BOM: Questions and Answers

Melissa asked: Angie,you've said that when you research for your books,you always have thick notebooks crammed with all the info (background,history and such). what do yu do with the notebooks after you're done?keep them in case yu need to look at the info again or just pitch and recycle all the paper and such?

I keep those notebooks until the book comes out, then I empty them and use them for the next project in the pipeline. I often need to refer back to them during the editing and copy editing process, but after that, what's done is done. My pack rat instinct wants to save them but 1) I don't have room 2) all that paper is a fire hazard and 3) some of the information would be outdated if I ever wanted to use it again. What is discoverable once is discoverable again, so out it all goes.

And I always print on both sides of the paper, so it's usually past in-house recycling by the time I throw it away. :-)

Marla asked: Have you done this with all your books (blogged about the process)? I'll check your archives.How fast does a novel usually go for you from first word to on the shelf?

Yes--I've done a BOM at the beginning of every month for about a year now, I think. And it usually takes me 3-5 months to write a novel, from beginning to end. When I'm traveling, of course, the process takes longer because I lose valuable work time. I need stretches of uninterrupted time to think when I write, so travel days aren't good for writing. I usually use travel time for reading. Once I hand a book in to my publisher, it takes anywhere from several months until a year or so before the book hits the shelf.

Clyde asked "Why the frog?" He's in honor of my gal pal Nancy Rue, who I'm seeing this weekend. She loves little green frogs. Have you discovered her "Lily" books for girls?

Jan asked about when "The Note" will be in theaters . . . actually, it's beginning to look like "The Note" might make it to TV. I'm not sure, though, because these things are out of my hands. We'll see.

And Linda, yes, I'm going to be in Oregon at the end of the month. When I'm at a conference, it's often hard for me to get away, but maybe you could pop in and we could have coffee during one of my breaks? . . . I'd love to see you.

Well, it's early in the morning (really!) and I have a full day of a novelists' retreat ahead of me. Take care, everyone!

~~Angie