How comfortable are you with delegation? If you are a Type A personality, you may struggle with the thought of giving up control, but if you want to be a successful author, you will have to learn to delegate.
I attended a meeting several years ago in which another business woman offered up this idea of delegating everything but your genius and it stuck with me. Think about it; other people could do your laundry, your grocery shopping, your website set up, your cover design and your self-publishing marketing strategy.
But only you can write your story.
Now costs may prohibit how much you can delegate to professionals, but that doesn’t mean you can delegate some tasks to people you don’t have to pay….like your family.
It is amazing what even your toddler can do when it comes to helping out with the daily household chores. There are tons of articles offering suggestions for tasks that kids of all ages can do, such as:
Emptying the dishwasher
- Folding clothes
- Dusting
- Emptying the litter box
- Taking out the trash
- Making lunches
- Fixing dinner
- Setting the table
These are all tasks that can be delegated to other members of your family so that you free up time to write and market your books.
There are many articles about delegating that offer great tips and suggestions but my favorite one is this: The Control Freak’s Guide to Delegation from The Muse. Just the title captured my attention.
The author sets the stage right from the start:
I know, I know—it’s hard to let go of control. But by delegating tasks to those around you, you can help them be more productive, provide them with opportunities to grow, and allow them to be an integral part of your company’s accomplishments—all part of your job as a manager. Plus, as a bonus, you’ll free up some time to actually be the boss.
Whether you are delegating to family members, people in your office or hiring someone to help with specific tasks, you are really allowing them to be part of your overall dream to become a successfully published author. Just think of the names you’ll be able to add to your Acknowledgement Page of your book!
Don’t stop with just delegating household chores and local errands; delegate portions of your writing and publishing process.
If you are going to delegate everything except your genius, then you will want to find a professional to help with fact checking, editing, proof reading, cover design, marketing strategy and even executing potions of your marketing efforts.
Bill O’Reilly has just published his fifteenth book called Killing Reagan that is about the assassination attempt on President Reagan. In a recent interview he was praised for the level of detail and research that the book contains and he was quick to share credit.
“I have a great researcher, Martin Dugard, who did all of the research and he did an amazing job,” Bill said.
He delegated what some might think is the core of the book, but in reality was the foundation upon which Bill applied his own personal genius.
Think about the projects you would like to do to promote your book:
- Book signings
- Speeches
- Blogging
- Video
How many of those projects do you procrastinate starting because you have so many other tasks on your to-do list?
Start right now. Grab a paper and pencil and write down all of the mundane tasks you do every day, every week that keep you from writing and/or promoting your book.
Next to each task consider to whom you might delegate the project. Now take one of those tasks and actually delegate! Remember, it doesn’t matter if they do it the exact same way you would do it, focus on the fact that you don’t have to do it.
Take that time you have freed up from your schedule and do one thing for your book!
Once you have delegated once, it will get easier. Before you know it, you will be delegating everything but your genius.
Bottom line: There are only so many hours in the day. Make sure you spend yours doing what is most important in your life.