Although writing is its own reward, sometimes a girl gets a
little tired of meeting that daily write goal. Everyone needs a push now and
again, and once I heard about my friend
Sasha’s
reward program, I was ready to sign on the dotted line.
Sasha and I have a thing about nail polish—we buy it like
it’s going out of style. Her reward program is simple. As new polishes are released
that tickle our fancies, we make notes of the ones we want most. Instead of
indulging in an impulse buy, we hold firm until we’ve accomplished something
writing-wise that earns us our polish of choice.
While this program is tailored to maximize our rewards…it
also maximizes our motivation.
One new bottle of polish for each project finished, and one
new bottle of polish for each project submitted. Two bottles for every revision
request, two bottles of polish for every contract received, and sometimes up to
five bottles per rejection. That last one depends, doesn’t it? Some rejections
require more glitter/flaky/duochrome polish to get over than others.
The funny thing is, and it figures my husband would be the
one to notice and comment, but it also saves money. Nail polish can be
expensive (anywhere from $2 to $20 or more a bottle). Since it takes an average
of three to four months for me to produce a novel, he supports the reward
program (and months without tiny boxes arriving in the mailbox) wholeheartedly.
How about you? Do you have a rewards system?
Leave a comment and share what works for you. One commenter will win their choice of titles from my backlist in any digital format.
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7 comments:
Nice reward system. I use books as mine. When I finish a project and sub it, I take off a few days to read.
I love how you reward yourself! I need a better reward system. Hmmm. I need to put some thought into this!
For me, its TV shows. I can watch something if I finish my write goal.
I'm using a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream as my reward.
I do a similar thing, but usually the treats come when release day comes around. Otherwise those days kinda fall flat for me. I don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but I get what I like to call post-show depression; you've done the show. had the after party, but now what? So a treat on that day squashes the post-show D. I like to hit amazon up with something just for me and time it so it arrives either on or just before release day.
Love the reward system =) since i don´t write i´m not really in need of a reward system, reading is my reward. Though i use the guilt system when i read, not to start a new book when i´m already reading one. With ebooks and a kindle + a tablet, that´s easier said than done. =)
best wishes & Happy Friday!
//Linda
Love it! Your nail polish is my lip stick/gloss. My reward for submissions is a new pair of shoes, and for releases, I go to dinner and celebrate! I've even been known to have a massage party or two ;-)