"Organization Is Not My Friend" by Penny Estelle



Penny Estelle

 Today, we have fellow Solstice author Penny Estelle, who will enlighten us about how sometimes our organizational skills can fall by the wayside. Take it away Penny!
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Organization is not my friend!

I was a secretary for an elementary school for 21 years. The school had over 1100 students. Programs in every grade level, monthly award ceremonies, payroll, taking care of all my principal's issues, and a hundred and one other activities needed to be handled on any given day. I used to pride myself on my organizational skills.

Now I am retired and am proud to say, an author, which I can actually say out loud without lying, and apparently those once finely tuned skills have gone by the wayside!

Seriously, how how hard can it be to check your e-mails (sometimes more than 50 and more than one account), look at 20-something blogs because you know certain authors who are being interviewed and you want to comment and be supportive, try to find somebody who might do a review for you and check Amazon because there just might be a new review that has been posted, not to mention reading and writing up a review of a book you might be reading for someone who reviewed your book. Then if you are hosting an author on your blog, you need to have that ready to go, or get your post done because someone is kind enough to host you.

Then there is Twitter, Goodreads, LinkedIn, and a host of other sites you should be a part of but you can't figure out how they should work or you pull your hair out because you just can add one more thin to your schedule.

Then there is always that pesky little part about actual writing. After all, this is what it's all about!

I see many authors out there that are on e-mail and doing blogs on a daily basis--AND turning out books like crazy--Do they not sleep? I get crabby when I don't sleep!

I know this sounds like I'm whining, but I'm not--well maybe I am--okay, I am. How could I have been so organized at one point in my life and now the word is no longer in my dictionary!

Now, all this being said, I know the answer here--scheduling. I need something-maybe better pep talks to myself. Thanks for listening to me vent...shew, I feel better now.

Have a great day everybody--I need to check my e-mail!

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Penny writes for the MG/tween group. She has three stories out, with two more coming soon.

Hike Up Devil's Mountain: Recommended summer reading for MG/tweens from Examiner.com

An abandoned house, a magic stick, and the school bully, is all it takes to turn the lives of three boys upside down. Their only hope lives on top of Devil's Mountain. The question is, will they survive the hike.

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and Create Space.

Billy Cooper's Awesome Nightmare

Billy Cooper's seventh grade class has been given a last minute, weekend assignment. An oral book report is due on Monday on some stupid historical figure, he draws from a box. Billy's weekend is way too full to worry about some legend--that is, until he meets him face to face!

Available at Muse It Publishing and Amazon.

A Float Down The Canal

Twelve year old Pam Simpson gets dumped on when her mother is called into work. She must cancel her plans for the mall to babysit her younger brother and his friend and take them to the public pool. To make matters worse her cousin, Candy, is also coming over for the day. She doesn't even like Candy!

Much to Candy's dismay, transportation to the pool is on inner tubes, floating down the canal. One thing leads to another and it is Pam who, once again, must save the day.

When things couldn't seem worse, the day takes a drastic turn for the better and it is Candy, and the float down the canal, that makes this the best day of Pam's life!

Available at Smashwords, B&N and Bibliocracy.