How much do I work?
I've been asked recently how many hours do I work every week between my full-time day job and my writing.
About 70 hours a week.
And I've been doing that since early September when I started writing Bewitched & Betrayed. And yes, that's normal--at least for me. When I'm writing a book (which is 8-9 months out of the year) that's how many hours I put in a week.
My day goes pretty much like this:
My alarm goes off at 5:45. Since my hours were cut at my day job last month, I don't have to be in the office until 9:00 each day. So I use that time in the morning to feed & potty the dogs, blog, answer emails, take care of book business, do 20 minutes on the treadmill, have breakfast, and every couple of days, I throw in a load of laundry. Then it's off to work. I usually leave at 4:30, get home by 5:00, cook dinner, have dinner with Derek, take a shower (so I can go to bed as soon as I stop writing for the night). Then it's upstairs to my office for about 3 hours of writing. I really try to be in bed by 10:00. On the weekends, I usually write anywhere from 6-8 hours a day.
I squeeze in life where I can. I write during the day on weekends so I can have Saturday and Sunday nights free. On Sundays, I write when we get home from church.
And yes, I do try to take a night off usually once every two weeks. But when I'm down to the wire like right now (6 weeks until my deadline of May 1 for Bewitched & Betrayed), I only take a night off if I'm about to drop in my tracks or cry because I'm so tired -- yep, it's happened, and it ain't pretty.
Ah, the glamorous life of an author. ; )
But I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it -- even with all the hard work. And I can't stress enough how vital it is to have a supportive spouse. Derek is magnificent -- the perfect author husband. He knows when to take me to Dairy Queen for ice cream, or when I just need a hug.
Living the dream can be hard work; but believe me, it is worth it.
Tomorrow is the beginning of "Snippet Saturdays" of The Trouble with Demons every Saturday between now and April 28. Tomorrow's snippet will feature Raine & Tam. Next Saturday, it's Raine & Mychael.
On Monday, I'll announce the details of an ARC contest (I'll be giving away 2 ARCs of The Trouble with Demons)
And there'll be another contest to come with great prizes right after TTWD hits the shelves (signed books, t-shirts, keychains, fridge magnets, bookmarks, signed cover flats)
It's Friday -- YeeHa!
Lisa
About 70 hours a week.
And I've been doing that since early September when I started writing Bewitched & Betrayed. And yes, that's normal--at least for me. When I'm writing a book (which is 8-9 months out of the year) that's how many hours I put in a week.
My day goes pretty much like this:
My alarm goes off at 5:45. Since my hours were cut at my day job last month, I don't have to be in the office until 9:00 each day. So I use that time in the morning to feed & potty the dogs, blog, answer emails, take care of book business, do 20 minutes on the treadmill, have breakfast, and every couple of days, I throw in a load of laundry. Then it's off to work. I usually leave at 4:30, get home by 5:00, cook dinner, have dinner with Derek, take a shower (so I can go to bed as soon as I stop writing for the night). Then it's upstairs to my office for about 3 hours of writing. I really try to be in bed by 10:00. On the weekends, I usually write anywhere from 6-8 hours a day.
I squeeze in life where I can. I write during the day on weekends so I can have Saturday and Sunday nights free. On Sundays, I write when we get home from church.
And yes, I do try to take a night off usually once every two weeks. But when I'm down to the wire like right now (6 weeks until my deadline of May 1 for Bewitched & Betrayed), I only take a night off if I'm about to drop in my tracks or cry because I'm so tired -- yep, it's happened, and it ain't pretty.
Ah, the glamorous life of an author. ; )
But I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it -- even with all the hard work. And I can't stress enough how vital it is to have a supportive spouse. Derek is magnificent -- the perfect author husband. He knows when to take me to Dairy Queen for ice cream, or when I just need a hug.
Living the dream can be hard work; but believe me, it is worth it.
Tomorrow is the beginning of "Snippet Saturdays" of The Trouble with Demons every Saturday between now and April 28. Tomorrow's snippet will feature Raine & Tam. Next Saturday, it's Raine & Mychael.
On Monday, I'll announce the details of an ARC contest (I'll be giving away 2 ARCs of The Trouble with Demons)
And there'll be another contest to come with great prizes right after TTWD hits the shelves (signed books, t-shirts, keychains, fridge magnets, bookmarks, signed cover flats)
It's Friday -- YeeHa!
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
6:54 AM
5 Comments:
Hello Lisa..My Niece wants to be an author..she is 13 she has already written a(very good) book..i have her read your blogs every day .so she can get an idea of whats in store for her..she loves your blogs and i'll bet even todays blog won;t scare her off :)..it would me i don't know how you do it..but glad you do.
Thanks
Hi Tina, it's good to hear from you! Hope your niece's writing is going well.
I didn't mean for today's blog to be scary, but just to tell it how it is -- at least for me. I love it or it wouldn't do it. Yes, I'm tired a lot, but most of the time it's a satisfied tired.
I'm really impressed with your stamina. That's far more than I could ever handle. {Smile}
I'm glad to hear it's worth it. I do love the results. {REALLY BIG GRIN}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Wow! that's a question which I've wondered about...your hard work is definitely paying off. I'm glad you take breaks too! Very important for the mind.
Thank you Anne Elizabeth & Yunaleska!
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