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I'm an accountant but I now have a job that is strictly 9-5 and I leave it at the door when the day ends. It was not always so in the past.

At least its a job that does not tap into my creative flow at ALL so I save it all for my writing.

I also do not understand this word 'sleep'? What is that? I black out for a few hours each night.

I'm a commerical litigation attorney and fraud examiner. My hours are whenever. (I got phone calls on my honeymoon and once argued a Motion via telephone conference while on a train on my one and only European vacation.) On top of that, I have 3 year old son and a husband who commutes into New York City (we live in northern New Jersey) and gets home late every night.
How do I write? Basically, it is my brain break. My husband and I write together. We brainstorm the stories together creating detailed outlines (usually late at night after little man is down). One of us does the first draft, the second takes the second draft with brackets and underlines to show changes, after around two or three rounds of that...which usually takes about year...we get a babysitter and go somewhere quiet to go through the manuscript line by line together. Its' a slow process. We do what we can, when we can. But, writing is a cornerstone of my marriage and I would not want it any other way. Someday our dreams of having a published novel will come true (we have publish short stories and things...but a novel is the dream). I want to believe that. And, if it does not, when we are old grandparents, we'll breakdown and self-publish for our grandchildren.

I've been lucky in my jobs over the years as I've managed to land 8-5 office jobs. I did work once in a restaurant (never again!) but even then my hours were regular because I managed the night shift and was off on weekends.

Writing is far more enjoyable, and frustrating, to me than any job I've held. I have given up many things in order to have time to write, but I don't regret them at all. Writing is too much fun and far more rewarding.

From reading other people's comments it strikes me that I'm actually pretty lucky. I've fallen into a job where I work from 7am to 3pm, no overtime or weekends. However, all is not peaches and rainbows!

Once I get home, I have about a half hour to wind down from work, then my wife leaves for her nursing program, and I have to tend to my 2 year old boy. I've attempted to write and watch him at the same time, but for me, its just not feasible. Once he goes to bed I have about a half hour window to write, then my wife comes home and its quality time - part deux with her.

Finally around 10pm I can sit down and write, by which time I'm usually exhausted and brain dead, but I still do it until I reach my word count goal for the day.

All in all not the worse life, but not as conducive to writing as one might think.

When I had a day job, I often slept only 3 or 4 hours a night (until I crashed). I worked non-stop, like, I was either teaching or writing. I didn't get to read much, which didn't help the writing. When my husband was in town, he'd take over all the silly "miscellaneous" things that must be done, for both us and the piano studio, and then I could get both sleep and some decent writing time in.

I was forced to close the day job, and I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have time to cook dinner, to have time to hang out with my niece, to have time to--I don't know--brush my cats. Go out with my best friend on her birthday.

I still spend 10 or 12 or 14 hours a day writing and reading, even though I get a part-time wage, LOL. Old habits die hard, and honestly, 10-14 hours a day doing something I love doesn't feel like a hardship at all.

It's not easy. You just do what you have to do and try to have fun. I'm usually working until at least ten or eleven every night, in addition to working all day.

There is no such thing as a social life. That's what suffers.

And don't forget about all the time it takes to promote. While writing and keeping day jobs a lot of writers are promoting, too.

I have an 8-5 day job with a commute of 1.5 hours each way. By the time I get home at night, I'm pretty fried. My writing is done mostly on the weekend where at least I can have a few uninterrupted hours.

One good thing is that I write with a co-writer and it always perks me up with he sends me chapters and then I will do some writing at night. We just finished our second book and are plotting out our third.

I just read all the comments and am officially exhausted. All of these folks deserve medals. I've worked f/t most of my life until the past few years. I'm lucky to be writing f/t now, and am infinitely grateful for the opportunity. When I worked, I wrote when I could, but it was nothing like I do now. Writing is my whole world. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. I do have a husband and kids and six cats, but for the most part, I'm fully immersed in my writing. And I couldn't be happier.

I just try to budget my time as best I can. It's not impossible to do. But there are sacrifices you have to make if you work full time and you want a writing career.

Coming at it from a slightly different angle - I've always had fairly demanding jobs (lots of late nights and travels), and writing was never a problem (I had no TV, no kids, and am content to not live in a spotless house)... until the blackberry and remote connections, that is. Now it's not even that my workload has increased, but it's been diluted into every single moment, and it's very difficult to give writing the energy and focus it demands. I'm also higher on the ladder, and my job is assumed by every one to be my priority.
I am seriously considering switching career, because I honestly do not manage to manage it :)

I find that it's about being able to say, "That's important. I'll do that." And, "That can be skipped."

I have published 8 commercial novels in the past 4 years while working full time (and during one of those years I was planning my wedding.) For most of that time, I was an assistant editor at Random House. Now I have an equally time-consuming day-job that I adore and put in very long hours at.

How do I fit it in? Well, I trim the fat of life. I cook a meal on Sunday night and eat it all week for dinner. I never allow my house to get dirty because there's no time to straighten it. I eat lunch at my desk and work through it. I don't have children and I'm not sure how they fit into this crazy picture.

I have only one hobby: writing. And I love it. I find time for it because to me it is what makes life worth living.

Gosh, does this sound grim? I don't mean it to. I love my life and wouldn't change a thing. But yes, it's hard to fit it in. However, I do believe you can--even if you love your day job.

Whenever I get down about how much time I put in at both of my jobs (which is how I think of them), I remember the stint when I worked at a local bakery. All of the bakers were immigrants who worked two jobs. In the morning, they baked, and in the evening they worked in other factories.

And then I remember exactly how blessed I am.

I squeeze in an hour or two on weekday mornings before I go in. Hopefully 4-6 hours on Sat. and Sunday. All day on days off.

It works for me because I really only have 2 friends that live nearby, in addition to my husband and dogs. Sadly, it's my workout routine (and waistline!) that suffers.

I have a full time job with an hour commute (each eay). I also have a two-year old toddler and a husband I love. I usually write after the baby goes to bed. Some nights I will stay up until 3am writing. When the baby was still nursing, it was great, because I'd get up for a 2am feeding, stay up and write, and then go to work. (Something about new-mom hormones allows you to function on very little sleep.) I usually get my best writing done on Friday or Saturday nights, when I can stay up until 2 or 3am, sleep until 7, and be reasonably functional all day.

If you love it, you do it. That's it.

I work full-time. I also run (for sanity) and am building a sailboat (sanity and fun). But I write to live, so I make time. For me that means early morning, for an hour before work:

Coffee, dawn, and the story. There's nothing better when it's going well.

As a Human Resource Manager for a municipality my office hours are generally 8 AM to 5 PM, but work often extends beyond those hours.
There are various projects, reports, presentations, etc. that require that "extra" effort to ge the job done right. But as they say, I guess that is why I get paid the "big" bucks...if only!
Add to my career, that I'm a wife and full-time mother to 3, part-time mother to 3 others and you have a very full life in which writing can't realistically be a priority (not until it buys groceries).
So, I write when I can. But I beg, borrow and steal those 2 to 120 minute increments every chance I get.

I used to be a tax accountant. Definitely nights & weekends, and it was pretty much my whole life from Jan 15 - Apr 15.

Now, I'm a stay-at-home mom, but my kids are getting older, and I'm finding time to write. I loved my old job, but I couldn't go back to it and write at the same time, at least not regularly. I'm hoping that I can generate enough income with my writing that I won't have to go back. I don't need a bestseller or anything, just "enough"!

The biggest problem with trying to write and work to pay the bills is that writing well (for me) requires that I be in the mood to write. I have two kids under 3 years old, so being able to write when I want to is difficult. When you add to that my job (I am a lawyer) and my social activities, I will sometimes go months without writing.

But then, an idea hits. I can't sleep. I write all night long sometimes, even though I know I can't just sleep in. You're right--if writing (or doing what you do) isn't your passion, you will never find time for it.

Bridget

Someone mentioned a writing buddy or a critique partner, and that's a critical thing for me. If I "owe" a CP a chapter ... if she's waiting on the next turn or twist of the story, then I find it easier to drag my sorry bones to my computer and write. Once I'm there, it's usually okay.

My writing block of time is from 10 p.m. to midnight (although lately I'm feeling every one of my 40 years and finding it hard to stay focused past 11 p.m.), the only time that I can be uninterrupted.

But after a full day's work (that sometimes run late and sometimes calls for attending after-hours work functions)and then doing the dinner-homework-bath-bedtime samba with my elementary school-aged child, it's tempting to not even LOOK at the computer.

So my CP is invaluable. Accountability is EVERYTHING.

I call myself "Accountant by day, Writer by night." Along with my job, I am a full-time graduate student. For me, it's not about finding the time to write. It's not an option, it's a necessity. When I sit down to write, I enter the world inside my story. Writing is my escape. Yes, there are times when I feel I have zero time to write, but that's when I end up awake at 3 and 4 a.m.

Oh, don't you wish you knew. :) Actually (ironically? wonderfully?) I am a writer and run my busy marketing firm by day, so it's doubly difficult to switch modes. I sneak some work into lulls in my day job, but find I really tend to catch a second wind at night. The phone's off, my partner's ensconced in computer work or video games, and I'm far more focused than when my workaday cares are pressing in on me.

That said, I balance the two because I can't not write. Simple as that.

I used to manage a 24 hour gas station. I would generally work between 60 and 80 hours a week.

Thankfully, for my sanity's sake, that was before I started seriously pursuing a writing career. I would never have been able to find time to write. At least not and be able to keep up a normal social life.

As a full-time freelance jounalist/writer, I admire the folks who can hold down two or more jobs. But I think the structure of a paying job is so important--and you value your free time to write that much more.
Plus you're stimulated by the outside world. (Never mind cruel or unreasonable bosses, however.)

If it weren't for deadlines (actual and self-imposed), I doubt I'd get much done. So enjoy the roller coaster!

I have to be very diligent with my time management. Fortunately, I work form home so I don't have cummuting time to deal with. I wake up early (most of the time) and write for 1-2 hours, then start working. All I need to do is turn my chair 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Or 270 degrees clockwise, if I'm feeling frisky.

I'm a criminal defense attorney, so yes, I work long hours, and often get woken in the middle of the night and on weekends.

I write when I can. I actually get a lot of writing done long hand in court, while waiting for my clients to be brought in. There's no reason for me to pay attention to what's going on with other attorneys' clients, so I write.

Similarly, I write at jails a lot, while waiting for clients.

So, while my job is very time intensive and stressful, there are moments of down time. I can't really do legal research while at court or jail, but I can definitely sketch out a scene or two.

I used to teach, and the hours are good...and the 2 months off in summer was great. BUT, I really really enjoyed my job and so my mind was always spinning and thinking of new things and reading new research and trying new things. Emailing thoughts at 3am wasn't uncommon for me either. And I LOVED it.

Then I stopped to have children.

Then I KNEW I couldn't go back to teach, because I only wanted to do it if I could be "always on" like you are with agenting. I could've had shorter hours for sure, but it was a passion. I knew I couldn't do it until I had more time to devote to it.

So that's basically it...you CAN'T do the world's greatest job at your day job AND write AND have a family. Something's gotta give. For me, it was the greatest day job, which I hope to return to when I can give it my full attention. I don't want to do a so-so job at it.

I have two jobs (one 40 hours/week, one 30+ hours/week) on top of my writing career.

It's quite a balancing act. I do whatever I have to do in order to find time to write.

I do it because I like to, and because it's important enough to me to find the time.

I know I've gotten emails from Kim at ridiculous hours. :)

I've made sure that I've only taken on work that will allow me my outside interests. Between the lit journal, the Little Episodes charity and my own writing, I make sure that my day jobs stays within the 8-5 parameters. I would change my mind if 1) there were a great deal more money in it, or 2) had any real great passion for it. Neither are true. It's a nice job with nice folks that pays just fine. But it's the epitome of the "day job". And I'm good with that.

Back when I still had kids in high school and college, and a day job, I managed to produce two manuscripts a year while volunteering at the boy's high school and playing chauffeur. Yikes!
Then I quit the job, and both kids wandered off on their own, and I had all the time in the world to concentrate on writing. Funny thing is, I still don't get any more done than I did back then. Go figure.
I'm assuming with the freedom from all of the other constaints on my time I've become too relaxed. Back then I had no blogs to play around on, or other writing related fun stuff, I just wrote. Now I can spend half the morning playing. I know I work best when working to a deadline so maybe that's what I need, a contract. Ha ha.

I know what my puny email looks like on Mondays (a dumpsite for advertisements, so many loops it creates an afghan and party and live music invites that I totally missed because I just didn't bloody get online) - But I can't imagine what YOURS is like!
:)
G.

Roses, anyone?

I was a floral designer for 20 years.

I didn't get holidays off, worked through the nights so kids could have fresh flowers for prom, and all the lovely wedding weekends left me a zombie on the following Monday.

If I enjoyed that work as much as the written word, I would have never stopped.

But then I finally rented Phantom of the Opera and realized I'd sold writer's soul for some shiney design awards.

I closed my shop less than 2 months later and started reading and writing romance. A couple of months after that, I was pitching to Berkley!

Would I trade "eventually I'll publish" for assured floral industry fame? Not on your life.

As a teacher, I generally work 10 - 11 hours a day at school. I sometimes bring marking home and I generally go into school for 4 or 5 hours on Sunday afternoons. Plus the usual taking care of home and family. Like many of you, I'm sleep deprived and lose the ability to think intelligently after 11 pm. But I'm happy :) I love my job, my family and my writing time!

The day job is just two 10-hour days for me, but other days, I'm practically tied to my laptop to write, blog, and market. I've become wiser about how to use my time. For example, I do less mentally taxing work like commenting at night and keep the bigger tasks for the days I'm free.

I listen to myself too. When I've had enough computer time, it's enough. The laptop is closed.

I work a phone based customer service job... And actually have a LOT of time for writing. I get there early in the morning, read some blogs while eating breakfast, sometimes squeeze some writing in there... two 15 minute breaks, a 30 minute lunch, and only a 10-15 minute commute (depending on how I hit the lights and if I get that idiot in front of me going 30 in a 45). Though I do love my cooking dinner, usually worst case scenario, I'm free by 8pm every day... And that's not counting the alternate Saturdays I work to have those Fridays off. Saturdays are dead, because most people don't even realize we're open (thank gods!), so I routinely end up with 10+ minutes between calls, in which really, all I have to do is either write, or read. :)

I work for a non-profit organization, so there are often evening and weekend hours. I also sit on a couple boards of directors, do a bit of dog rescue and run my own private dog training business.

I don't write every day, sometimes not even every week, but I find the time. My weekly writing group helps keep me on task. I occasionally use vacation days to write. Sometimes I give up sleep for a few days or weeks to keep momentum going or get through revisions. I do what I have to do because I want it badly enough.

I have a full-time job, I'm a mother and a wife. Add it up, I work three full-time jobs. I have scratched out sentences while waiting at red lights, scrawled notes on toilet paper, and filled in the blank space on the church bulletin.

Jessica, congratulations on the fabulous interview for Ask the Pro in the October Writer's Digest. And that is also a lovely photo.

I'm a lawyer by profession, although with 3 kids (born 3 under 3, my eldest now 5, and not at school yet), I chose to give up work last Christmas to be "mum" for a year. My job always leached well beyond 8.30-6pm - another reason to leave.

I also have a hobby making cards. I run classes and get involved in fundraisers. I find my cardmaking balances my writing. When my writing is at a low, my cardmaking brings the writing alive again.

Yet, law pays the bills, so I'm considering starting up my own practice. The one red light to moving onward? My writing. Writing is my passion, how writers "write" always excites me, and this great blogging community of agents, editors and writers is a lifeline.

So many people say to me "I couldn't find the time" ... I say, "if you love it, you make the time". And that may be at 3am.

Now, hubby is out, kids asleep, back to my MS :)

I once said to my husband "I wish I could play golf like Tiger Woods."
His reply to me as we sat there watching the replay of the PGA golf tournment after our work shift at 8:00 p.m. was "Do you know what Tiger Woods is doing right now?"
"No." I said, I mean unless I was stalking the guy, and I'm not by way, I couldn't possibly know that.
His answer was simple, "Playing golf."
And that really got me thinking. I mean here I was watching T.V. when I should be working on my novel. Granted I work over fifty hours a week as the finance manager of a car dealership, but unless I want to spend the rest of my life buried in a windowless office looking forward to my one day of freedom every week I have to do something drastic. So I write and I write and I write. I write by hand in a notebook, I take my laptop on every vacation, I write at my computer at work (don't tell my boss) and I never stop. I ignore the dishes, the house cleaning, the laundry (until my husband informs me he's out of socks and underware) all for the sake of my writing. If there is one thing I've learned in this life it's that if you want something you have to work for it. Even after a whole day of working on the same chapter and thinking to myself this is absolute crap, this is never going to work, I should just give up this dream once and for all, I don't. I get up early the next day and keep going, because I know that I can do it. But don't get me wrong, it's not in anyway a sacrifice. The hours I spend writing and laboring over the perfect novel are an absolute joy to me and I know that with enough hard work, that some day I'll see my dream come to fruition and looking back it will all be worth it.

My day job is a teacher...an English teacher, and that requires me to work much more beyond the school day. How do I balance? I prioritize. There may be times when I don't get to write. But I have to do it.

I'm a freelance writer during the day, and I own a unique content company, Priceless Writers. My daytime hours are spent writing non-fiction for clients.

I also have 2 children and a fiance that keep me pretty busy - factor in cooking, cleaning, baths, etc...and there's little time for anything else.

Most of the time, my writing happens at night between 10pm and 2am. Yeah, I don't get a lot of sleep. Also, when an idea is particularly persistent, I get it out...or at least a lot of it and then I find myself rushing to finish the other things that have to be done.

It's a labor of love...

I'm a teacher. Sometimes the creativity that I need for writing needs to be channeled into my teaching, especially the early weeks when I'm adjusting to what my classes are doing.

Teachers always work long hours, and we take work home. I have a big paper bag full of Day Job work waiting for me, because that has to come before writing this weekend. Sigh.

What happens is that I just don't watch TV or movies.

Oh, is this a job? No way. writing is my life. Maybe it's a make believe life but, gosh, do I really care?

To MeganRebekah: You are not the only one who needs her sleep! The norm for me is about 6 hours and when I get tired, I sleep. I don't have the ability to fight it so that I can keep on doing something else. Luckily, my day job is a pretty straight 8-5 gig. My customers do tend to work non-traditional hours so it's not uncommon for me to hear from them out side my workday. I have the blackberry for that, though. Most of my writing is done on the weekends when I can commit large blocks of time to it. I use my spare time during the week for brainstorming and outlining.

My goodness, what a line up! I will try to keep up.

Carma
http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com

There is a great children’s book out called Other People’s Shoes. It does an excellent job of teaching the value of kindness inside of a really great story. You should check it out! Here is a link: www.eloquentbooks.com/otherpeoplesshoes.html

Thanks, Adam, for the tip. I will check out the site.
Are you an author or avid reader?

Karen

Hey Carma,

Thanks for stopping by. Yeah, it's a crowd, but next tour, Jan. 15th it will be less to follow.

Karen

Good job keep going

Thanks, Jamie

I think you are correct in suggesting this advice is for genre fiction. Literary writer Michael Chabon, who got rave reviews for his first book, The Mysteries or Pittsburgh, took a whole five of six years before his next book (Wonder Boys) hit the stands. It sure didn't hurt his sales or audience.

Having to write a follow up book in six months would scare the heck out of me. Honestly, how do people manage this? And is this rush to toss the next book out there the reason some writers fail before they've even started?

I agree with anonymous. How do some writers produce books so quickly? I often wonder about some of the best selling romance writers who seem to have a book out every month. Ghost writers?

There's my 64 thousand dollar question. I sometimes think it's better to do what Kinsale has done and write two/three/four and keep them tucked away, then sell the bunch. It sucks because there's that wanting to have an agent and be published, but once you're on that hamster wheel you jump off at the risk of losing your career. Either that, or knock it out of the park so far that the wait will only whet appetites?

inspire, yes, writers ARE writing them that fast.

Maybe this discussion dovetails with the one about "bad books": if I had to write on that kind of hectic schedule, I don't know that I'd want to read what I wrote.

In my blog (Writers Plot) on Monday, I commented on an article that appeared in the Boston Globe recently, in which established authors complained that their publishers wanted them to produce one book a year, for many of the reasons you mentioned.

There seems to be an underlying assumption that taking more time automatically makes a book better, but is this true? For unpublished and newly-published writers, there is a reluctance to let go of the manuscript, because they don't really trust themselves, or they're afraid to face rejection. And apparently the reading public has a very short memory.

Each writer has to strike a balance between his or her craft, and the realities of the marketplace.

Writing my first book took almost two and a half years, because I didn't approach it as my job. I took breaks when I needed the time, I only wrote at night, etc.

When I decided that I really wanted to do this, I finished the last half in two months. The book I am working on now should take less than nine months if I write with the same dedication.

It's not impossible if you view it as your job. If, on the other hand, you are writing on top of another full time job, it makes it that much harder. It takes dedication and sacrifice, but it's definitely not impossible.

People who have contracts don't write as the inspiration hits. They write even when it doesn't.

One well known author said he writes ten pages a day. If he whips them out in an hour or two, he has the rest of the day off, but if it takes him twelve hours to get them out, he writes for twelve hours.

Some authors have a formula, too. You can see it if you read very many of their books, where it's almost a plug and write kind of thing. I'm not a genre writer, and this wouldn't be any fun for me as a writer, but many do it.

Thus the advantage in not having your very first novel ever published. Really. Because who knows how long it took you to 'perfect' that one little book?

Personally, I am glad (although it is painful to take years to achieve publication) that I have written 5 books now. None of them published. But each one is written better, faster and with less editing needed. And I'm also getting closer to publication.

When the time comes to sign that contract, I will KNOW that I can produce another book within 9-12 months. And it won't be scary or overwhelming.

I'm not a tweaker. I usually write a first draft, editing a bit as I go, and then do a final edit. That's it. I think many authors second guess themselves, rewriting and rewriting over and over and over. Working days on just writing the opening line. YIKES!

You have to work towards quality as a decent speed.

I agree with what Heidi said for the most part. I know my writing started getting both better and faster once I started treating it like a job instead of a hobby. But I also think it depends on what genre you're writing in as to how easy it is to stick to such a schedule. I log the hours I spend working on my book each day. I put in between 30 and 40 hours a week, yet I've still been working on my current novel for more than a year, and it's not finished. But I write historical fantasy. There's soooo much research involved, and that research takes time. So genre does play a part, I think.

But I do see why publishing on a book-a-year schedule is so important. I've seen how well it's worked for other authors, and I want to duplicate that myself. I just hope I can figure out how to do it by the time I need to know!

Jessica:

Your blog today could not be more timely. I'm about to start querying agents, and I've thought a lot about how I'm going to produce a novel a year -- and I do believe for a decent career in fiction, a novel per year is necessary to maintain name recongition. This current novel took me ten months. For me it's not the writing/editing that takes so long, but coming up with a workable idea/plot.

When you say "nine months", is that including any and all revisions, copyedits and so on that you might have to do once your editor has seen the manuscript? Or does that just mean the time you initially take to write a manuscript you can show to the editor, and any contracted revisions would take place after that?

I can write a first draft I'm not ashamed to show other people in 4-5 months, but I know there's still going to be major revision ahead, especially once my editor gets a hold of it. So if it's nine months from first word to last revision, that seems... a little tight, to me. Twelve months, maybe.

There's a good music-industry quote I've seen attributed to Elvis Costello: You get 20 years to write your first album and 20 weeks to write your second.

Having said that, I think Jessica nailed it: today, producing a strong novel every year is a prerequisite if you want to make a career in genre fiction.

Believe Jessica's advice. I've seen all that play out among readers through my book review blog.

If you write genre fiction and you can't crank out a polished draft every six months - LEARN!

In a sense, I'm glad that my current MS took less than a year to write (I'm working on a second draft now, but revised a lot along the way as I wrote the first, so it's not taking that long.) Makes me think I can do it again, especially because I wrote infrequently for the first half of the novel. This post makes me agree with eva_gale--I think it would be helpful to have a second MS in the works while you're submitting your first, just to stay ahead of deadlines if the first sells and you need to produce a second quickly.

I know a number of writers who produce more than one book a year -- well-written, too :) It's not impossible, but it does take practice. However, these are people who get many ideas for books all the time -- I think it's much more challenging for those who get only a few ideas a year.

I have a book under consideration with a large publisher right now that I wrote (including revisions) in about three months. It's do-able. (And no, not all my books come out that quickly!)

Jessica said..."Now, I do believe that writers of literary fiction can be a huge exception to this rule."

I'm clinging to these 17 words. :)

Good post.

Heidi said: People who have contracts don't write as the inspiration hits. They write even when it doesn't.

I agree. That is what we all need to do (she says, while playing on blogs and not writing a word on the WIP today).

We should practice writing as if we are on a deadline. I have several manuscripts written and stored "under the bed". They would need revising but that's okay. I'm not wasting time on them now as I'm forging ahead with new material, using newfound craft skills.

I think the more you write the better you get and hopefully the faster you get.

First, sorry for any mistakes I might make, I am French.
Second, I write in French, and I am lucky, I write fast and since I type as fast, ideas are just flowing.
Thinking like a reader, I must say that I like to see my fav authors write a book a year. Having to wait forever for book number 2 is a big turnoff.
I love Karen Marie Moning (Highlander' Serie) and I read all her books. But her new series, Fever, takes forever to come out and... I am losing interest, to be honest...
So, I am in favor on producing a book a year.

Well, having just agreed to produce a 3-book series in 10 months ...

Practice. Lots of practice. And treat it as a job, as someone said above. I work a full-time job, but have produced publishable manuscripts (as in, they are on the shelves out there, from a NY publisher) in as little as 10 weeks.

Ideas come at you all the time. just be open to them. Once you start watching and listening, you will have more ideas than you have time for. Trust me on this one!

Signed,
A Published Author of a dozen novels

So, would you advise a writer to have book 2 and possibly 3 at least in progress before they query? I mean, once the books in the query process many people suggest trying an entirely different project, just in case the first doesn't pan out. But it sounds like you might want to have book 2 finished and just in need of polishing and book 3 started (if you have a series) so that you aren't caught in a time crunch.

Would that make sense?

Here's some tips for writing to a deadline that was posted on Romancing the Blog:

http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2008/06/18/the-concrete-side-of-creativity/#comments

This is an interesting commentary.

As a reader I was irked to no end when an author took forever to come out with the sequel to a book I really enjoyed. I almost didn't buy the second book, when it did come out, but I couldn't find anything interesting that day.

When I finished the book and realized it wasn't unresolved, it was leading up to yet another book, I swore off her. I'm not waiting another three years to see what happened. It was interesting, not great.

Now, I have a question. The epic fantasy I am working on is part of a series. I'm fairly certain it's four books. However, my characters sometimes (more like always) take off and do things I didn't plan. Breathe life into them and they think you work for them. It's very possible this may extend to five volumes.

Do publishers say I want x books and that's that?

(Comment Take Two)

Re: Writing the rest of the series just in case they want more when you sell the first one.

I think even if you intend the book to be part of a series the first book should stand alone. What if the publishers don't want to buy more? Also, I've read several places that it is VERY bad to start writing the rest of the series before you've sold the first one. What if you never sell the first one? Then the next two or three or four MS that you've written aren't sellable. You have to start all over again and you have nothing to show for potentially years worth of work.

And no one's likely to buy Book Two in most series if they didn't want Book One. An exception might be if you write "Brother" romance novels where the books follow a family but are relatively stand-alone. That would be the only way I would feel good writing Book Two before I sold BOne. Just my two cents.

I alos know I have to write what I want to write, wht I'm inspired to write. I also think a hefty advance could definitely steer my inspiration in the right direction. It also doesn't seem like the worst idea, though, to stockpile a few manuscripts for a rainy day.

I also know that the thought of selling a book I haven't written yet makes me go a little twingy with worry inside.

Honestly, I would love write two to three books a year. Sadly, working full time and having four kids makes that pretty much an impossibility. It would not be such a bad thing to look forward to if it was possible to get paid enough to actually write that much. Sadly most debut authors do not get even close to that kind of money. I've written a rough in three months before. This was only possible because the job I had allowed me to frequently get two to three hours of writing in every night. Publishers want career type authors, but I think the reality is, many are not in a position to make the leap to writing on that kind of schedule. I'd guess there are a fair number of writers who get side-swiped by the time frame of things once they get the first book sold, and find writing to that kind of schedule is not feasible for them and thus their potential career never takes hold. Sad, but probably true.

Perhaps it is a matter of novice vs. expert. A novice writer, such as myself, is still learning the craft. And each revision of my manuscript brings me closer to one that is ready for publication. Can it be true that once the craft is learned the creative processes that truly bring the hero/heroine of a romance or the protagonists to life bring a book to fruition at a faster pace than one one is still learning?

I think that is the only way subsequent books can be published in six or nine months periods. And truth be told, I think deadlines are key in getting these books in such a swift manner. I know that I would love to have a deadline imposed for my own writing!

A new book every 6-9 months would be real challenging, but doable. The problem (well, ONE problem!) is all these resources telling me that a new book has to be as perfect as I can make it before shipping it out into the world. If I let myself even glance at a MS which I think is "ready," it's risking the Oh no, there's a passive-voiced construction, easy enough to fix, but have I REALLY cleaned that problem up everywhere? I better check... effect. Good-bye 9 months, hello year.

Sure I'd love my favorite writers to produce a book a year, but I can also wait.

After reading "A Cold Day In Paradise," I would have waited years to read Steve Hamilton's next Alex McKnight book. I've read them all, so far, and have been waiting years for another -- if there will be another one.

If the story and the writing are really good, I don't think time between books is as critical as the piblisher would have us believe.

...

Great topic, thank you.

For what it's worth, my contracts called for three novels and three novellas the first year, and have since dropped to two novels, two novellas a year. I thought it would be impossible to meet that schedule, but I learned something important--it is possible to write quickly and still write a good book. In fact, I've discovered that writing without all the revising and rewording that occurs during a long, drawn out process is often a more honest telling of the story. The prose is fresh and the emotions real, not rewritten to death in search of the "perfect" word...you know, the one that changes every time you reread your work!

that’s funny, I just ran across this list last week and thought “wow, there’s a variant of my last name I’ve never seen.” I mean, as well as thinking that this is a neat service she’s doing.

Thanks for the advice, as always. Reading your blog makes me feel like I have a friend in the business, which is very comforting. At this point, I'd probably pick you up at the airport, although I'd probably need to get to know you better before I agreed to help you move.

Thanks!

I fall all over myself to get requested material out within no more than a day of it being requested. Minutes if I'm sending it by email! So I'm not questioning the advice to send immediately.

But then it takes months to get read. If waiting can diminish her enthusiasm and your chances of impressing her, what happens to the agent's enthusiasm when her assistant places the requested material at the bottom of the agent's 'to be read' pile and the agent doesn't see it again for 3, 4 or even 6 months (or, for an editor, 8 months) or more? Does that enthusiasm wane?

Do you find you reject a higher number of manuscripts after they've been waiting on your desk for weeks or months? Or are you still able to muster the same enthusiasm for those mss read later rather than sooner?

Hope you're having a great time at Nationals!

Despite hearing that the holidays were a bad time to query, I approached agents between November and New Year's because my book was finished. I expected delays but surprisingly, I had very speedy responses, including requests for material.

In fact, Jackie requested my full ms about two days before Christmas. : )

I know too many writers who look for excuses not to query. I think the important thing is to get out there because, as you said, you can't predict an agent's schedule.

Do you get more behind than usual during the summer months? Or should an author just assume you're probably not interested if they haven't heard anything back in say six months? That is assuming that they have inquired as to whether or not the material was received, of course.

I was dealing with an agent who loved my partial, requested the full, and then called to talk about the book. She ultimately rejected it, but had some interesting suggestions on what could be done with it, and said she'd be interested in seeing the revisions. I ultimately did them and resubmitted, again she called to say she really enjoyed the changes and wanted to have a second look and would get back in touch with me in a few weeks. When a month went by with no response, I sent her a friendly email in which she responded that she would definitely call the next week. When three weeks went by, I sent another email and she replied that she was just too busy and that I could check again in 2 months. Is this the brushoff it seems to be? Should I have just waited it out for a response instead of sending an email after time passed?

Michele, this is great! Thank you for posting about the upcoming books.

No worries ! I figured the earlier I tell people, the more likely they are to jump in and join the discussion...