by Joelle Steele

What is a writer’s life like? Well, it depends on the writer. Here are some answers to questions readers and students have frequently asked me over the years.

Do you get lonely? Never. Writing is not my whole life. It is my career, it is important to me, and I love everything about it. But, I have family and friends like everyone else, and writing is by far not my only interest in life. In fact, most of my ideas for both my fiction and non-fiction come from other people I meet, places I go, etc.

How often do you write? I work on writing projects every day of the week, usually for at least four to five hours per day. But, I do have places to go and people to see, so sometimes I can only manage to get two hours writing in on those days, but never less than two hours.

How long does it take to write a novel? If it’s a short novel – as most of mine are – anywhere from 500 to 600 hours, and that includes research, character development, plot charts, outlines, as many as four edits/rewrites, cover design, and typesetting the book.

What about your illustrated non-fiction books? They take waaaaaay longer. At the very least, they take about 100-200 hours longer than novels, mainly because in addition to writing them, I have to come up with all the graphics, charts, and photos (either doing them myself or finding free clip art for them online). And, I also typeset my non-fiction books so that I can make sure the images line up where I want them to, and if not, I can use a different image or rewrite the text slightly to fit.

Where do you write? In my home office. It’s very quiet and peaceful with a beautiful view of my front yard and all the trees around me and my neighborhood. I write on my desktop computer to keep my posture correct and to avoid fatigue or pain in my neck and back. I also have a stepped keyboard (a Unicomp) so that I can touch-type very fast and accurately.