So, I'm trying to improve my marketing skills. I joined Facebook and a bunch of Yahoo groups. Suddenly my inbox was flooded with emails. I found myself scrambling to keep up with them. I wasn't getting any writing done, and I really wanted to get started on my new story.

Eventually I decided I wouldn't check my inbox until I'd got my day's writing done first. It's been working pretty well. Beginning a new story is always an exciting nerve-wracking time. I have to learn about my characters and the paths they choose to take. It's a time of writing, reading, listening. And it can't be done with twenty emails breathing down my neck whispering "Read me". So I'm glad I've turned the noise down.