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A writing career is about trying to keep a lot of balls in the air. Trying to assure that you don’t drop them or let things fall by the wayside but also to realize what is most important and then to categorize and organize your time effectively to pursue and achieve your goals.

The first part is simply asking yourself what your goals are. If you don’t know what you want, how can you know how to get there?

So while I love writing for New York and it’s definitely something I want to continue to do, I also want to continue writing for Samhain because I love them. I love my editor. She challenges me to write the best stories I can. I love small presses and I will happily continue to write books for Samhain as well as New York.

Don’t get me wrong, writing is a joy to me. I love doing it. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t have some moment of utter thankfulness that I do this gig.

But writing is my job. I don’t have a muse (though I’m not criticizing those who do). I sit and write. Every day except for usually one week in the summer and one week at the end of the year when I just leave Word closed and enjoy reading, watching movies, being with my family and all the good stuff you need to recharge.

For me, this isn’t a half commitment, I want to be a writer. I want to have a long term, successful career and for me to do that I can’t be late, I can’t blow off commitments and I need to be on the ball. I take my career seriously. I try very hard to comport myself with dignity online and in public. I try to always appreciate my readers and the others who make this possible like my agent and my editors.

The absolute truth is – it is not enough to write a good book. I know people will disagree with this statement but I believe it with all my heart. Being a writer is more than just the physical act of writing. Promotion and research also take up your time.

I want to thank you all for hanging in with me this week! I'll wrap up tomorrow with some basics - just tips I find helpful from A to Z.