Ask Jay Fingers discussion

Hey Jay,
Tks for the invite and Happy New Year.
It seems you're pretty busy between your regular 9-5 and your social life; how do you fit in time to write? Also, is there a particular time of day you prefer to write? Last question, your first book Guestlist, how long did it take you to write, edit and publish all together?

Hey Kema! Happy New Year to you, too! Tks for joining and for your questions!

You're right, it is difficult to balance a 9-to-5 with both active social and creative lives. Being productive requires sacrifice, and the thing I've learned to sacrifice is sleep, haha! And this is a perfect segue into the answer to your second question ...

I'm definitely more of a night person, whether I'm working or being social. I prefer writing at night, esp. in the late hours. Even during the work week, after leaving the day job and maybe having a drink or three at the bar, I tend to stay up for at least two or three hours, writing (or otherwise trying to further my writing career). As odd as it sounds, even after a full day at the office and a belly full of food and liquor, I feel 100x more energized late at night.

As for Guestlist, it took about three years for the book to come to fruition, from initial concept to actual publication. I spent about a year actually writing (and rewriting) Guestlist. The editing phase took several months as did the marketing efforts. It was very much a learning process, but I'm glad I took my time with everything as opposed to simply hammering the story out and rushing it into production. Each succeeding project has been easier and done in a shorter amount of time. For example, the upcoming Orange Mound is four times as long as the book that preceded it, Kisses for Tati, but it took far less time to write and put together.

I hope I've answered your questions as completely as possible, haha! If there's anything else, please feel free to holler! Cheers! :)