard runners ahead of me on the left starting to clap and cheer, but I couldn't see what they were cheering for so I ran faster and then saw a nurse standing next to a boy in a wheel chair. He was bundled up in light blue hospital blankets and had tubes all round his nose and mouth. He did not seem to be able to speak, but he watched and, in his way, cheered us on. Tears came to my eyes and I just kept running knowing that I still had 7 or 8 miles yet to go.

I could tell many stories about Broad Street, but want I most wanted to share with you are some data and to share with you my "secret" to success. Below are my times for the last four years I've done the Broad Street Run:

2010 Time: 1:50:37
2011 Time: 1:41:02
2012 Time: 1:37:10
2013 Time: 1:35:19

That's four years of me running, training, getting injured, coming back and trying again. Those times represent hundreds of hours of running, pushing myself harder to be stronger, faster and a more efficient runner. But for me, running is a symbol for living life. Running takes practice and hard work. Running is also not always a straightforward progression. If you were to look at the data above, you might simply see how I have become faster over the last few years. And, yes, I am extremely happy that I can continue to become a faster runner.

What the data do not show though is the real story: I have also run races in which my times were worse than the year before. I have run half-marathons and two marathons. Several of those half-marathons were extremely difficult races and I did much worse than my previous year. But I don't give up. I work harder, practice more and try again.

To me running is a great way to look at much at what I do in life: I run, write novels and work extremely hard in all I do. I am driven to succeed. Not for money or power (though it's nice to pay bills!), but to become a better person.

If you are at a spot in your life in which you are facing a problem (or a whole host of problems), they can be overcome. You can succeed, too. How? It's simple, but not the answer that you might want.

Hard work, determination and practice are the tools I have used to succeed. And if you're about to hit the back button and shake your head in frustration, think on this: I am 42 years old. I only started running back when I was 37. I went from only having run 2 miles once in my life to now having run two marathons (and a whole bunch of other long distance races). Does this make me special or better? No, it doesn't. The success I have achieved has come from working hard and surrounding myself with good people (loved ones and solid, trusting friends).

And when I fall, as I have with running and in life, I get up. You can get up, too. What it takes to succeed is simply believing that you can and then taking that first small step. No matter if your goal is to run, write, lose weight, or whatever it all starts with believing in yourself. The next step is trying and failing then getting up and trying again. For me, I have friends who can support my successes in running and be supportive when I'm injured. We are not alone and if a sick boy in a hospital can ask his nurse to bring him outside so that he can cheer on runners at a race or an older woman with Mickey Mouse hands also breathing from an oxygen tank can give free high fives at a race when it might be easier to sit at home on a sofa, then I can see my dream and follow it. I ran yesterday and did achieve a personal record for a 10 mile race, but I could have easily not have achieved that record. In the end, it's all about hard work and perseverance. Might not be much of a surprise, but that's what it takes to succeed. No magic pill or special secret. It's what we have inside. It always has been.

Ron Vitale is the author of the young adult fantasy novel "Cinderella's Secret Diary: Lost" and a runner since 2008.

How to Go Beyond the Book and Engage Readers with Your Author Brand

I would like to welcome guest blogger Dana Sitar to my blog. Dana is a freelance blogger and author of A Writer’s Bucket List: 99 things to do for inspiration, education, and experience before your writing kicks the bucket. In the following post, she's shared some great ideas for writers looking to engage readers in this ever-changing publishing world. Let's read on and I do hope you enjoy her post!

Regardless of whether you’re a novelist or a non-fiction author, when you share a book with readers, it becomes much more than just a single book.

A book can be the central piece that represents your brand as an author.

Your book will catch readers’ attention much more quickly than you as an author will. To many readers, your book is who you are, how they identify you, why they pay attention to anything else you do. That’s okay -- just make sure the book represents you the way you want to be represented, and use the attention it gets to your advantage. For example, you might be able to easily get readers interested in a book titled 12 Quick and Easy Ways to Make Money Online. But if your brand is actually focused on writing and publishing fiction, that book will send the wrong message and attract the wrong readers. Write the book that appeals to the readers you want, and figure out how to draw those readers to it.

Rather than build a community of followers and try to sell them your book, build a community around your book.

You don’t have to wait until you write the book to do this! In fact, you shouldn’t wait. Once your book is in production, begin building your audience around it. You can do that blatantly -- for example, by sharing your process with readers, posting samples of the story, revealing the cover, etc. Or, you can do it subtly, by shaping your brand around the central idea of the book and drawing readers into that. Choose what works best for you, but in general, I recommend the blatant approach for fiction and the subtle, brand-based approach for non-fiction.

How to use your book as a catalyst to engage readers with your brand

1. Create action prompts based on the book. Whether your book is fiction or non-fiction, figure out what your readers love (or will love) about it, and take that beyond the book. Create activities, discussion, or games around it. For A Writer’s Bucket List, one thing readers say repeatedly is that they love how the book prompts them to try something new when they need motivation or inspiration. To that end, I created A Writer’s Bucket List Action Team, a writers group where we discuss the tasks in the book, and members get an action step every week to work toward crossing items off the list. We’ve also got a monthly Twitter chat to discuss various aspects of the writing life.

2. Engage readers with your main characters and themes through social media. If your book is fiction, you can pull out non-fiction themes to guide discussion groups and activities. Or you can engage readers with the main characters through social media! Make them speak through your Twitter feed and Facebook page, and create related boards on Pinterest for readers to get to know them. For non-fiction, ask questions to get readers talking about the information and issues in the book. For example, I draw on the “forge your own path” theme in A Writer’s Bucket List to engage readers on Facebook and Twitter with questions like, “What’s the biggest barrier you face to following your writing dreams?”

3. Make your book the central theme of your blog. Through your author blog, share your process, your successes, lessons learned, and updates on the publishing and writing process. You can also share excerpts from your work-in-progress to tease readers with your upcoming book. Or, like I’m preparing to do with A Writer’s Bucket List, launch a blog on the theme of your non-fiction book. Use blog posts and conversation with readers to expand on the ideas introduced in your book.

4. Go beyond the book; build a brand. Few authors make their living as authors. The income from books, even when it’s steady, is usually too low. If you want to make money as a career author, you’ll probably have to find other ways to expand on the themes in your book. You can be hired by others as a speaker, teacher, or consultant. You can build a business around your book by creating webinars (or old-fashioned live seminars and workshops) and courses on the topic, or selling related products like workbooks. If you’re a fiction author, your focus may be on helping others write fiction -- offer your services as a publishing coach, teach writing classes and workshops, etc. Or, maybe you can build a brand around the real-life issues in your book -- like one of my favorites, Jody Lamb, has done with her YA novel Easter Ann Peters’ Operation Cool and the issue of alcoholism in the family.

Use your book to launch your career as an author.

Some writers will spend their whole lives perfecting just one book, writing, polishing, and publishing it, and praying it succeeds. That’s a lot of pressure on a book! Think of your book as an important piece in your brand, rather than the be-all and end-all of your writing dreams, and you can launch a rich writing career that does far more than offer just a bit of entertainment or information for a few readers.  

About the Author

Dana Sitar is a freelance blogger and author of A Writer’s Bucket List: 99 things to do for inspiration, education, and experience before your writing kicks the bucket. Buy the book for Kindle this week, and get a bonus bundle of 6 free ebooks for writers!