On Time Perception and Priorities

I'm a Polychron -- and proud of it.

What's a Polychron, you might ask? Well, it has to do with how you use/perceive time. Various cultures, for instance, perceive time in different ways. People from the United States, Germany and Northern Europe/Scandinavia are much more monochronic than, say, people from Latin America, Africa and Mediterranean nations. Here's a brief breakdown of what it means to be Monochronic vs. Polychronic*:

Polychrons (such as myself):

* Do many things at once
* Are highly distractible and subject to interruptions
* Consider time commitments an objective to be achieved, if possible
* Are high-context and already have information
* Are committed to people and human relationships
* Change plans often and easily
* Are more concerned with those who are closely related (family, friends, close business associates) than with privacy
* Borrow and lend things often and easily
* Base promptness on the relationship
* Have strong tendency to build lifetime relationships

Monochrons, on the other hand:

* Do one thing at a time
* Concentrate on the job
* Take time commitments (deadlines, schedules) seriously
* Are low-context and need information
* Are committed to the job
* Adhere religiously to plans
* Are concerned about not disturbing others; follow rules of privacy and consideration
* Show great respect for private property; seldom borrow or lend
* Emphasize promptness
* Are accustomed to short-term relationships

In THE POLYCHRONIC ATTITUDE INDEX: REFINEMENT AND PRELIMINARY CONSUMER MARKETPLACE BEHAVIOR APPLICATIONS (http://www.crab.rutgers.edu/~ckaufman/polyattitude.html), Carol Kaufman-Scarborough of Rutgers University School of Business and Jay D. Lindquist of Western Michigan University came up with a handful of hypotheses, including:

Persons who are polychronic (Polychrons) are more likely to*:

a.) reschedule activities in response to demands;
b.) think of other things while doing something;
c.) combine routine tasks to free time for important tasks;
d.) have a flexible schedule; that is, not planning exactly when to do each thing;
e.) want to do several things at a time; i.e., not consider it to be fun to do one thing at a time;
f.) break projects into parts; and
g.) often change from one activity to another during the day.

Some of their findings included:

* Monochronic people want to take one thing at a time, while polychronic people do not think that it is fun at all.

* Polychronic people combine routine tasks in order to create free time for important tasks.

* Monochronics are creatures of habit. They are not flexible and don't feel comfortable with indefinite blocks of time and loosely-planned agendas. Polychronics, on the other hand, thrive on variety, change and spontaneity. They feel constrained by strict limits placed on their behaviors.

* When faced with an indefinite wait, monochronic people are happier watching television. In such situations, Polychrons prefer reading to watching television twice as much as monochrons.

So what does all this have to do with writing, you may ask? Actually, quite a lot. No writer is exactly the same (and neither should they be). Each of us approaches writing in a different way, and if it works for us, then we should stick with that way. For instance, I know writers who specialize in only certain types of writing and they NEVER multitask (and, quite frankly, I wonder how they manage to get anything done that way -- then again, I'm a Polychron and multitasking is my LIFE.)

Writer, know thyself is an appropriate phrase. I know my best way of working, and it's NOT the monochronic way. My approach may be unconventional, but the bottom line is I get the job done. Having a polychronic bent has helped me in freelancing -- at least I believe so. As a freelancer, you must juggle many aspects of the career, including researching, querying, interviewing, marketing and promoting. All of these are important pieces of the whole, and you cannot afford to ignore any of them. I also don't care to limit myself only to certain genres or areas of writing -- I want to write in a variety of areas and I see no reason why I can't accomplish that. In fact, I already have. Thus far, I've had poems, articles, reviews, career profiles, short stories, sidebars, columns and blurbs published. Next month my first co-authored book will hit the shelves. This time next year, my first solo book will be released. Had I stuck to merely penning poems or short stories I would have never been able to expand in this way. But I don't do well running in the same old rut, and as a writer I believe it's important for all of us to stretch and improve our abilities as much as possible -- for our entire lives!

To me, time is like taffy -- it can be stretched to accommodate many tasks. As a funny side note, I used to work for city government and a friend/coworker of mine was always amazed how I could manage to go grocery shopping, eat lunch and be back by the time my lunch hour was up. "How do you DO that?" she wondered. It was simple. I made a list of what I needed at the store beforehand (limit your list to X number of items -- and don't put deli items you'll need to wait for) and had it at the ready. I'd go into the store (five-minute drive) and make a quick beeline for the items in aisle order with no double-backing (20 minutes max). Then I ran home, shoved the groceries in their proper places (10 minutes), grabbed a pre-made sandwich or salad, ate in an average of five minutes and drove back to the office (ten minutes, max.) Simple and easy! The key is knowing what you need to get, how long it should take to get it and have pre-made lists and lunch waiting for you.

But back to the taffy pulling as an analogy for manipulating time in reference to the writing life. In the past I tried to put too many tasks in the mix. The past year, I've learned what I call "controlled multitasking." In other words, I look at all the things I want or have been asked to be involved in, then I pare that huge list down to the ESSENTIAL things I can handle at once in order to accomplish all of them. Multitasking doesn't mean you have to do ALL 100 things on your list. If you do, you lose effectiveness. Instead, pare that down to 1/3 and you'll succeed in multitasking WITH THE END GOAL OF GETTING EVERYTHING ON YOUR LIST DONE.

Once you get your list, prioritize it. As an example, right now Sun Signs for Writers is my top priority. Then comes Red Engine Press and The Complete Writer (this includes publisher requests for service AND marketing/PR duties). Then comes any other writing articles and queries (I have several circulating at the moment). Now, there were about five to ten other things that used to be on my list, but for the time being, those are on the backburner. I'm still working on more than one thing, but I've limited the number of things I'm doing in order to gain effectiveness. If I find I need to hone the list a bit more by putting a lower-priority task on the backburner, then I'll do it. The idea here is to remain flexible and to add/subtract tasks as circumstances change/arise. For example, come September once the ms. is off to the publisher, I will move Scribe & Quill back onto my list and up my priority with Red Engine Press since I'll be putting more energy into marketing/promotion AND embarking on a new task -- writing grants.

So yes, while I am a Polychron by nature, I actually do use lists and goal sheets to track what I should be doing and when my deadlines are. These lists are a godsend for me, because my mind is hopping all the time and thoughts become scattered. This is one way I give myself "assignments" and track progress. Nothing is written in stone, however. For instance, when the edits for the ms. come back to me, I'll need to shift my task list yet again and make that a priority (because I have no idea how short a time they'll give me to complete that task.)

The bottom line is this: if you're a writer, it's helpful to obtain some monochronic traits -- such as meeting deadlines (if you plan to KEEP writing for publications!) -- but polychronic traits can come in handy when it comes to remaining flexible and learning to multitask. There ought to be a word for those who straddle both sides of the spectrum...and perhaps there will be some fine day. Freelancers and contract writers have to share traits from both sides. Monochronics need to learn flexibility and polychronics need to learn how to engage in controlled multitasking. Either that, or hire an assistant. (Joke, joke!)

So now I say to my fellow and sister Polychrons, it's all fine and well to have one's fingers in many pies, but you have to be honest with yourself (and others) and learn what your maximum limits are for your time and attentions. Learn to say "no" or "not right now" and stick to it. You don't have to say "yes" to every idea or invitation that comes down the pike. Turning down ideas is a hard thing for many of us to do -- especially me. I'm always fascinated by the sparkly NEW idea begging in my brain. The truth is, you're not saying "no," you're saying "no" for right now. As in, "I'll get to you later, but I must deal with THIS first and finish it." Wisdom is not only knowing when to say "yes" or "no," but when to say them at the proper times.

As a final aside, remember if you're monochronic you aren't going to change others who are polychronic. If you work with them, you'll need to understand why they have a different work style and learn how to interact with them -- and vice versa. For instance, my approach may be unconventional, but in the end I accomplish what I set out to do in my own way. I chafe at babysitters and hand-holders -- and I'm not good at doing either myself. Typically I have a vision or strategy for how I'll accomplish a certain task, and while it may not match the agenda of others, the point is that I'll reach the goal line just as they will by taking a sometimes nontraditional path. If I listened to every *negative* caution I've been given over the years as a writer I would have missed out on countless opportunities (and publication credits!) I've never understood why people fixate on WHY something can't be done right away rather than searching for ways it CAN be done (even if by unconventional means.) It takes less brain power to immediately dismiss an idea than it does to WORK a solution or approach to a problem. Polychronics can assist Monochronics in this way, while Monochronics can teach Polychronics how to become more effective at concentration and time organization. Together, we can help one another succeed. And isn't that what it's all about?

*Sources:
http://hackvan.com/pub/stig/etext/monochronic-vs-polychronic-time.html
http://www.crab.rutgers.edu/~ckaufman/polyattitude.html
http://www.crab.rutgers.edu/~ckaufman/polychronic.html

Progress thus far:

NOTE: 36,000 is the *minimum* number of words my publisher wants. The max is 46,000 words. At this point, I know I'm going over the minimum and expect the ms. to fall within the 40,000 to 45,000 range. This book could *easily* have been twice the size they wanted. Since I tend to be verbose, if anything, the challenge here has been to write, write, write (throw out, throw out, throw out) and decide what I can fit in and what I cannot. So it's been sort of a juggling act. Anyway, here's where I am at now -- this draft is the one I'll go through and hone prior to shipping it off on 25 August.

34,464 / 36,000 (95.0%)

Ten Things Bestselling Authors Have In Common

A new book by Brian Hill and Dee Power, The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors and the Editors, Agents and Booksellers Behind Them, confirms what I've always believed: talent is not the primary factor in being published or becoming a best-selling author. There's a lot more in the mix than that. You can have more talent in your little finger than the rest of the world, but that only accounts for ten percent of the equation. The other 90 percent is *hard work* and doing what is necessary. Oh, and getting along with People Who Matter - especially editors, agents and publishers. Being a difficult person/writer, no matter how talented you are, will get you NO WHERE. When you're J.K. Rowling, maybe you'll have leverage. Until then, be gracious, work well with others, give the publishers what they want and just shut up and do the work, period.

According to their press release, here are the ten factors bestselling authors have in common. You might be surprised!
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005100/7/prwebxml261488.php

What separates the publishing industry elite, the bestselling authors, from all the thousands and thousands of writers who aspire to someday make the bestseller lists? It turns out that writing talent is not the only separating factor; in fact it may not even be the most important factor.

(PRWEB) July 14, 2005 -- In writing their book, The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors and the Editors, Agents and Booksellers Behind Them, (Dearborn Trade, 2005), Brian Hill and Dee Power wanted to find out what separates the publishing industry elite, the bestselling authors, from all the thousands and thousands of writers who aspire to someday make the bestseller lists. They interviewed 24 of today’s most popular authors, some of whom have endured on the bestseller lists for decades. As a group, these authors have sold more than half a billion books. It turns out that writing talent is not the only separating factor; in fact it may not even be the most important factor.

1. There Is No Single Profile For A Bestselling Author

Bestselling authors are seldom the top graduates from prestigious university writing programs. Writing may have been a second or third career for them, and the publishing industry values authors who bring life experience to their work, in fiction or nonfiction. Bestselling authors span all age groups, many different professions and varied educational backgrounds. There is no single profile for what a bestselling author looks like.

2. Perseverance Is Key

Nearly all bestselling authors faced the same struggles early in their careers that less successful, even unpublished authors, face. Immediate success is rare. One distinction of bestselling authors is that they do not get as discouraged by lack of early success. They persevere. Their desire to succeed is enormous. Bestselling authors often have to demonstrate the patience and stamina to write a number of books before achieving notable success.

3. They Write, And Write And Write...

The productivity, the writing output, of bestselling authors is much greater than the average writer’s. They have the discipline to get up each day and produce high quality work. They don’t wait for the muse to tap them on the shoulder. Some authors’ annual literary production is phenomenal, such as Nora Roberts who often comes out with two extremely popular books each year — year after year. Or Catherine Coulter, who has produced more than fifty bestsellers so far in her career.

4. Promotion Is Constant

Bestselling authors never stop promoting their books, no matter how successful they get. Many still market at the grass roots level, not just through national TV or radio interviews. They take the time to visit and meet individual bookstore managers at both chain stores and independents. They never relax and believe they have “made it.”


5. Marketing Is An Important Factor

Even if they have never taken a business course in college, they have an innate sense of marketing concepts such as brand building and product differentiation. They closely watch trends in the literary marketplace. They understand what it is about their books that readers respond favorably to. They take a strategic approach to their careers and they realize that much more goes into being a successful author than the writing itself.


6. They Like To Write And Write And Write...

They would rather write than do anything else. It’s not just that successful authors are more disciplined, though that is part of it; they simply enjoy writing more than other writers do. Many aspiring authors enjoy the idea of writing, not the hard work itself. Bestselling authors seem to thrive on the hard work, and they work much harder than we might suppose.

7. Fans Are An Important Asset

Bestselling authors listen closely to what their readers say, and try very hard to meet or exceed their fans’ expectations, but they do not necessarily pay close attention to what reviewers or book critics say. They don’t even necessarily expect good reviews. Word of mouth support from readers and booksellers is more important to them than reviews.


8. The More Success The More Pressure

Bestselling authors face more pressure as they get more successful. As they rise to the top, there are increasing demands on their time. Top authors lead three very different lives. First, the quiet, solitary scholarly life of being a writer. Then participating in the team effort within the publishing house to make the book the best book it can be. This involves learning how to take advice from and collaborate with the professionals within the publishing house. Finally, the author must participate in the very public life of trying to sell books to the mass audience. They have to master all three lives if they intend to continue to achieve bestseller status. Added pressure comes from the fact that the publishing house expects that an author’s sales will increase with each successive book.


9. They Faced A Key Turning Point

There’s no denying that luck and timing play a vastly important role in literary success. Most bestselling authors had a key turning point in their career, a time when someone influential in the publishing industry got behind their career and helped them get to the next level. In other words, they found someone who championed their work in the marketplace. This person might have been an agent, an editor, or could have been a member of the media who first introduced this author’s work to thousands of potential readers. The scary part is that the author has no control over when — or whether — this favorable turning point will occur.


10. They’re Grateful

Bestselling authors are keenly aware how fortunate they are to have arrived at the top of their profession. They sincerely appreciate their loyal readers. They recognize that they have been chosen to receive a strikingly rare, special distinction by a bustling, competitive marketplace. The success, fame and financial rewards that have come to them are often beyond the most extravagant dreams they had when they first sat down to write a book.

# # #

Miscellany

Opened up e-mail today to find a message from Rowdy Rhodes, site manager for Freelance Writing Organization - International. The site was selected as a Writer's Digest Top 101 Site for 2005. Rowdy wondered if I'd like to do an author interview for FWOINTL and Inkwell Newswatch, too.

He wrote, "Your work has always impressed me from back during the Inscriptions days, to Scribe & Quill, Shadows of the Soul, and now The Complete Writer (which is sitting on my desk waiting for me to get the time to read and write a review).

We have interviewed such notables as Pierre Berton (Canadian Historian), Catherine Ryan-Hyde (Pay It Forward), Lisa Lenard-Cook (Coyote Morning), Leonard Cohen (Canadian Poet/Musician) Paul Quarrington (Galveston) and a few others."

He needn't have said more. HE was doing me a favor, not the other way around! I'm just delighted he thought me worthy enough for an interview. How very freakin' cool!

He said they'd do a full page in their publication with an excerpt of my choice from my work. In the process, they'd provide exposure to thousands of readers across the globe. Again, I'd be daft to turn that down. I'm a peon writer who swims in the River of the Unknowns, so any way I can get the word out about my work I'm going to take because those chances will be few and far between.

So, of course, I waited all of TEN seconds to write him back and tell him that OF COURSE I'd be delighted to participate in the interview. With exposure to 6,700 readers around the world, why wouldn't I say yes to that? If I'm lucky, maybe a few of them will actually pick up The Complete Writer or remember to check out Sun Signs for Writers once it comes out.

One can only hope. And you gotta have hope if you don't have anything else.

In other news, Maureen from B & N sent over the official flyer the bookstore made up for the book launch party/signing slated for August 26th. Sadly, this computer doesn't have MS Publisher on it, so I had to forward it to my other computer in order to open it. Still, everything is confirmed and we're ready to go at B & N and Borders. One of the Red Engine publicists is talking with The Tattered Cover in Denver about having a signing at one of their locations there, so no details on that yet.

You know, I need some decent clothes and shoes to wear for these signings...but I'll have to wait a while longer before I can go shopping for them. I'm so not a clothes horse - give me jeans and a T-shirt and I'm fine. But I suppose I'll need to dress up a bit for these occasions. Bleh - I hate shopping for clothes. A necessary evil, it is (why do I sound like Yoda now?)

Before I forget, I haunt numerous author blogs on a daily basis. I have 3,000 words to go before I'm through with this book. That doesn't count the editing I still need to do before it ships off on 25 August, but still. Anyway, I ran across an author today who is churning out a book that's over twice the size of mine and she has 29 days to finish it. She is only 1/3 of the way done. So when I read that, I felt pretty damned good that I only have 3,000 measly words of the first draft to complete. That's if I quit writing and then tossing stuff out after I've written it! Still, I'll have a good month to edit the manuscript and pretty it up before mailing it. If I had 29 days to go and only 1/3 of a book written, I'd FREAK.

Guess that's all for now. It's nearly 3 a.m. and I'm not EVEN tired, so I'm going to write for another hour or so, then crash till whenever.

"How many of you have jobs where strangers feel completely free to tell you how incompetent you are? Strangers who have never even tried to perform your job themselves? That's what it's like to be an artist or a performer. We spend months or years toiling over the work of our heart, and anyone -- anyone at all -- feels free to take an ice-pick to it.

That's how it goes. Bad reviews come with the territory. But boy, it sure would feel good to walk up to a nasty reviewer one of these days and tell him: 'You know what? You've got a really ugly baby.'"
--Tess Gerritsen
http://www.tessgerritsen.com/