Question of the week: When do established writers find time to write?

I’m curious because I attended a an intense two-day Archebooks Professional Novelist workshop this weekend and realized how little I knew about the publishing business, The material presented was super informative but also a bit scary because one of the many tidbits I learned was that once my book,The Ride, is published, I go from author to small business owner. In other words, writing a novel now sounds like the easy part of becoming a writer. Gulp.

The burning question from my first blog was addressed during the workshop. The question concerned how an introvert can promote herself and her book. The answer was quit simple—get over it and go out and do it. I have a feeling that’s a lot easier to say than it is to do.

And, that brings us back to this week’s question—if I’m out and about all the time promoting, that mean’s I not in my little cubbyhole writing. Or like this past week, between the workshop and a trip to Key West, I barely had time to write a blog, much less work on my second book.

Okay, I can hear my friends and family saying, “You live in paradise and your life is a perpetual vacation so why a trip to Key West?” Simple answer—for an extra dose of Jimmy Buffet music, an excuse to have a frozen umbrella drink in the middle of the afternoon, and the celebration of my husband’s birthday.

Anyway, back to my point. How do authors like Jodi Picoult, who seem to come out with a new book every week, do it? Have she and others like her discovered the secret of adding more hours to the day?

I can only hope that by simply walking past Hemingway’s house while in Key West, I caught some kind of writer’s vibe that will not only act as an inspiration but will open some sort of time portal as well.

See you next week.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride
Web site: http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/home
Email: janekennedysutton@gmail.com