Katherine Bone's Blog - Posts Tagged "research"
Big Girl Panties
Oh boy! Do I ever need BIG girl panties!
Life can be hectic and crazy, me hearties. One day can be gloriously epic, while another one can cast you into the abyss. The great thing about each day that comes... you never know which type of day you're going to get. Doesn't that make life interesting? I think so.
Days, months, years. Epic books aren't written in a day. Nor are they written in a few days. I've heard a very special author say she writes books in two weeks. ACK! Is that possible? Apparently so. (Pass me that mojo!) But the average shorter book gets written in six weeks.
I don't normally write shorter books. Though I can honestly say, Lost Treasure, Captive Princess, at 46,000 words was my first try. The book took more than 3 months to write because I had to adjust my technique to include modern language, when I'm instinctively drawn to historical styles. And then there was the constant revising, because again, I was venturing into a foreign land, so to speak. Duke by Day, Rogue by Night went through a few versions from the 75,000 word book HQN Mills & Boon had for two years, to the 90,000 word book that sold to Crimson Romance. Also, not written in weeks.
Stephen King says, and I summarize here, "If it takes longer than three months to write a book, the writer loses momentum and the passion for the work." He's right. I've found myself in this position many times, mateys. A good historical, given research and revisions, can take up to six months. That's half of an author's year!
This brings me to my point. Readers, that's you, me hearties, read a book in a day or more. What brings you the greatest joy took an author months to perfect. So much agony, time, talent and passion goes into each and every book sold today. Each word thoroughly researched in historicals. Each word infinitely important to the characters and plot. Each word born of an author's soul.
When a book reaches you, dearest readers, big girl panties come in handy for the author. And, at times, Depends. Muahahaha! We never know how well our books will be received. We never know if our books will disappoint or offer a much needed escape. When the reviews come in, good or bad, they offer feedback that negates or equates time well spent. That's an author's barometer. Well, that and a compass which points to what we want most. ;)
Thus, the need for big girl panties!
Has there been a time when you needed to put on your big girl panties?
Life can be hectic and crazy, me hearties. One day can be gloriously epic, while another one can cast you into the abyss. The great thing about each day that comes... you never know which type of day you're going to get. Doesn't that make life interesting? I think so.
Days, months, years. Epic books aren't written in a day. Nor are they written in a few days. I've heard a very special author say she writes books in two weeks. ACK! Is that possible? Apparently so. (Pass me that mojo!) But the average shorter book gets written in six weeks.
I don't normally write shorter books. Though I can honestly say, Lost Treasure, Captive Princess, at 46,000 words was my first try. The book took more than 3 months to write because I had to adjust my technique to include modern language, when I'm instinctively drawn to historical styles. And then there was the constant revising, because again, I was venturing into a foreign land, so to speak. Duke by Day, Rogue by Night went through a few versions from the 75,000 word book HQN Mills & Boon had for two years, to the 90,000 word book that sold to Crimson Romance. Also, not written in weeks.
Stephen King says, and I summarize here, "If it takes longer than three months to write a book, the writer loses momentum and the passion for the work." He's right. I've found myself in this position many times, mateys. A good historical, given research and revisions, can take up to six months. That's half of an author's year!
This brings me to my point. Readers, that's you, me hearties, read a book in a day or more. What brings you the greatest joy took an author months to perfect. So much agony, time, talent and passion goes into each and every book sold today. Each word thoroughly researched in historicals. Each word infinitely important to the characters and plot. Each word born of an author's soul.
When a book reaches you, dearest readers, big girl panties come in handy for the author. And, at times, Depends. Muahahaha! We never know how well our books will be received. We never know if our books will disappoint or offer a much needed escape. When the reviews come in, good or bad, they offer feedback that negates or equates time well spent. That's an author's barometer. Well, that and a compass which points to what we want most. ;)
Thus, the need for big girl panties!
Has there been a time when you needed to put on your big girl panties?
