Beginning a writing career can be extremely hard to work out. Things can quickly become confused and frustrating so it is necessary to be able to adequately schedule your time. Working at home can provide the flexibility sometimes needed to maintain a healthy balance between family needs and career demands.
Scheduling work days should actually be handled as if you had a normal 9-5 job. Choose hours that will work for your individual lifestyle. For example, if you have children you might want to work during the hours they would be at school. This would allow quiet time which is vital to the creative writing process. Also allow yourself time to take care of every day errands so you will not end up feeling overwhelmed as well as over worked. Schedule time within your preset working hours to answer e-mails, submit manuscripts and make any necessary phone calls. Don't forget that a writing career involves the need to keep an organized home office that will need to be maintained.
Another problem some beginning writers face is getting friends and family to take their new career seriously. Some people will not believe you intend to be a published writer unless you become well known. Most people just don't realize that even famous authors had to start some where. Proper time scheduling and insisting on no unnecessary interruptions while you are working will go a long way in convincing any skeptics that you are truly serious about pursuing this career path.
Probably one of the most important things to do is set time aside to take a mini-vacation every three or four months. Writing is very mentally demanding and you can become overly taxed. This will sometimes cause your creativity to seriously sputter so make time to just have fun and be with family or friends. Mini-vacations can also be a great source of inspiration.
If new writers will take the time to schedule time and set some boundaries, they will discovered how truly satisfying a writing career can be.