Project Management for Writers
Whether you’re a freelancer, a technical writer, or both, you’re likely to have to manage numerous writing projects at the same time, and with only twenty-four hours in each day, it can be overwhelming if you’re not properly organized. Without good time management, you may be pressured to exert maximum effort every day, which can lead to burnout.
Inspiration does not always strike. We often fear sitting in front of a blank document on our laptops, hoping the words would just flow out of us and magically appear on paper. But what happens when they don’t? And we’re forever procrastinating or staring blankly at our laptop screens, unable to muster a few words together. This is usually referred to as “writer’s block.” But, exactly, what is “writer’s block?”
Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the problem of not being able to think of something to write about or of not being able to finish writing a story, poem, etc.” When a writer struggles to produce text or get inspired, the amount they can write decreases, or they believe writing is much more difficult than it used to be. It is not only judged by the amount of time that passes without writing, but rather by the amount of time that passes without production on the task at hand. This delay isn’t deemed, by definition, because of commitment issues or a lack of writing talents. It can instead be induced by a variety of internal and external circumstances.
A great solution to all these things is to simply put together a team. Having multiple writers that can contribute to your work or a diversified staff that can help you offer more than just writing services can drastically increase your potential. While this is a viable option, the problem is that it necessitates managerial skills. Here are a few reasons why project management skills are critical for writers and what you can do to develop this forte.
Benefits Of Teamwork
Efficiency
It takes time, practice, and perseverance to create a unique work of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. While there is no specific science to creative writing, it all depends on the type of work you’re doing. When you have a team to help you, you can delegate tasks and focus on your strengths. Similarly, you can assign tasks to people who are experts in that particular work, allowing you to achieve more while simultaneously maximizing efficiency. For instance, you need to think of characters, you need to plan how the story will develop, you need to edit your work from time to time, you need to fact check sometimes, you need to think of marketing, and the list goes on.
Quality
Quality is everything when it comes to writing. With more focus, more time, and more energy to dedicate to the task at hand, the quality of your writing will gradually improve. Similarly, the work that you would receive from your team, which includes specialists in different areas, will also be of a much higher quality than if you did it all yourself. If someone has spent five years studying how fiction books are sold, they will naturally be slightly better than you if you haven’t got the slightest clue about how you should approach publishing companies and how you can work out a deal with them.
Cost/Profitability
When you are working with a team, the cost of the project will rise, but the quality rises as well, earning you a higher return. For example, if you charge $1,000 for a project that you exclusively work on, you’re likely to charge at least twice as much if you have a team working alongside you because higher quality costs more and you also have a staff to maintain. So there is a risk of a higher initial cost when you start, but once you build traction, the amount of profit that you are able to earn is far higher.
Competence
Sometimes you will get stuck. At times, it will be in your own field of expertise, and at other times it will be in things that you aren’t an expert in. When you have a dedicated team that is helping you out with the entire process, your ability as a group is far higher than your ability as an individual writer. You have access to more minds, and this gives you an advantage when you face something that you don’t have a solution for. If someone in your team doesn’t have the answer either, it is likely that they know someone who does have the answer. As a result, you are more skilled as a group, more capable of overcoming problems, and there is a lot more that you can confront and profit from when compared to professionals operating on their own.
Team Management
Time
Time is money, and the more you can accomplish in the same amount of time, the more you can earn. Instead of just you working an eight-hour shift on your project, there are now four people working on the same task. So, what would normally take you a year could now be completed in three months. It could even be much faster than that, considering that your efficiency will rise when you have less stress and less work to deal with. My name is Charlii, and you can utilize my specialized management tool to help you organize the entire process and create time-oriented tasks for all the team members. Establishing a writing schedule is a time-management strategy that leads to a more productive routine. When you commit to a writing timetable, you leave no space for procrastination. It is simpler to procrastinate than it is to sit down and write. Having a structure that generates a writing window can put procrastination to the side and give you a clear mind to work on your manuscript. When you use my enhanced system, you can ensure that everyone on the team posts regular updates about their progress in the program, so that everyone on the team is aware of the work that is in progress and how it affects their own work. I will also set reminders to notify you of upcoming deadlines, weekly word counts, and incomplete chapters.
Organize
When working alone or in a group, the most crucial factor to consider is the amount of time available. As a freelancer, you tend to have a certain amount of time in which you need to complete tasks, whereas when you are working on your own project, it’s really up to you to decide. However, in the case of the latter, you still need to specify a time or date. As a creative writer, you want to maintain high standards and quality, and there are several project management software programs that can help you do so. My project management software is a highly recommended system that will help you organize your writing projects. It will assist you in organizing story arcs and character development, whether for a single book or a whole series. It can also provide you with many channels to help you better manage all of your tasks as well as provide you with suggestions in the form of pop-ups.
Communication
Even with the best team, with the best hardware solutions, and with a fantastic plan, nothing is going to work if the communication is weak. Communication serves as the backbone of the entire project. You need to have multiple modes of communication, especially if you and your team are working remotely, making sure everyone understands exactly what they need to do and what needs to be done in case a problem arises. Ideally, you should have a mix of different communication channels just to encourage the team to intermingle. If you have a large workforce, consider hiring an HR professional to assist with HR and other related responsibilities. A platform such as mine solves this issue by giving one platform where all discussions can take place, where notes can be shared, and where a virtual team or an in-house team can have a complete work environment to share.
Flexibility
Even with a team, there will be things that catch you off guard. It is critical to be adaptable and open-minded in such situations. Your team will not be the answer to every problem, so don’t rule out alternative options. Continuously develop yourself and the team with which you work.
Continuously work towards building the team. Whether that means training the people you are with or hiring new people, the only way to continuously grow and raise the bar is to continuously improve yourself and the team that you work with. The competition is always getting tougher, and the only way to stay relevant is to be the best in the business.
