“Are you working on a new book?” asks the third relative this weekend during the Quinn family reunion.
“I’m always working on a new book,” I say.
I’m lucky that all my family, near and far, both sides, support me in my writing endeavors. They don’t have to read all my books to be supportive – nor do I want them to, in some cases! – but they each find a way to support me, even if it’s just to say, “Wow, that’s really cool that you’re writing all these books!”
I took time this weekend to tell them how much I appreciated that.
But it struck me that the answer is always the same whenever someone inquires about my writing, especially if they haven’t seen me in a while – that I’m always working on something new. Partly, this is because I write fast. But mostly, it’s because I’m ALWAYS WORKING.
The pace is crazy sometimes.
Lots of times I feel overwhelmed.
Very often, I feel like things slip through the cracks (updating links or proofing the audiobook or getting an ad submitted on time).
Through all of it, I know I’m SUPER LUCKY to be making a living doing what I love.
But the thing I’m always doing: WRITING.
Something Hugh Howey said early on in his career has stuck with me. I’m paraphrasing, but it was something like this: “I just wrote the books and published them. I figured I would always have time to market them later.”
I’ve taken this approach lately. Especially in 2014, a year that’s seen me log over 400k words of new written works (not all yet published) so far (with three months left to go!). You don’t have to write a half million words in a year to be successful (remember: I write full-time), but I can guarantee that if you are always writing, you will achieve two things:
1) your craft will improve
2) you will build your backlist
And those two things are the key ingredients for success.
NOTE: to give you an idea of what I’m working on this week…
*proofing the audiobook for Faery Swap
*finishing a Mindjack short story for the Telepathy Anthology
*finishing final proof-edits on First Daughter
*starting Debt Collector Season Two
Haha, I was just taking about this to my husband. His parents came to visit this weekend and his mother said, "Did you finish that book?" I told her yes, so she asked what I am doing now. I told her I am writing another book and she looked at me like I had five eyeballs. "Another book?"
Umm, yes. This is what writers do, lol.
I haven't heard that Hugh Howey quote, but I LOVE it!