Are you feeling a little overwhelmed? Feeling like you’re working all day and half the night and only getting half of what you need to get done to be a successful self publisher? That feeling of being stretched a little thin, apparently, is normal.

After a week on vacation taking it ‘easy’ Seb discovered he’d used a full 24hrs, and some change, of net time just promoting his book!

Recently indie author Seb Kirby went on a week long vacation to a remote location. Seb didn’t want to be without the ability to promote his book on the trip so he bought a 3g “dongle” for his computer. The little device monitors how much time one spends online and tallies it up for billing purposes. After a week on vacation taking it ‘easy’ Seb discovered he’d used a full 24hrs, and some change, of net time just promoting his book!

In his blog post Seb handily does the math for you, highlighting how much valuable writing time is lost in the war of self promotion. Keep in mind that this was a lite promotional schedule for Seb, he was on vacation after all, that means that every single one of us indie authors probably ‘wastes’ over a day of writing time in self promotion alone!

And remember, promoting yourself and your books is only a part of the backend of being a successful indie author. You’ve still got to find time for the writing itself, as well as time to read and grow as a writer.

It’s a lot of work and it takes a lot of time. Sometimes the sheer magnitude of the little extras, that aren’t you sitting triumphal at your computer, are going to seem like they’re sucking the very marrow out of the rest of your life. But it needs to be done or you’ll never be able to finance your expensive novel writing habit! So what to do?

Balance is key. Balance isn’t something I, or Seb, or anyone else can give you. Not even you will know at first exactly how to forge the balance you need to work and live in. But once you strike the right balance, everything will seem to fall into place.