This is a brief account of the approach I took when I decided to write and self-publish a novel. What I’ll mention first is perhaps the most important part of finishing and self-publishing a novel. It is something I’d not given much attention. It is the need to manage all those things that constitute your personal life, outside of writing related matters. As of the beginning of 2017 I became a stay at home husband, retired early. I became the master of my own schedule. Now, almost a year later I am aware of how much time I’ve spent dawdling. When you are working full time and also have family, friends, and a home tossed into the equation – your schedule runs itself. Go, go, go. When you get out of that sort of cycle, there is a void present. Expectations and deadlines are no longer imposed by the exterior environment. Time management is your own job. You now have time to take care of all those personal tasks and pleasures that you couldn’t get to when life was busy. It is a daily temptation to do all sorts of things, other than your writing. I needed to learn how take my new boss (myself) seriously. I still haven’t managed to whip myself into shape in that regard. But the new year is on hand. Letting go of the old and bringing in the new. So there is hope. (more…)