Writers have a lot of balls

Wait, what did you think I meant?

With the popularity of authors breaking out on their own and publishing their own works, the role of author is expanding. I know many authors who are also their own publishers, editors, marketers, promotors, sales coordinator and graphic artist. Phew! It's a lot of work, for sometimes very little return. 

Through my small press publishing house, Hot Doggy Digital Press, I produce my own books and ebooks, but I definitely am not a one-woman show. I rely on lots of beta-readers (including avid readers, writers and my target market which is usually kids), employ professional editors, work with graphic artists and book designers and enlist various marketing programs. This costs money, but produces much more professional results than I could ever achieve alone.

Right now I'm sending out the final draft of Dognapped? A Dog Show Detective Novel to beta-readers. I'm also playing with cover designs. I like to do mock-ups, so when I talk to my book designer I have a clear idea of what I'm after. While this is going on I'm beginning edits on Undead Kev, writing short stories for submission, designing writing workshops for kids, attending my writer's group and undertaking masterclasses for editing. Soon I'll be designing and ordering promotional material for Dognapped (bookmarks, postcards, magnets, etc) and planning a book launch.

It's not easy juggling all those writer's balls (you thought I was going in a different direction with that post title, didn't you?). To be honest I find it easier to label all my balls, but only toss one in the air at a time. How are you going with time-managment and multi-tasking? Got a lot of balls?

Here's some of the very rough drafts of cover ideas for Dognapped? Feel free to be opinionated!