The Right Way To Go Away

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In a previous post, I discussed the issue of writers burning out and some tips about what to do about it. One of the most important things that you can do if you’re suffering from burnout is to get away for a while. Sometimes a break is all that is needed to be able to beat the burnout beast and get back on track. If you need to get away for more than a day or two there are some things you can do to make your life easier, save your writing reputation and possibly save your writing business.

Here is the right way to go away:

• Contact your clients – Quite possibly, this is the most crucial step of going away and it will certainly be the most difficult. Examine what projects you have on your plate and where you are in the process of completion. Contact the clients who may be impacted by your absence. If possible, phone contact is best. Just sending an email with a statement announcing you’ll be away for a while will not instill any confidence from your clients and they are apt to be less forgiving about your absence. So the question is, how much do you divulge in terms of why you are going away. The answers is: It depends. You know your clients. Which ones are more laid back and flexible? Which ones will profess an end to the world as we know it? The most important aspect of providing a reason for your impending absence is to not give a whiney, blubbering dissertation about how life has turned unfair and you need to get away from all this #$?<@! stuff. It’s not fair of you to burden your clients with this.
• If you can outsource some of your work, go ahead and do it.
• For your blog, email your closest writing blog friends and explain you will be away for a bit and need some guest posts. For this part of going away, all you need is one a week so even if you’re going away for a month, you only need four guest posters. The simplest way to help get this accomplished is to register each of them with your blog so that they can go in and post on their own. The alternative involves getting the posts as emails and posting them yourself. You are trying to get away for a bit so try and avoid this.
• Set your email up with an “out of office” reply, including your anticipated date of return.
• If you normally respond to comments on your blog, you may want to publish an “I’m going away for a while” post. Again, not a lot of details are important here as to why you’re going away. You’re just letting folks know when you’re leaving and when you’ll be back. It may be helpful to set this as a featured post so any new clients who may be interested in you will know not to expect a response until a certain date.

Finally, relax. It will all be okay. Chances are, when you come back you’ll be able to pick up where’ you’ve left off. There might be consequences and perhaps you will lose a client or two, but your sanity and long term wellness is well worth it.