What Do A Snail And I Have In Common?

Have you noticed that some of your favorite authors release a new book every few weeks (or at least it feels that way)? Meanwhile, I only publish two or three books a year.

There are several reasons for that.

First of which, I’m not a fast writer. After I spend a week or two plotting a new book, it can take me a month or so to complete the first draft.

Next comes my favorite step: editing.

Some authors can spend a day or two going through their book, and then they’re finished editing. Heck, I’m a full-time writer, and I can't even read my books that fast. I go through each story 3-4 times, each pass focusing on something different. This can take anywhere from one to two months. Maybe less if the stars line up perfectly.

And then I send the book to my content editor. After that, I do rewrites, forward the book to my trusty beta reader, and do more rewrites. Next, the book goes to my copy editor, followed by my proofreader. These two steps take an additional four to six weeks (sometimes even longer during their busy seasons). During this time, I’m plotting and writing my next story.

Like for most authors, writing the books isn’t my only job when it comes to publishing. I also spend time planning my social media posts. I love Instagram, so that’s where I direct most of my effort. I’m now shooting bookstagram photos of the books I’m reading, and that takes time (but it’s also a lot of fun!).

I also create my own marketing graphics, and now my book covers.

In addition to all those things, there are plenty of other marketing tasks to be done. And they increase in number as I get closer to a release date.

Phew, are you exhausted yet?

So why are some authors able to release new books every two to four weeks, whereas, I can’t?

There are all kinds of reasons for this. Some authors are naturally fast writers. They have journalism backgrounds or English lit backgrounds or some other background that has taught them to write fast and with few edits. The added bonus is that their writing speed doesn’t compromise the quality of their writing or story.

Numerous authors hire virtual assistants to do all the marketing and social media…and that includes responding to your comments. That frees up the author’s time so that she can spend it entirely on writing her next project.

I do my own marketing and social media, both of which take time. 

Some of your favorite authors might be an author duo, for example, Kennedy Fox and Christina Lauren. They split the writing and marketing and social media between them. I have a huge admiration for those authors.

And then there are those authors who cheat and hire ghostwriters. When you buy their books, you aren’t buying their stories so much as you’re buying a brand. This is similar to what James Patterson does, except he includes the other author’s name on the cover. Authors who use ghostwriters pretend to have written the books themselves.

There’s also one more factor that I’m dealing with that isn’t part of the day for other contemporary romance writers: research. I’m currently researching World War II for a historical novel I want to write.

So there you have it, the main reasons why I’m a snail when it comes to releasing new books. I also have ADD, which makes writing for long periods tough. And I have three teens, one who is on the autism spectrum. Those things add to the challenge of being a prolific writer. But I love writing stories that entertain and touch the hearts of my readers, so regardless of how slow I might be at releasing books, those core elements will never change. XOX

Do you have a favorite romance author who releases only one to three books a year?

I’m currently reading Getting Played by Emma Chase.