Author-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

I have Author-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. It works like this:

I get ready to write a new scene of Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator. As I open Word, I see the previous files, and it reminds me that I still need to write a guest post for my April book tour.

I open a new document to start the guest post, but I remember that I wanted to do a coordinated campaign in conjunction with the tour, so I get some paper and a pencil and start mapping ideas. Mapping ideas reminds me that I wanted to do an e-mail campaign with a program I downloaded.

I open the program and realize I never put in my contact list. Since it's free, I have to do it by hand, so I open up Outlook to get the addresses. When Outlook is open, I see a message from a CWG member announcing the Sunday Night Chat guest. It's just a huge bio, and I think we really need a standard announcement format.

I call the person, and we discuss a format. I write her a template and a list of folks to send it to. I send her the template.

I see another e-mail from a friend asking me to post her book's press release on my website. I have a great list for sending press releases, which is perfect for her book, so I send it to her. This reminds me that I was working on my own contact list.

While writing the contact list, a friend IMs and asks why I am not using an online service. I realize then that my e-mail will only send to 200 people at a time and my list is much bigger. I call my internet server and they cannot change that, but they have an e-marketing service I can try for a month. On impulse, I sign up for it.

I read the service agreement and discover that to use their service, I must only have people who have opted in--but my first e-mail is to ask folks to opt-in. I call the provider again and they say that's fine, as long as there's not a lot of bounced-back. Now I'm worried about some of the older addresses in Outlook.

I go back to the original program, and debate using it to clear the list of bounce-backs then put the list in my paid service. I decide that's more trouble than it's worth and recopy my message to the paid service. My friend IMs with a link to a free service that does more than the one I just paid for.

I go to the free service and see so many features--but nothing that tells me that it will do what I want it to do. I decide to sign up for their webinar for tomorrow.

So, I have been "working" off and on for six hours. My e-mail list is incomplete and needs to be scrubbed. I do not have a message ready to send. I have not even decided on a service. My market plan/schedule is half done, my guest post is blank. I'm frustrated and stressed and feel technologically inept. Plus, I have not started on my scene.

I realize I have Author-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

So I write this blog.