The Writer's Life with Children’s Author, Donna McDine PLUS $25 Paypal Giveaway!

Hi Mayra, thank you for hosting me on the second day of my Working Writer’s Club Virtual Book Tour. Several years ago, when my daughter began taking violin lessons I came across your book The Magic Violin to give to my daughter and we were both mesmerized with the story and illustrations. Who would have thought several years later we would become colleagues (fellow angels) at Guardian Angel Publishing.

Today, I’d like to share what my writing life is like and that no two days are the same. As much as I want my writing schedule to be the same every day it is just impossible. Beyond my writing, I am the owner of Author PR Services (www.authorprservices.com), the Working Writer’s Club Publicist (www.workingwritersclub.com), and Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids Ezine (www.guardian-angel-kids.com). And with the daily book marketing efforts for The Golden Pathway, carving out the necessary writing time needs to occur before I tackle any of the above. Now that both my girls head out to school at 7 am, I make sure I’m ready for my writing session no later than 8:00 am. I spend at least 30 minutes three times a week away from my computer until I get a first full draft written. This way I don’t have the distraction of the good old Internet and email. Both the Internet and email are wonderful tools, but if I don’t monitor carefully, before I know it I’ve spent the majority of my day on these two things alone. Thirty minutes may not seem a lot but you would be surprised how much you really can get done. This way when I start focusing on my other responsibilities that little voice is not nagging me that I haven’t written today. It makes for a much more focused day.


And before I know it the girls are home and I get a little bit more of a reprieve while they are working on their homework before the grind of making dinner and driving them to their various activities of Leo Club volunteer group, fashion design lessons, religion, and basketball and lacrosse practices. This spring Nicole and I will be spending quite a bit of time in visiting her top five choices of colleges. Then before you know it (Yikes) the college application process will begin!

To make my days even more organized and focused I planned out my “Three Major Goals” with guidance from Suzanne Lieurance at the Working Writer’s Club and what I’d like to accomplish to achieve these goals on a quarterly basis. Before the New Year began I zoned in on what I truly wanted for my writing career in 2012 and broke it down into three manageable goals without overloading each of my days. By leaving room for unexpected opportunities or family responsibilities alleviates the frustration of not getting my tasks done.


I truly believe that my years working in Fortune 500 companies for multiple bosses at one time have afforded me the training to be able to shift gears easily and effectively. No two days may be the same, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.


To learn more about my writing career or to order an autographed copy of The Golden Pathway visit, www.donnamcdine.com. Gift with purchase: The Golden Pathway Educator’s Guide.

Additional ways to order The Golden Pathway:

Guardian Angel Publishing: http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Pathway-Donna-McDine/dp/1616330813/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331737065&sr=1-1

Thank you for visiting with me today. I appreciate your time and interest. Please enter below at a chance to win a $25 PayPal payment.


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The third day of my virtual book tour continues tomorrow at Suzanne Lieurance’s blog www.suzannelieurance.com. There visitors can enter again at a chance to win a $25 PayPal payment.