Writing Fast

By June Shaw

I had never written a novel in less than a year--until recently.

The first book I wrote took two or three years, and it collects dust. It was fun. It was exciting. It was awful. It went on and on, and I was having a good time getting it down because I had wanted to do such a thing for so long. Then I discovered most books shouldn't be much longer than 100 pages unless the author was well-known or the book fit into a certain kind of genre, but it wasn't the genre I was writing.

Each book I sold in my first cozy mystery series took about a year to write, and that time frame let me write and exchange manuscripts with my critique group and revise a couple of times before I sent them in. Here is the first one--Relative Danger.
https://www.amazon.com/RELATIVE-DANGER-Cealie-Gunther-mysteries-ebook/dp/B003YJEWNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490560419&sr=8-1&keywords=Relative+danger

Now I'm writing a cozy mystery series for a different publisher, and they want the books faster. They want one turned in every six months. At first I thought I couldn't do it, but then I sat, knowing I needed to do and many authors write two or three or even more books a year.

My first book in that series came out last month. The second will be published in August, and last week I finished the first draft of the third one.

Wow, how productive this publisher has made me. Thank you.

Many positive reviews tell me A Fatal Romance came out very well:
https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Romance-Twin-Sisters-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01F0YVQEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490560830&sr=8-1&keywords=a+fatal+romance

Writing on Deadline

By June Shaw

I've never had to write a book with a deadline from a publisher, I recently realized and wish I'd had that experience.

Many writers today put out two or three or even more books a year. How can they? I can't imagine doing that--but then, I don't write quickly.I could. I have the time now--something I thought I never would say--but somehow I don't get the words down too much faster than when I was teaching.

Okay, that's not true. I write more now that I am retired and my five children have grown and left home. Thank goodness, they're not far away.

It's just that I'm not certain what I'll be writing now that I ended one mystery series and wrote standalones in other genres and now I'll write to contract with a different series and publisher. And this one has given me deadlines to meet. They like the first book and the brief synopses I came up with for the next two.

I told the editor I didn't write fast and suggested when I could probably have the next ones done. To have more time to advertise, they suggested alternate dates. I agreed. Now I'm concerned. But I guess instead of keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get book two finished in time, I should get those fingers hitting on keys.

Okay, I'm doing that now. I'll let you know how well it goes.