Welcome back for another question! Rachelle has a good one for me today!

How long does the writing process take from the original idea to publishing the book?

I think I have to answer this question in two parts because it’s different things for me. I have so many ideas that I can write for years, honestly, and not run out. I have books planned through the next three years, with potential ideas to get me into year four. If a new idea popped into my head today, it would be many years before it would become a book or a series.

That’s another distinction for me. I plot a series at a time. I have an idea of how many books a series will be. Each series gets tied together in one way or another, like Raise A Glass where all the books are linked because the characters are cousins. I had the idea for Raise A Glass three years ago. I knew it was going to be nine cousins. That they would all have to work on the vineyard in order to inherit it. I knew who each cousin would fall for and how they would all come together.

But it took me three years to publish the first book.

The second part of the answer is actually writing the book. Once an idea is in there, and the book fits into my schedule, then I can start writing. Start to finish depends on how long a book is, obviously. The Raise A Glass books take me about five weeks from start to finish. The Big & Beautiful books take a little more than three. In that time is also two to three days of plotting the entire story. When it’s done, it has to be edited, and the time that takes can vary, but in general, after a book is written, it’s published within a few weeks. There are always exceptions, but that’s pretty typical for me.

If you’re thinking of writing a book, stay tuned for next week’s question!

Thanks so much, Rachelle, for your question! If you have a question, send me an email (mary (at) maryethompson (dot) com) with Q&A in the subject, or post it in the comments below, and I’ll answer your question right here on the blog!

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