The Four Book Year

     This year, I have four titles being released: Heart of a Sinner, Lady Flora's Rescue, Dream for a Sinner, and in November, The Perfect Daughter.  All are full length from seventy thousand to over a hundred thousand words. Wow, people say. You are so prolific. How do you do it? Purely by accident. When I first started to write I realized and was told an author needed to supply fresh material frequently, not simply write one book and be done, though I know writers who have done this when they discover that writing is a ton of work that really doesn't pay.  Anyhow, I figured on two books a year as what I could manage. I've been published for nine years and found I average three books a year, but last year had only one, Putty in her Hands.
     Putty was the last book I did with my long-term editor who retired shortly afterward. Assigned a new editor for Perfect Daughter, I found she was a terrible fit, and I admit I backed out of that contract before I finished first edits so demanding it became her book and not mine. Because most authors lack confidence, I entirely shelved my second book for 2018 and asking for a new editor, proceeded through a glacially long editorial process for Heart of a Sinner which I'd had difficulty finishing. It was at the half -written when I lost all confidence as a writer thanks to editor #2. I struggled to the end, and the book became 93,000 words, but good words. Still, it was put through three edits, line edits, and two pre-galleys, something I'd never heard of before, before getting the final galley. I swear, if there is a mistake in that book, I couldn't find it. Because this editing process ran from July to October. Heart was pushed into 2019 for publication. It came out in January to great reviews.
      In the meantime, I took out the prequel to The Perfect Daughter which had been gathering dust because no one wanted an 18th century historical, and it was too long at 106,000 words. I did a rewrite. It is still 106,000 words, but the book was accepted by another press and sigh of relief, given to an editor I enjoy working with since she edits with a light hand, not a closed fist. The edits went well and fast, but their publishing queue was long, so it appeared in February of 2019. Feeling better about Daughter, I also rewrote it, taking out some of the edits I hated and restoring it more to its original form.  The same press accepted it. I worked with the same editor. That book will finally be out in November.
     And what about the fourth book of 2019? I wrote Dream for a Sinner from scratch while still doing the lengthy editing process on Heart of a Sinner. It is short for me, 70,000 words, but okay, I was a little tired by now.  I submitted it to my regular publisher, expecting a long, slow process that would result in a 2020 release. It winged through all the hoops so quickly I was astounded and will be out on August fourteen, 2019. The Sinners series is my most popular,  and all are written from scratch. That takes time. Usually, I submit one a year. Dream was supposed to be my 2020 Sinners entry, but became my fourth book for this year.  Now, however, fans of the series will have to wait a long time for the next, The Aussie Sinner, which I've started but is going very slowly.
     So, how did I do four full-length books in one year: two rewrites of older books, two brand new books and a crazy publishing schedule. I must admit, I am no Nora Roberts and don't make her kind of money either. Please don't expect another four book year!