My Writing Process: Deadlines

People often ask about my writing process, and it’s quite specific, which is what allows me to put out multiple books a year.

I’m doing a whole series about Writing and Finishing a Book in 2022 over on my TikTok account. If you don’t have TikTok, feel free to follow along here!

First things first, I take planning very seriously. I set clear deadlines for myself. This often means I will set up a launch date in Amazon, so that I have accountability. I work backward from that deadline and set up key moments in my calendar:

• The date my first draft must be completed

• The date editing must be completed

• The period of time I do beta readers and advanced copies for reviewers

• A pre-sale period, particularly for my email subscribers

• Launch day and all launch activity (interviews, readings, etc.)

I usually allow myself about three months for a first draft. That said, my author friends all say that I write in way that’s very “clean”… meaning, I’m aiming for the first draft to be organized and 85% finished before I give it to the editor for the first round of reviews.

The way I get the draft “clean” is by plotting. I am a BIG PLOTTER. Many writers are not. In fact, some famous writers don’t plot at all (Jackie Collins, E.L. James). The next post in this series will be all about plotting, so stay tuned!