By Lisbeth Coiman
The first hard truth I learned as an emerging writer is that it will take years of dedication and hard work before I can live off my writing. Whether through my established career as a teacher, or through a series of small gigs, as an emerging writer I must make a living outside of writing, while seeking every opportunity to write and submit my work. Therefore, effective time management stands out in my writing tool box.
Effective time management starts by calculating how much real time is available for writing. Here is the easy formula I use. I start by making a list of every task and chore I do during the week. Then subtract from 168 (hours in a week) the total number of hours used for each of those activities. The resulting number is tiny, roughly 7 or 6 hours a week, but it gives me a concrete idea of how much time I can devote to creating art.
The next step is to schedule the time to write. Blocking hours or minutes across a calendar week works best for me because after several weeks of commitment to writing at the same time, my brain starts anticipating the creative process. I blocked 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday to make it a habit and consistently write at the same time everyday. I honor my circadian rhythm to make the most use of that limited time segment. Sometimes writers need rituals too, but but I make mine brief and necessary: brew a cup of robust Colombian coffee, the aroma of which sparks my senses and creativity.
I consider all the activities related to writing as a the basis for an effective time management plan. Although it is easy to romanticize the writing process as that of pure creation, it is rather mundane. Writing involves searching for suitable publication, drafting submission letters, submitting work, emailing editors, and self-promoting. Again organization is the key. With a well thought management sheet for tracking publications and submissions, and five minute daily for searching opportunities, as an emerging writer with a full time job, I optimize the time used for such activities.
Submission Calls
Here is the result of one-week, five-minute searching for publications that welcome emerging writers and new voices.
1. Zoetrope: Twenty-Second Annual Zoetrope All-Story Short Fiction competition
Genre: all
Prize: 1st. $1,000 plus publication. 2nd. $500. 3rd. $250
Submission Fee: $30 per story
Deadline: October 8, 2018
Word count: less than 5,000.
Submission Guidelines
2. The Molotov Cocktail: Flash Monster 2018 Contest
Genre: Flash horror – must include a monster
Prize: 1st. $200. 2nd. $100. 3rd. $50, and mad props to 4th – 10th place. Publication and contributor’s copy.
Submission fee: $7 per story (specials for procrastinators will be announced.)
Deadline: October 21st. (Extended deadline for procrastinators will be announced.)
Word count: Less than a 1000, but prefer under 750.
Submission Guidelines
3. The Arkansas International: Emerging Writer’s Prize
Genre: Fiction
Prize: $1,000 plus publication
Submission fee: $20
Deadline: October 20, 2018
Word count: Less than 7,500.
Submission Guidelines
Lisbeth Coiman is an emerging, bilingual writer wandering the immigration path from Venezuela to Canada to the US. She has performed any available job from maid to college administrator, and adult teacher. Her work has been published in Hip Mama, the Literary Kitchen, YAY LA, Nailed Magazine, Entropy, and RabidOak. She was also featured in the Listen to Your Mother Show in 2015. In her self-published memoir, I Asked the Blue Heron (Nov 2017), Coiman celebrates female friendship while exploring issues of child abuse, mental disorder, and her own journey as an immigrant.
She lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches at Harbor Occupational Center and speaks for NAMI about living with a mental disorder. She likes dancing salsa to beat depression.