The words are 100% her own and she will be sharing how to manage multiple projects as an author. Take it away Steph!
Too Many Projects at Once - Stephanie Faris
On a typical day, I’ll write about cloud computing, credit card processing, eight-year-old fictional shenanigans, and a 12-year-old sleepover. I usually don’t take a break between working on projects, moving from one to the next to make sure I meet whatever deadlines I have that day.
It wasn’t always that way. At one time, I was sure I couldn’t work on more than one writing project at a time. Then I got an agent…and launched a freelance career. The latter means writing 2,000 words or more on whatever my clients happen to need that day. The former means dealing with edits on your 2016 book while you’re still writing your 2017 book. You never know when those edits will land in your inbox and when they do, you have to be prepared to jump right back into a story you wrote months ago.
I’m very fortunate to now have both middle grade and chapter books going at the same time. I’m doing a group project with some other tween fiction writers and I have a chapter due this week. I also just mailed off revisions for the second of my chapter book series, written for six- to nine-year-olds. That means jumping back and forth between the twelve-year-old boy who is my assigned character in the group project and eight-year-old Piper Morgan.
How do I do it? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the perception that we “can’t” work on more than one project is mostly in our head. It’s also something we have to get over once we have multiple books under contract. Some writers probably have a palate-cleansing process, maybe taking a day off in between projects, but I’m proof that it can be done without a break. You just have to read over the last few pages of what you’ve written and get your mind back into that voice and…poof…you’re working on multiple projects at once!
Thank you so much for being our guest today Stephanie.
Also sending a shout out to illustrator Lucy Fleming. Sometimes in the bustle the illustrator does not get enough credit but not here. Kudos to you too Lucy.
Bio from Website: Lucy Fleming has been an avid doodler and book-worm since early childhood. Drawing always seemed like so much fun, but she never dreamed it could be a full time job! She studied Art and practiced drawing every day, and in no time, went on to graduate from the University of Lincoln (UK) with a First Class Degree in Illustration.
She approached the Bright Agency in the summer of 2014 and they helped her leap straight into a career as a professional children’s book illustrator and she hasn’t looked back! Since then, she has worked with Bright on projects for clients such as, Frilly Fish Books: Bloomsbury, Little Tiger Press, ABDO Publishing, Igloo Books, Simon & Schuster and more.
She lives and works in a small town in England with her family and a little black cat. When not at her desk she prefers nothing more than to be outdoors in the sunshine with a hot cup of tea.
Link: Website, Twitter
Now for the grand reveal of the cover for Stephanie's next book!
Cover Reveal
Piper Morgan Joins the Circus
By Stephanie Faris
Blurb:
Piper helps some four-legged friends find the perfect home in the third book of the brand-new Piper Morgan series.
Piper is super excited to help out at Bark Street, a local animal shelter in town. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by adorable puppies and dogs all day? And when Piper sees Taffy, the cutest dog she has ever seen, Piper is determined to find a way to bring Taffy home. But it won’t be easy—especially when she finds out someone else wants to make Taffy a part of their family, too!
Author Photo (click for full resolution):
Bio:
Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.
Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive.
Links:
There is also a giveaway to partake in below. Thank you for stopping by and have a great day.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Cute cover, Stephanie.
ReplyDeleteI could probably work on multiple books at once. Just glad I don't have to.
Thank you, Alex!
DeleteYeah one book is hard enough. Thanks for stopping by Alex.
DeleteI'm currently trying to get myself to be better at working on multiple projects. I don't want to give up my short stories to write my novels. Wonderful book cover!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely gets easier with practice. Thank you, Shannon!
DeleteWe do love them circus shenanigans!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same situation as our Stephanie, got swamped with work in recent year or so and cannot catch a break.
Never a break. There's always far too much to do.
DeleteMultiple projects are doable if you try. My life is a multitude of projects and deadlines and things to get done. After a while, the chaos just became the norm and my balance.
ReplyDeleteI think that's true. I guess being busy is a sign we're successful.
DeleteBravo, Stephanie and Lucy. I love the cover of the new book. I write YA adventure short stories. I'm on the blog hop with C. Lee McKenzie, et al. I like your blog, Sheena. I'll join the blog, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria! I'll be giving Lucy a big shout out tomorrow morning. She's amazing.
DeleteThe older I get, the harder it gets to keep all those balls in the air. But Stephanie gives us all a little inspiration with this piece.
ReplyDeleteHope I can help somehow!
DeleteThanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. I love the bright and friendly look to your children's book.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michael!
DeleteYou amaze me, Stephanie! I'm currently making a schedule to work on more than one project. I'm steering away from the "I can't's" this time. Love that cover! :)
ReplyDeleteWe CAN do anything! I always say you have to be flexible to be a freelancer, but it depends on the type of writing you're doing. I feel very fortunate to get to live this life!
DeleteAnother Piper Morgan book? Awesome! Congrats, Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteI usually stick to one project. Or bounce between two when I get stuck with one. Anymore than that is too much for me. :)
I'll be working on a book and get revisions in my inbox due back next week, so I'll have to switch over, then come back again when I'm finished. It's crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way!
DeleteI grab a snack between projects- which explains my widening rump.
ReplyDeleteLOL...I think I grab a snack between paragraphs sometimes! Seriously, though, I do let myself check social media and read blogs in between projects throughout the day. It helps with the feeling that I'm working all day.
DeleteI am the opposite. I can forget to eat an entire meal while writing and still maintain my big rump.
DeleteThis is something I'm trying to get better at myself.
ReplyDeleteI think we all struggle with it, but it does get easier.
DeleteI can write one book and revise another at the same time, but I can't write two at the same time.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a great cover, Stephanie!
I've gotten fairly good at it. I find if I set one project aside to work on another, I can't go back to it because I lose that momentum.
DeleteThis is something I'm trying to get better at myself.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lifelong process, I think! I often cleanse the palate by playing on Facebook between posts!
DeleteI'm used to switching between journalism and fiction, but when I tried to write multiple fiction projects at once, I quickly got overwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that one day I'll be able to focus on fiction full time. I'm impressed by your ability to juggle so many projects simultaneously!
Yeah...at first it threw me. I'd be in the middle of working on a book and copyedits would come back--with a request to completely rewrite half of it. I found if I set the other project aside, it was too hard to go back to it, so I try to at least write 250 words a day on my current WIP even while revising another one.
DeleteLove the cover!!! I don't really read many middle grade books anymore but it sounds cute :D
ReplyDeleteAsma @ IceyBooks
Thank you, Asma!
DeleteThat's a nice, professional way of framing "multi-tasking." I call it my brain-cell frenzy.
ReplyDeleteI really like the playful, fun cover of Piper Morgan. Good luck with that one, Stephanie.
Thank you, Sheena and Steph!
I like that name for it--brain-cell frenzy!
DeleteThat's a nice, professional way of framing "multi-tasking." I call it my brain-cell frenzy.
ReplyDeleteI really like the playful, fun cover of Piper Morgan. Good luck with that one, Stephanie.
Thank you, Sheena and Steph!
Agreed and seconded. We do what we have to, eh?
ReplyDelete