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What Will You Be Doing This Summer?

The last weeks of school are right around the corner. Summer is knocking at the door with lazy days and sunny skies. My son could not be happier. Today he announced, “There is only one week and three days left. I cannot wait to sit around all day playing video games, sleeping in, and not taking test.”
If life could only be that easy as his mom. No, I will be spending my summer working on projects I normally do not have the time for during the school months. I think many writers forget summer is not a time for us to take a vacation. Yes, vacations are important, but taking three months off from our writing is not ideal. Summer is the perfect time to maintain, refresh, or jump-start projects. Yes, having all three kids at home does make working a challenge. However, I find this the perfect time for me to work on writing workshop ideas for the New Year. To refresh old workshops I have done for upcoming conferences. Putting together new ideas for school visits, updating old school visit agendas, and researching what other authors do for their school visits. This is also a great time to update my websites. All three of them along with my two blogs and many social sites. It is important to stay on top of your content. You want to keep your marketing face fresh and new looking even if you do not have a new book out. By working over the summer on new ways to make old content new, you keep your foot in the door come the new school year. Think about it . . . most children’s authors do not make their money from selling books. No, most children’s authors make their money from school visits, doing workshops, and speaking engagements. So what are you going to do this summer? Sit around by the pool drinking iced tea or working on some new content to keep your marketing face fresh?

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