How to Write a Book with a Full-time Job
In today’s From the Writer’s Desk I’ll be answering a question I’ve gotten consistently since publishing my first book: How do you write a book with a full-time job?
Yep, that’s right. I’ve got another job on top of being an author. A pretty demanding advertising job, in fact.
But before I begin to answer this question I want to caveat by saying that what I’ll be sharing is not the only way to do this, but it is my way. It is how I’ve traversed writing seven books with a 9-5 and then planning a wedding and being pregnant and in postpartum (spoiler alert, I did NOT write during my 4th trimester) and as a new parent. So please, like any advice, take what you might find helpful and ignore any insights that just do not jive with you. Also, I want to be very honest regarding this topic. Meaning, I’m not going to sugar coat the realities of this feat (yes, it’s a feat).
With that said, you might be asking, well, Jacq, if it’s so hard, why try at all to write a book while working another job?
My answer to that is twofold:
Like any artist, creating isn’t a choice, it’s inevitable. The stories and characters that live in our head won’t be silenced unless we put them to page. Writing, I’ve learned, is also my form of meditation. For all the turmoil it can bring, I am happier after I’ve spent time writing. I’m a better wife, mother, friend, individual. So for the sake of those around me, and my mental wellness, I’ll hopefully be writing until my last breath. If you’re an artist, I’m sure you can relate to this.
If we waited to write when it was our only job, we most likely wouldn’t write at all. Unless you’re someone who can be financially supported by others in your life, writing books does not pay all the bills (at least not for a while for most authors) nor does it give you affordable health benefits in the US. I published my first book in 2015 and still, seven books later, the income I get off my books is A) not stable enough for me to solely rely on it and B) doesn’t offer enough of a kickback to say bye bye to the nice health benefits my 9-5 job in advertising gives me.
So, Jacq, how do you write a book with a full-time job (and perhaps also with a kid(s)?
Realistic Schedule and Adaptability: With conquering any task you need the time to do it and the best way to ensure you get that time is to give yourself a realistic schedule. I emphasize the word realistic because the quickest way to throw your arms up in defeat is to feel like you’ve failed before you’ve even begun. Do NOT make a schedule where you say you will write every day if you know that isn’t realistic. And let’s be honest, with another full time job, that hardly is. And that is okay. I’ll repeat this. It is okay to not write everyday. This is where adaptability comes in. When juggling two jobs I find making my writing schedule two weeks at a time is both realistic for me and allows me to adapt to what else might be going on in my life, my partner’s and my child’s.
Personally, I am a morning person for all activities. For years, I scheduled myself to write for one to two hours before my other job starts. When I had my son, this got tougher because he gets up when I normally would to write (6:30am). So I had to adapt. I became more of a night writer. Though I still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it (my brain is usually mush after a full day of work), I have leaned into using this time for ‘sprint writing’ or writing without editing myself (which I do to a fault) to mainly get down words. On weekends is when I can find my mornings to write with all synapses firing so I can edit and make sense of what I have written the week prior.
Also, making a two week at a time schedule I’ve found a digestible chunk my husband can take in for helping when I need to write (more on “help” down below).
Set deadlines and stick to them: When you do set up your schedule, commit to it. Even if you don’t feel like writing that day, you must! That’s the only true way you will eventually meet your deadline. I have written when I’m bone exhausted after a day's work, my eyes blurry, but if I don’t get some words in on that chapter I’ll be doubling my work the next night. Excuses for deviating after you’ve set your writing calendar and deadline is for an emergency, mental health or unforeseen issues with your job. If you have a publisher those are usually the only reasons they will allow for a deadline push. Because if a deadline is set by them, that often means a release date has been shared and if the deadline moves so does all production. If you don’t have a publisher yet for your novel, I always believe it’s best to still write like you do. Have someone else hold you accountable for handing in a first draft. An editor waiting on the wings is always helpful because it’s very easy to make up excuses and procrastinate when writing a book. I’ve certainly made up my fair share, but this is what separates those who finish their novels and those who don’t. Does this sound dramatic? Perhaps, but it’s the truth I’ve seen and lived through with others around me.
Realistic Progress Goals: I am a slow writer. I know this is my pace. It takes me anywhere from nine months to a year to write my first draft. Especially when working another job. This is where I’ll reference my earlier point in Realistic Schedule again. It goes hand-in-hand with Realistic Progress Goals. It also touches on mental wellness. DO NOT make progress goals that have you writing a first draft in three months if your writing pace isn’t conducive to that. You will assuredly become stressed out and feel bad about “not writing enough”. The ever present monster to all authors! This might even have you stop writing for a while because you feel dejected. Again, dramatic? Perhaps, but we artists are sensitive souls. DO make monthly bite-sized progress goals that work for your schedule and mental health. “This month I will write six chapters”. That’s about two chapters a week. If you are a plotter and know your book is roughly thirty chapters long, you'll finish writing your first draft in about five months! Amazing right? Just writing two chapters a week will have you completing a draft in five months! Could you write more in a week? Sure, some weeks you most likely can. But this goes back to Realistic Scheduling. Know what's happening in your life month to month so you can write around it.
Another subject I’ll quickly touch on is word count tracking. I HATE IT. Loathe. Detest. I mean, talk about feeling dejected. I learned quickly this is the worst way for me to keep track of my progress. One day I might write five hundred words, the next five thousand, which put me on a rollercoaster of feeling like I failed one day and flew the next. It wasn’t sustainable for me. I switched to tracking by chapter using the box method: Each box I filled in represented a chapter completed. If I know I have about thirty chapters in a book, I need to fill in thirty boxes. This feels more “bite-sized” to me. More digestible to think I need to write x amount of chapters this week to get to my deadline in x amount of months, rather than hundreds of thousands of words.
HELP!: I might have screamed this to my husband more than a dozen times when trying to meet my deadline for Symphony for a Deadly Throne. And I am so thankful he came running to my aid each time. Writing is mentally taxing. Writing while also working a 9-5 is borderline torturous at times. Food won’t get cooked, let alone eaten when one of my deadlines is approaching. What are showers? Working out, BYE! Any “extra” time I have apart from writing and working and sleeping is to see my child and hug my husband. Friends know I am in my writer’s cave until I press send to my editor. Even with all the planning and goal tracking, getting to that first draft deadline always feels like a sprint by the end, which is why asking for help from others is important. Whatever you might need, if it’s someone to bounce ideas off of, go for a walk to clear your head from your manuscript, pick up the kids, massage your back, read over some of your WIP, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Writing might be solitary, but finishing a book takes a village. Please, out of all the advice I've listed, this one I hope you take to heart. Be aware when you need a helping hand and find that someone you can reach out to and lean on.
And finally…You can’t have it all, all the time: This mainly means it’s very hard to function forever while spinning all the plates. Actually, it’s darn near impossible. And that’s okay! You might need to sacrifice your social life for a time to stay in for a few weekends so you hit your progress goal. You might need to put down your manuscript for a few weeks because work is taking up more than 9-5. Again, that’s okay! We can’t have it all, all the time. Which is why we need realistic schedules that are adaptable with realistic progress goals along with asking for the occasional help from loved ones. Our mental health and wellness is more important than a book, so please, throughout all of this keep tabs on where you are and if you need a break that’s okay, your adaptable schedule has made room for that ;). In the end, you’ve made a deadline that fits your pace and eventually, if you stick to your progress goals you’ll come out with a completed manuscript!
WHAT DOES A WRITING WEEK WITH AN APPROACHING DEADLINE LOOK LIKE FOR ME?
For those curious, I’m sharing what my schedule is like when nearing a deadline at the end of a month. Meaning all systems go! I have thirty days to get this story done. You can NOT slack off, Jacq! You HAVE to hand in your manuscript or BIG BAD things will happen.
6am - 8:30am Monday - Friday: I write. Yes, every morning because with only a month left I’m usually sprinting to catch up. (My husband is a saint and watches + feeds our son breakfast these mornings. A.K.A Help!)
9am to hopefully 5:30pm: I work my advertising job
6pm - 8pm: I help with dinner, bath and put our son to bed
8pm - until my eyes burn: I write.
Weekends: Either Saturday or Sunday I write for 8 hrs. The other day I write for 4 and then give myself a much needed break with time with family and friends.
Yes, it's grueling. Yes, I’m usually a deflated balloon at the end of finishing a first draft. I try my darnedest to pace myself in the beginning, but even with all the planning life likes to throw random curveballs and I often find myself tripping a few times to eventually catapult over the finish line. Again, the above schedule is how I write when on a CRUNCH to meet a deadline. It is NOT my schedule 80% of the time. But I wanted to share what it can take to get to THE END. You have to force your discipline a lot, but it’s how I’ve done what I’ve done. How I, personally, know how to keep doing what I need to do to complete my novel. I only hope some of this has helped you in finishing your book too.