What does a writer in her natural habitat look like? Well, I’m sure that each of us fillies has a different office space than the others. Some can work in busy coffee shops, others of us need ear plugs just to get a scene in. Some of us pace back and forth while we dictate our books, some write more than one book at a time. One of us (at least) even writes one book on computer while she writes another book on another device, switching back and forth. Some have to draft on paper, some feel that’s a waste, and go right to the computer.
Authors are strange creatures, even at our best moments.
Some of us plot out our stories, some of us write into the darkness. Some of us struggle for a few hundred words a day, others consider a few thousand words ‘not enough’. The great majority of us aren’t satisfied with our ‘normal’ and wish we were like someone else.
It goes without saying that we spend a lot of time in our own heads. That can be good and bad. We’ll remember scents and feelings from long ago experiences, but forget what day it is. We’ll remember the exact flavor of a slice of pie we ate fifteen years ago, but can’t remember what we ate yesterday.
You can tell when we’re struggling with a story (or are between stories) because our desks are clean. The great majority of us our introverted, but we love extroverts. We also love author get-togethers.
Here is a little glimpse at my natural habitat, though I am not in this photo.
I love my desk, but I wish I had more storage. I have an entire bookcase of research books that I would love to have closer to me, but at least I have a corner that’s mine. I know not everyone is that fortunate.
It’s nice and clean in this picture, but don’t let that fool you. It’s not that way right now. It’s covered in research materials, bills, water cups, pens (I somehow have a million), notebooks, and my planner which is always on the corner of my desk and FULL.
Even though we have a lot of things in common, I really think the only thing that every author does, is write.
Believe it or not, I’ve even met a few authors who don’t enjoy reading all that much. You’d think that would be universal, but it’s not.
Some of us love marketing our books, but most of us didn’t become authors for that part. In fact, many of us would much rather do the work of writing, editing, compiling, and loading the book onto retailers…and then pray people find it so we don’t have to market.
I’ve met a lot of authors who secretly (and maybe not so secretly) feel this way: 
Forgive the language, but that is how many of us feel. Sometimes, even talking about what we write feels like sales, so we don’t do it. Talking to friends can feel awkward. Do they really want to know about writing, or am I an oddity (Don’t answer that)?
Here’s what a typical day looks like for me. I’d bet you’ll be surprised at how…boring…my life is.
I get up, make my coffee and read my daily Bible reading. This is the only quiet time I will get all day. It’s summer, so I have all three children home (one of mine has flown the nest already). Once they are all up, the house will be loud even after I go to bed.
Once I finish my coffee, I move back to my bedroom. My office is currently in a corner of my bedroom. I’d like my own space, but that’s still a someday dream. I have a part-time job where I manage ads for people. I do that 3-4 hours every day, Mon-Fri. When I finish that, I need to mentally switch gears. I’ll often take a quarter-mile walk to clear my mind.
After that, I hit Facebook, this blog, and my ads to see how things are doing. I’ll respond to emails, or write my newsletter if its Friday. Admin tasks can take as little as twenty minutes, but sometimes as long as a couple hours. I’ve been trying to get more admin tasks done than I did before. I used to write for literally six hours a day.
After I finish that, I’m ready for my creative work. I will turn on Youtube and listen to water sounds so that I don’t hear what’s going on in my house around me. Crashing, cats, and video games don’t help me get in the zone to write a book based in 1890.
Often, I will log on to Discord with other authors and sprint to make the most of my time. If you’ve been keeping track, I may not actually get to writing until late afternoon, so I have to make the most of the hours that I have. When I’m editing, I’ll use this time for edits instead of writing.
And that’s how we write books. What is one thing you’d like to know about the life of an author? And maybe some of my fellow fillies would love to answer any questions, too.
Where western meets happily ever after.
Kari writes swoony heroes and places that become characters with detail and heart.
Her favorite place to write about is the place her heart lives, (even if she doesn't) South Dakota.
Kari loves reading, listening to contemporary Christian music, singing when no one's listening, and curling up near the wood stove when winter hits. She makes her home in central Minnesota, land of frigid toes and mosquitoes the size of compact cars, with her husband of over twenty years. They have two daughters, two sons, one cat, and one hungry wood stove.
Hey did you know that in the 1800’s in Oklahoma they used to build underground stables to keep the horses cool? I just thought you might like to know. This whole excessive heat thing is not new.
I write all over the place. I dictate into my phone in the car if I get an idea or if my hands hurt too bad to write. Then I have a timer set on the light in my office so that after one hour the lights go out and I must stop because other wise I will not be able to walk. Yoga is amazing. I also use my ipad to take with me to the lake and write while fishing or lately just staring at the lake. In any case keep up the good work.
Maria Leeper
I tried dictation once. Funny story. I had no idea how to do it. I was sitting there, driving, holding my phone to my mouth with my Word app opened. I could see it was recording my voice as I glanced down, but I didn’t want to keep doing that. So, I kept talking. And…about halfway to town, between my ahs and uhs…it quit. I lost the only good stuff that I came up with, and I never went back to dictation.
Howdy everyone! Enjoyed the quick clip in the life of an author Kari! And everyday is different. Something always happens right when we least expect it! I do have a few questions and this is for anyone and everyone!
Is there a competition on book covers? Seems like I saw that a few times. How do you get chosen? Do you enter it? Do use a certain designer for your book covers? I know Shanna has designed a few for the Pink Pistol Sisterhood. Did she use her own graphics or program for that? What was it?
How do you choose your guest bloggers here on P&P? Is there one of you who actually schedules them? Or a combined effort? Btw, I love that about this site! Some I have read their books and some are new. When was this site established? How many were here in the beginning?
How do you get published? Are many of you tied to a certain publisher? Or several publishers? How do you chose Unlimited Kindle? Or Amazon? I’ve always wondered. These days, everyone uses Amazon. My mother, sister-in-law, and I use Unlimited Kindle because it’s convenient and we can read many books for what one would cost. Might not be as much for the author, but I imagine the author is reaching many readers this way.
I could ask more questions! LOL But, I want others to chime in! Thanks for this opportunity Kari and all the fillies here!
Oh wow. I had them numbered and spaced out when I wrote this. Sorry! I hate that it is all jumbled together! (sighs)
So many good questions (and yes, we deal with the odd formatting when uploading posts, too).
I use a designer, usually the same one for every project unless it’s like Pink Pistol where we have semi-agree to work with someone else OR the book is traditionally published. I am with Love Inspired Suspense (and another publisher is coming, but I’m not talking about that yet). But many of the fillies are published hybrid, which means both traditionally and independently.
There are cover competitions. I know that Shanna has entered the All Author cover competitions. I don’t know how she did that so maybe she can chime in.
We are approaching our birthday celebration (next month) of 16 years!! Can you believe it? Pam and Linda started Petticoats and Pistols, so they can answer those questions for you.
As to Amazon, I have some books that are “wide” meaning available all over. Many are on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited because our readership likes KU.
Wow, Tracy! I love all your questions – love your curiosity and loyalty to P&P!
I can answer your questions based on my own experiences. Regarding covers, every book can be different, but if I’m in a series, one author will design the covers for every author. With Pink Pistol, Shanna is one of us, and I’ve known for years what beautiful work she does. She was a natural to design our covers for us, and they have really stood out from the norm. Gorgeous, gorgeous. (I don’t know what program she uses.)
Regarding our guest bloggers, many of them come to us requiring a date. With some of our regular guests, they’ll grab 2 or 3 dates at a time. We’re already scheduling into 2024. 2023 filled up really fast, so an author has to move lickety-split to get a date. We try to coordinate with her release date (if she wants to promote a new book), and we will even give up our own blog date if needed to help her promote.
If we have a few holes to fill in the guest scheduling, we might put a call out in our of our author groups. We’ve even done a few personal emails. Regardless, the dates get snatched up fast. It always works out.
Karen Witemeyer has been our guest wrangler for years. She does a top-notch job. Spreadsheets and everything. 🙂 Each of us takes a month to format the guest blogs and get them scheduled to help her out. And of course, our dear Felicia announces the guest and draws her prize, and then announces that, too.
I founded Petticoats & Pistols back in 2007. Linda Broday and Karen Kay were part of the original line-up of fillies, and I’m thrilled they are still here with me/us today. We originally had 10 fillies, and we will be celebrating our 16th birthday next month.
Thank you for asking!
Hi Tracy!
So many great questions – and it looks like Kari and Pam did a wonderful job of answering several.
Pam is the heartbeat of our group and we’d be lost without her! Karen does a marvelous job with the guest bloggers, and Linda is an integral part of P&P too!
I was honored to design most of the Pink Pistol covers. I use Adobe Photoshop for designing. It’s a fabulous program that works great for what I do. There are some contests for book covers, like All Authors. Also In D’Tale Magazine has one that a few of my covers have been in. I sometimes design my own covers, or, if I don’t have a great vision for a cover, I hire someone. One of my favorite designers is Josephine Baker of Covers & Cupcakes.
As for publishing, I’m self published and like the control and flexibility that gives me, but traditional publishing is something I may do in the future.I use Kindle Unlimited because so many of my readers enjoy the service. I do have a few books available everywhere, but the majority are enrolled in KU. My tip to readers using KU – scroll through EVERY page of a book. We authors get paid for each page read, so if you skip a bunch of pages, we don’t get paid for them.
I’m so glad you popped in and had questions for us! Happy reading!
I am thankful to know about KU. I use that service often.
It is the same with quilters/sewers. We all have different spaces etc. I sewed on the dining room table for many years. When our oldest got married and moved away, I got his room for all my craft stuff
Very true! I used to sew cloth diapers under my own brand, Little Ms, and I went from the kitchen table to a table in my room and back again depending on where we had space. I’ve only sewn with another person a small handful of times.
Hi Kari. Great peek into your world my friend. My questions:
Do writers prefer to read the same genre as they write about?
Do writers constantly make notes to include in future stories?
Is it better to self publish?
Are reviews coveted by authors? Like, if a book has 300 reviews – would one more be nice?
I love all the authors at P&P’s. Thank you for blogging today.
Great questions! My answers are based on me…because that’s what I know best. I hope some of the other fillies pop in today 😀
I read a BUNCH of genres, not just what I write (then again, I write in 4 genres…so…) I will even write 2 books at once as long as they are different enough. I also read more than one book at a time. My brain loves variety.
I have a “later” file on my computer. If a scene comes to me and it just doesn’t fit my current book, I put it in a later file. To be honest, I’ve never gone back in and combed that file. There are probably some gems in there, but I haven’t needed it yet. If I cut scenes, they go in there. I’m very guilty of working out plot hitches as I’m falling asleep, then forgetting them by morning. But I’m convinced the exercise isn’t futile and helps my brain work out other issues.
Self publishing is a choice, just like traditional publishing. There are major pros and cons to both and not enough room today to cover all of them. Truth be told, I didn’t originally want to Indie, but God knew better. I cut my teeth on my indie books and now am finally getting traditional contracts.
Reviews are always welcome. I love them. Yes to “just one more”.
I’ll chime in here too, Kathy. For a long time I didn’t read because I was too busy writing. I’ll sometimes binge read then go months without reading. Right now I’m in a binge reading stage reading a genre I’ve never read before. Romantic Urban Fantasy. Gads, I’m hooked. I might start writing some! Like a lot of other fillies, I’m hybrid but in a different way. I’ve had publishers (Harlequin) buy the print rights to some of my books. I’ve had audio book companies buy audio rights as well. And I’ve had things published by some small presses under two of my pen names. I like doing both forms of publishing myself.
Hi Kathy,
So good of you to join us today and so happy you enjoy P&P!
I’ll chime in on your questions:
I prefer NOT to read the same genre as whatever I’m writing at the moment. So, if I’m writing a historical western romance, I’m likely reading a contemporary novel, or maybe something medieval, or a non-fiction book about marketing or business tips.
I do constantly make notes to include in future stories. I have notes for about 100 more books and add to it all the time. I also start files and keep notes for books I plan to write in the next 12 months. If I think of funny one-liners, or something about a character, it goes in the file.
Self-publishing versus traditionally published just depends on the author, their goals, and what they want to achieve with a specific book as well as their career. It’s all just a choice with pros and cons, like Kari stated.
I love reviews and ALWAYS welcome them regardless of the number a book already has.
How much reading (outside of your own writing or research) do you do?
I read every day, sometimes not a lot, but every day. I have a daily Bible reading time and I read fiction right before bed. If I’m researching, then that is done during my creative time. I’ve recently been using that creative time to watch a TON of firefighter documentaries. I’ll start reading some firefighter fiction too, just to get the feel of it. I adore reading, so I’ll grab spare minutes whenever I can to do it.
Loved learning your writing process.
Thank you!
Good morning, thank you for sharing about your writing process, and Thank you for being an author and for doing all this, that is alot of work. God Bless you.
Alicia, Thank you! We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t love it. 🙂
What do you do when the really spiffy idea leads to a blank wall in the story? Do you adjust the story, save it for another book, or trash it?
Hey David, GREAT question. I hope this is another one the other fillies join in on. For me…and I hate to say this because I feel like I’m welcoming it when I say this, but I don’t get writer’s block. So, if I’m struggling with a piece of my story, I’ll take a walk or talk to a friend and before you know it, my brain is working double time and I’m right back in the thick of it.
The only time this was not the case was when I was in burnout. I’d written 18 books a year for 3 years straight and it was like hitting a wall. I had trouble remembering common words. I had trouble remember names of friends I’d had for a lifetime. My brain was just done. It took a little over a year to pull myself out of it and I can still feel it when I read the stories I wrote that year. They are just different from the others. But, to answer your question, I try to adjust the story before I throw the baby out.
I love learning about how you write! How many hours a day on average do you have to do research for your books?
It varies. When I was first writing historical westerns, I devoted a lot of hours to looking up everything I could think of (and I know now that I got things wrong just because you can never know everything). But after you’ve looked things up, the process goes much quicker.
Now that I’m researching firefighters for a new series, I’m literally spending hours a day digging into the life, education, daily chores, job duties…literally everything having to do with firefighting. It’s a lot and I think that is the one main reason authors get in a lane and stick with it, because switching lanes is a lot of work. I’m nowhere near done researching and I’ve already put in over 40 hours.
So many great questions. I just got off the road, so will take the time later to read them all. I am certain any I would come up with have been answered. From what I have seen, there are some enlightening answers.
Thank you!