YCN Writer Tips: Balance Time for Writing, Networking, and More

When I first joined Yahoo! Contributor Network (then Associated Content or AC), the only thing I thought I'd be doing was writing. Hey, I'd never seen the site until I joined, so I was clueless. At first I didn't realize there was reading and commenting on articles, forum participation, writing lessons, promotion, and so much more. It didn't take me long to figure that out and before I knew it, I was utilizing just about everything AC had to offer. Between writing, networking, and helping others, I stay pretty busy with YCN. Many have asked me exactly how I can keep up with it all.

Balance Time at YCN: Writing
If you joined YCN to write, then write. That's harder than it sounds, isn't it? Actually, no it isn't. You just have to figure out what your personal best time for writing is and stick to writing at that time every day. Also, if you get extra time throughout the day, take advantage of that time and write. Even if it's just a few minutes, you can at least think up and write down an idea or add a few interesting sentences to an article. Carrying a notebook everywhere when you're not near a computer helps as well. Write when you have ideas.

Balance Time at YCN: Researching
Researching is one of the easiest things to make time for. Though it can sometimes take up a great deal of time, it's easy to do in increments as well. Whenever you have free moments during the day, read a little from books or websites you are using for research. It also helps to sort through web links first. Then, save them for when you have time to research. Then they are right there when you can make use of them. Also, don't just use your research for one article. Write about as many topics as you can on each subject you study - that's another time-saver.

Balance Time at YCN: Reading and Commenting
I don't even want to mention how many email subscriptions I get in my inbox from YCN. Let's just say it's a good thing I'm a speed reader. If you want to make sure you read all (or at least most) of the articles you receive through subscription, you may have to forfeit commenting on some of them. If a person is truly your YCN friend or fan, they won't go away just because you don't comment on every single article. I find it goes quicker if I open email notifications and other articles I'm reading into multiple tabs and repeating that process until my reading time is up.

Balance Time at YCN: Forum Participation and Learning
If you want to learn at YCN or if you just need a break, the YCN forum is a must, as is researching outside sources for extra information on what you learn. But I must warn those who haven't been to the YCN forum - if you aren't careful, it can be a time-waster too. Use your time there wisely. Learn what you can and take breaks there as well. It's great to learn and have fun, but if you're in the forum 7 hours and you're writing for 30 minutes, well...you get the picture.

Balance Time at YCN: Helping Others
If you've been around YCN for a little while, people may start to ask for your advice. If you're doing well on YCN, they might ask you questions related to YCN. If they are interested in a topic you write on, they may ask you about that. Lately I've been getting asked a great deal of questions, so I decided to switch my schedule around. Now I've decided to mainly answer questions, use the forums, and maybe do a little research during the day and write mostly at night. I love helping others and it puts me in a good mood to write, so that method works for me. Plus, it's quieter in my house at night, so the writing time is more focused then anyway.

Balance Time at YCN: Use Tech Tools
Use the tools YCN provides to your advantage. The YCN RSS feeds, Twitter and Facebook auto-posts, and the YCN RSS widgets are all quick and easy ways to promote your content that take a small amount of time to set up. Plus, once you do it once, you're done and have more time for the other things mentioned above. Also, organization sites for promotion (like HootSuite) can save a ton of time.

Balance Time at YCN: Promotion
If you use SEO techniques in your articles, promotion can be treated like an afterthought that happens if you get to it. At least that's how I do it. Promotion does help, but with SEO, views will come without promotion and if done right, they will continue to come. Whereas, if you use purely promotion and no SEO, you'll have to keep promoting to keep getting views, leaving less time for writing.

*If you have more time-saving tips for YCN writers, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

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