I Made a Kick-Ass New Website!!! (and Here’s Why!)

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(I mean, a kick-ass new website besides this one, of course ;-)

ianmrogersauthor.com has been online for a few weeks, first in a “Coming Soon!” capacity, but more recently in more substantial form as I added pages and links.  I’m really happy with how it’s come out, people seem to like it, and I can always go back and makes changes later.

I wanted the new author website to have a cleaner, sleeker feel than But I Also Have a Day Job (which I intentionally designed to look like a blog from the late 2000s) and be easier to navigate, ESPECIALLY on a phone.  The plan is to keep the new website as a separate entity from BIAHADJ (which I assure you isn’t going anywhere!) as a way of highlighting both MFA Thesis Novel and my editing work (which I’m doing more of now!).

When people who don’t know me look me up, I’d like the new website to make a better first impression and be a bit cleaner around the edges while still retaining my intentional overuse of words like “awesome” and “totally.”

I also wrote a short humor piece especially for the website: Imaginary Hate Mail I’ve Received About MFA Thesis Novel.  I wanted a fun, absurd piece that was a spin-off of the novel Continue reading »

April 2022 Novel Update: My Writing Hiatus is Almost Over…

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As many of you know, it has NOT been a good few months for writing…

When I last checked in on my novel progress back in November, I was facing an avalanche of pressures at my university teaching job in Japan, not to mention a busy few weeks working with Vine Leaves Press getting MFA Thesis Novel ready for publication.  For all of November to December I felt overworked, exhausted, and in a disconnected state of mind.

Then in January and February I spent a LOT of time prepping for my big move from Japan back to the States—mailing boxes home, cleaning out my apartment, and doing a whole lot of packing…which then turned into a whole lot of unpacking, plus dealing with jet lag and social readjustment when I got back to New Hampshire.

March and April, meanwhile, were REALLY big months for MFA Thesis Novel as I set up the pre-order and prepared for the novel launch.  This was a HUGE project Continue reading »

Does Getting Enough Sleep Every Night Help You Stay Focused?

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Yes, yes it does.

I’ve been back from Japan for nearly two months now (!), and I’ve been getting adjusted to my Self-Directed Work Schedule, where instead of having a Day Job, I plan my own time and work on my own projects at my own pace.  As of now, my main focus has been preparing for the release of MFA Thesis Novel, working on my freelance editing jobs with different clients, and getting back into a writing groove with my new novel, which has been unfortunately stalled for the past few months (. . .).

One of my big worries about not having the structure of a Day Job to guide me through the week was that working from home without external motivation would cause me to get distracted, start feeling like my work wasn’t taking me anywhere, or even get depressed.
Continue reading »

How MFA Thesis Novel Went From Word File to Actual Published Book

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Most people never consider how books get made.  We have that idealized image of the grizzled writer sitting at a typewriter then delivering a hearty stack of clean pages to the publisher, who waves a magic wand and PRESTO, out pops a cleanly printed book with cover and crisp inside pages.

Nowadays, that fantasy involves a Word file and email instead of a typewriter, but the disconnect between writing and bookmaking still seems to be there for a lot of writers.  Truth be told, I had no idea how much work and how many steps go into publishing a book, which is why it was cool to learn the process when my own novel got made into an actual hard-copy book (Spoiler: I’ll show pics at the end!).

Here’s a rundown of how that process went, how much work it took from me and the others at Vine Leaves Press, and where the novel stands now. Continue reading »

Here’s What I Got Done in 2021

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It’s been a long year, but it’s finally almost over….

That’s been my mindset for a while, since I’ve realized that I’m suffering from some pretty serious burnout due to taking on too much.  Thankfully, though, the year’s almost over, I’ve got a 2-week (!) break coming up for Christmas and New Years, and January on the Japanese university circuit is set to be pretty chill.  That means I’m almost out of the woods at last (hurray!!!!).

As such, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I did and didn’t accomplish in 2021, how things look differently now than they did last year, and where I’m set to go in 2022.  And there’s no better way to do that than with a year-end summary, both for those who may have missed my news, and as a personal reminder that things aren’t all doom and gloom ;-)

So without further ado, here’s what I got done in 2021: Continue reading »

What Do You Compromise On When You’re Busy?

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I didn’t post last week (d’oh!) because I had a lot going on and needed to catch up on some things.  Fortunately I caught back up (yay!) and things look to be more chill this week, but the experience made me think about what I cut back on when I’m busy, and how I prioritize my time.

Here’s a quick list of things I’m likely to stop doing if I’m busy so I can focus on what’s more important.  The ones at the top are less important (and thus more likely to get dropped!) while the ones farther down down are things I’ll cut out more reluctantly.

Making this list has helped me understand some of the prioritizing I’ve been doing naturally, and I’m planning on keeping it as a reference to guide me through future busy weeks.  As such, it might be worth making your own list of compromises for your own benefit—if you can spare the time of course ;-) Continue reading »

I’ve Become the Kind of Person Who Does Work in Coffee Shops and I’m OK With That

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For most of my adult life, I had a shit-ton of debt and was chronically short on money, which meant that I cut back on unnecessary purchases as much as possible.  My thought process usually went like this:

 

[At the gas station]

Do I really want that can of Sour Cream and Onion Pringles?

Nah, I’ve got snacks at home.

 

[When Making Plans]

Do I really want to see the Blade Runner Final Cut rerelease in the theater with my friends on a fun outing that may or may not include costumes and also go out for pizza at a restaurant I really like where we’ll have a great time hanging out?

Hell yes. Continue reading »

Tools of the Creative Trade: Japanese Campus Notebooks are Awesome

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I’ve written before about my favorite tool of the writing trade, the blue Bic pen that’s been discontinued and that I bought a lifetime supply of on eBay.  Another of my staples is the hardbacked At-a-Glance schedule books I’ve been using since the mid-2010s, but there’s one more essential I discovered after coming to Japan and I’m no longer sure I can live without.

I love plain, simple Japanese Campus notebooks. Continue reading »

I’m Taking Time Off From My Day Job and Using That Time Productively (Oh Yeah!)

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As some of you may have heard, back in the fall I was planning a Christmas trip back to New Hampshire to visit family and friends…which I ended up calling off when COVID cases and restrictions ramped up.  This sucked pretty hard, and while I don’t regret calling off the trip, it’s unfortunate that circumstances forced me into making that tough decision.

Here’s the good point, though: while planning the trip, I got approved for a four-week vacation from my Day Job.  And when I called off the US trip I decided I’d still use the time off.

Quick bit of backstory: My job as an ALT on the JET Program comes with, among other perks, 20 paid days off per year that are pretty flexible, especially if I schedule them in advance.  Last year because of COVID I barely used any, so when my new JET contract started in August I found myself with a mouth-watering 29 days to use or lose as I see fit.

And I have no intention of losing them. Continue reading »

Is Too Much Freedom With Your Time a Bad Thing?

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Short answer: Sometimes.  Long answer:

Recently someone asked me how I felt about the idea of having total freedom to write or do whatever creative work I wanted—and whether that much freedom would be overwhelming.

The question took me back to the last time I had a lot of freedom with my time, after I left my job where my boss was crooked and before I started my current job in Japan.  I was editing the fourth or so draft of MFA Thesis Novel during the day, editing the first New Hampshire Writers Project Anthology in the afternoons, and in between that I was brushing up my Japanese, doing editing side gigs, and trying to read a lot of books.  I also had to find time to move all my stuff into storage and vacate my apartment.

In short, I was pretty busy. Continue reading »

Do You Have Trouble Starting New Projects, or Trouble Finishing Them?

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I’ve got a big writing project I want to start, but instead of actually starting it, I’m going to blog about it instead.

I’ve always had trouble starting new projects.  In high school I was a bad procrastinator who often watched TV and played video games when I should have been writing papers, and as an adult I developed productive procrastination habits where I do the million and one other things I have to do apart from the difficult project, thus creating the illusion of productivity.

I guess I just get intimidated by big projects.  If I start something new, I know I’m going to have to finish it, which can feel downright scary.

A lot of other people, though, start projects easily because they’re excited about them.  Unfortunately, when the initial excitement wears off Continue reading »

My Ideal Creative Work Schedule Explained

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I think a LOT about how we structure our days as creative people who have to be self-motivated. It pays to be efficient, and a lot of that efficiency comes from being able to slip into a work routine without a lot of hassle so you can get more done.

However, we also need to work around the realities of real life, which means that making a work schedule requires balancing the way you work best with your particular situation, especially if you have a Day Job.

My work schedule has changed a lot (as has my work situation) since I started keeping this blog almost four years ago (!!!!!!). I’ve worked from home grading standardized test essays, held a full-time office job, spent three months without a Day Job at all, and finally come back to teach in Japan. Each of these stages required adjusting to changing realities so I could make progress on my creative work. Continue reading »