A Day In The Life Of An Author

DSC03546

There’s an old Zen proverb I’ve always loved. It goes like this: “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” If you’re a child of the 60’s or 70’s you may remember a bestselling book of the same name.

waterislife

I’m always asked what does my day consist of? I was thinking about this and realized an author’s life is very similar to the saying with a couple of substitutions: “Before best selling books, write. After best selling books, write.” And that’s what I do.

IMGP2367

I’m an early riser, plus we have a puppy who likes to go outside about five in the morning. I let her out, make some coffee, and curl back up in bed with my iPad for some social media marketing which includes twitter and Facebook. Then I check my email and respond to that.

After that it’s time to get serious about the day, including a shower, maybe having my husband test my knowledge of crossword puzzles while I’m getting dressed, whatever.

Around 7:30 or 8:00 I usually begin my day at the computer in my office, again doing some more social media marketing – the things I couldn’t do from my iPad. There are always the normal interruptions – like the dog walker I decided would be very beneficial in the training of this puppy (by now you’re getting the sense that this is a very, very active young puppy!), a trip to the store, whatever! You all know the things that are involved in running a household – even as mundane as transferring the washing load to the dryer.

IMG_20141118_181231

I’m at my desk, on and off, until around 4:00 in the afternoon. My stomach has never opened up for a sit down breakfast, so I usually heat some leftovers from the night before and eat at my desk – yeah, I known, doctors and nutritionists wouldn’t approve, but at 71 and very healthy, what the heck!

During these hours I’ll write or edit a couple of chapters, check email and other social media and back again. It’s really nothing all that glamorous, and it’s a lot of hard work. From the time I started writing which really wasn’t all that long ago, I’ve done it almost every day, unless we’re on vacation, and I often even write then, on my iPad. Matter of fact, my very first foray into the field of writing was a book named Blue Coyote Motel. I wrote it entirely on my iPad while I was in Sacramento, California with my husband who was in the State Legislature at the time. I think the reason I’ve never had writers’ block is that I write almost every day. Some days it comes easily, some days are just grinding out the hours.

IMG_2960-1

In writing there are two types which are commonly referred to as pantsters or plotters. What that means is that many authors plan out their books, chapter by chapter, before they ever take finger to computer. Then there are those of us who simply can’t do it. I’ve tried, and believe me, I felt like I was in some small elevator and starting to hyperventilate from the sheer boxed in feeling I got.. I cannot write that way, but I’ve come to think of it as a bonus. When I start writing a book, I have no idea what’s going to happen and often, not a clue whodunit! Best of all worlds – I get to read a book while I’m writing it!

That’s just writing the book. Then there are the numerous discussions with the person who designs my covers and formats my books as well as the narrator who I now have narrating my books for audio. Not to mention the marketing. And so it goes! Nothing all that glamorous. I’m pretty much doing almost exactly the same thing I was before my books became best sellers. Still chopping wood and carrying water!

Would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll giveaway an ebook of the one that started the cozy mystery series – Kelly’s Koffee Shop!

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *