Book Talk: Getting up early to write, finding the time for Book 2 while launching Book 1, and other #authorlife time management strategies

This week our debut authors answer the question: How do you find time to write a book (especially while you’re launching a book)?

Gloria Huang, KAYA OF THE OCEAN (January 7, 2025)

For me, writing another book is an excellent (and often necessary) way to temporarily escape from any publishing pressure. While launching a book is incredibly thrilling and exciting, there are also moments of insecurity and self-doubt. (How will my “book baby” do out in the world? Will people like it? Am I doing enough to help support it?) Writing another book, for me, is a way to take my mind off those kinds of questions and immerse myself in a new project, a new world. So even though finding the time to write can be difficult (especially with everything else in life going on around your book launch), and I’m sometimes squeezing a few minutes of writing late at night before bed, it feels less like something I’m obligated to do and more like something I want to do. Like literary self-care.

(By the way, there are also times when I struggle to write, either in finding the time or finding the words, but I’m generally someone who writes more easily when I have multiple projects going on than when I have none.)

C.I. Jerez, AT THE ISLAND’S EDGE (March 18, 2025)

This is the ultimate question! It’s so hard. I’m fortunate because I’m a Type “A” personality and knowing something is waiting on me is enough to drive me crazy. Second is that I think to myself, “You’ve given other areas of your life so much time, dedication, and effort. This is your dream, girl. Get on the ball.” So you just put your butt in the seat and write. Find an idea or a character that truly fascinates you. It’s the only way to continue to incentivize yourself over 400 pages. Then give yourself grace, but be consistent at least on a weekly basis. One thousands words in one week, equals a novel in 40 weeks. That is entirely doable. I send emails that are almost half that word count.

I also have great rituals that get me in the mood. I light candles. I play music. I remember the feeling of pulling my first ARC from the box. I watch movie trailers once in a while and I remind myself, if you relax and allow yourself, you, too, can create that kind of magic. So just do it! What’s on the other side if you don’t? Books don’t get written and that would be a travesty of a life meant to be lived in order to tell stories.

Catalina Margulis, AGAIN, ONLY MORE LIKE YOU (April 29, 2025)

It’s so hard! I’m in this step now. And it’s crazy – trying to raise a family, grow my business, launch a book and write the next one. Bananas! What’s working for me – connecting with my book at least once a day, preferably in the morning. Whether that’s going for a walk, run, or drive. I play a song and it takes me places, in my next book. I also find – and does this happen for anyone else? – but life keeps serving up little moments, that make me think of my hero, her struggles, her joys. Things that happen to me, things people say, that relate back to her, and I’ll think, “That’s perfect, I’ll add that.” I’ll tap some notes on to my iPhone and add it to a larger note file when I have some time – a longer, quieter day, or the weekend.

The harder part has been finding the time to consolidate those notes into my working manuscript. But I’m beginning to prioritize it more, so for example today, I got up early this morning, put on my playlist, and worked through my scenes and pages, one by one – until the kids woke up and it was time to get everyone ready for school. I was hoping I could get back to it through the day, but that didn’t happen. I’m happy with how far I got, and tomorrow’s another day. Still, using those little windows throughout the day to chip away, reflect, take notes, and then the longer windows where I can focus on bringing those notes into the manuscript, it makes the mountain smaller, bit by bit.

Like Gloria, I also see it as self care, and for that reason if no other, something I get to prioritize. I get to prioritize ME. And what makes me happy? Writing this book. Nailing a line. Making something out of nothing. Creating magic. It’s not a have to - it’s a get to. That flow state I hit every once in a while is a panacea. Resets my nervous system. And I’m so grateful that this is my sandbox to play in.

Alexandria Faulkenbury, SOMEWHERE PAST THE END (May 20, 2025)

I’ll start by saying that I do not enjoy getting up early. And I spent a long time railing against the idea that I needed to get up earlier than everyone in my house to get things done. I need to sleep too, right? But. Spoiler Alert. It’s the only way I get any writing done. Of course I find pockets where I can. I write when my daughter is in violin lessons. When my husband takes the kids on a bike ride on a Saturday morning and I have a bit of extra time to myself. We’re all fitting in writing where we can these days. But to have a scheduled block of time I can think only about writing in a still, quiet house and really focus? It’s gotta be the early morning. I hate it. I love it. It’s what works for me at this time in my life.

Promoting a book just about killed me. I find it so overwhelming. I made spreadsheets and calendars and scheduled things, but it still hit me like a wave. Like Gloria said, writing something else during that overwhelm really helped to turn off the panic that I wasn’t doing enough. And sometimes I just hid over the covers and stared into space instead of writing. Life’s about balance, right?

Kristin Offiler, THE HOUSEWARMING (July 29, 2025)

My writing process thrives on consistency and momentum, so I like to plan out (to a certain extent) my writing time each week to make sure I can touch my work-in-progress often. I don’t need hours upon hours to work, although that would be nice! When my son was a baby, I learned that I could accomplish plenty of writing in smaller scraps of time during naps, so even if I only have a little bit of time, I try to make it count. Every little bit truly adds up. I’ll write early in the morning, while my son is in piano lessons and I’m waiting in the car, on weekends when there’s more free time at my disposal. I have to be intentional about finding writing time, or else it vanishes.

Every week, I look at my calendar and set writing intentions for the week, given the state of my schedule. Right now, I’m on a 2,000 word/day drafting kick. I’m not hitting that goal every single day, but even just striving for it feels great and helps build momentum, which makes it easier for me to keep writing. I’m the type of writer who needs to be consistent; otherwise, my project starts to feel more daunting than it really is.

Launching a book is another beast entirely. I find it all-consuming, and I could easily spend all my writing time promoting my debut novel. It’s a balancing act to divide up my writing time so it serves both my debut and my WIP, but the only way I know how to do it and save my sanity is to plan, plan, plan! And to be OK with the plan sometimes falling apart.

Emily Krempholtz, VIOLET THISTLEWAITE IS NOT A VILLAIN ANYMORE (November 18, 2025)

I’m in the direct lead-up to my debut right now, so writing my next book is taking a little bit more of a backseat than it has all summer. I’ve always been a writer who thrives on momentum, so I like to outline a book and then intentionally set drafting time for when my schedule will allow me to devote big chunks of concentration to it at a time. I like to descend into a writing cave and disappear until it’s done.

But with a lot of the demands of publishing, and some of the inconsistencies in scheduling that come with it, I’m finding that I need to adjust my writing process a bit to account for this. I take time where I can get it now, and try not to let myself get stuck in the trap of thinking I don’t have enough time to do everything, and so doing nothing at all. I’m working on a few other books right now, little by little, and in a lot of ways, it’s really exciting for me to be experimenting with the new writing process like this. It’s fun watching it all come together even if it’s a bit different than what I’m used to.

Penny Zang, DOLL PARTS (August 26, 2025)

This has been the hardest part! While I have appreciated having something else to work on (and obsess over), I have never been so tired. Writing on a deadline is a completely different experience from writing my debut, when I had all the time in the world and didn’t know if anyone would ever see it. Since I’m a morning writer, I still wake up early to write, but I am also trying to find other pockets of the day to fit in editing time. Naturally, since we can’t do it all, I know I’ll have to pull back on promotion for Doll Parts in some ways, which is probably also good for me. The best feeling is when I’m able to string together enough time to get fully absorbed in Book 2 (Accidents Never Happen, coming out late 2026). I’m so excited about this project, which helps, too. I know that even though I’m tired and busy now, it will all be worth it to see this second book alongside my debut.