Marketing for Romance Writers Magazine May, 2018 Volume # 1, Issue # 5 | Page 5

LAURA HALEY McNEIL (Cont.)
INTERVIEW
MFRW:
LHM:
What is your writing routine once you start a book?
Because I still have a day job, I have to fit writing
into every moment I can. My husband is very sup-
portive, which helps, otherwise we‟d be eating out
of a can every night. I begin a manuscript by mak-
ing notes that probably only make sense to me. I
try to create an outline; it‟s not the standard outline.
It has a beginning and as I move through the
scenes, I‟m working toward an ending. The ending
doesn‟t always remain the same, but I have to have
some idea of where I‟m going with the book. I like
to write as if I‟m watching a movie or reading a
book. I have to surprise myself because that‟s the
only way I think I can surprise the reader. I rewrite
a twist several times because I want to make sure
that the twist isn‟t predictable. Once I send a manu-
script to the editor, I start writing the next one. I‟m
usually working on three books at once, so I really
have to focus to make sure I remember which book
I‟m writing. LOL!
MFRW:
LHM:
Generally, how long
does it take you to
write a book?
It probably takes
about a year because I
start and stop so
many times. I‟ll finish
a draft and send it to
the editor, then start outlining the next book. When
I get the previous book back from the editor, I
write the first draft for the second book. I make the
changes and send that draft of the first book to the
copyeditor and then work on the second book. The
first book comes back from the copy editor, I make
those changes and send it to the proofreader and
start working on the second book again. In be-
tween these drafts I‟m formatting and working on
cover design, writing blurbs, and trying to market
the book I just finished. Sometimes I get dizzy.
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