How Authors Stay Sane

ByDani Pettrey
12 Comments

Hi friends and happy Wednesday. I hope your day is off to a fantastic start. 

Writing is not easy.  I believe Hemingway said it best in the following quote. 

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

While writing is a joy for me and a passion, that doesn’t negate the rough days or even rough seasons. The times when you have a word or page count to make, and the words just won’t come, or they simply drip out, and it takes all day to get them done. The worst is when you don’t get them done, so you have to return to your desk after dinner or on the weekend to make up the words. The first draft is always the hardest for me, and writing is definitely an emotional rollercoaster for me. My hubby got this for me. He says I write “Tangled style,” and I absolutely agree. Here’s a sneak peek inside my chaotic writer brain. 

Once I finish my first draft, the revision stage is much better, but even it has deadline time. I try over and over again to avoid this, but this sums up my approach to deadlines. 

The last hurdle for me, but certainly not least, is my chronic disorganization. I try to have ducks in a row—I really do—but I have come to realize that I have squirrels, and they’re at a rave. 

God bless my virtual assistant. She keeps me sane. And speaking of sanity…I’m going to share my top five ways for staying sane as a writer. 

  1. My virtual assistant is a gift from Heaven. She deals with all my disorganization and last-minute freakouts and amazingly keeps me on track with blog posts, newsletters, social media, you name it. She does it all, and I’m blessed. 

  1. Writing can be solitary and isolating if you let it. I go out of my way to make connections and am blessed by a wonderful mastermind group of authors, friends I write with daily over Zoom, and dear author friends.  

  1. Readers who go above and beyond. I shared about these three of Dare You to Read on Instagram, but they are the most amazing people. I’ve actually dubbed them Author-Support. They’re beta readers; they send gifts just to bring you joy, let you crash at their house, and hand-sell your books—not kidding. These three ladies are a tremendous blessing that keeps me going even on the rough days. 

  1. My editor and agent. Without either of them, I’d still be dreaming of being published one day. My utter gratitude goes out to both Dave and Janet. Not only do they keep me sane, they somehow managed to keep me on the publishing path and help coach me in the right direction. 
  1. And, lastly, coffee. Yes, coffee. Without my daily Java, I doubt I’d be able to write a coherent sentence. Thank you to my sweet VA and friends who get my Starbucks, send me gift cards, or, better yet, meet me for a coffee date. Everyone has their thing, as I like to say, and coffee is mine ☺ 

There are my top five ways for writers to remain sane. I hope if you’re a writer, you got a glimpse of hope ☺ If you’re a reader, know you are treasured. You’re why we write! 

Question: 

Readers: How do you like to support the authors you love? 

Writers: What’s one thing that keeps you sane on this crazy journey? 

Blessings, 

Dani 

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Praised by New York Times best-selling author Dee Henderson as "a name to look for in romantic suspense," Dani Pettrey has sold more than half a million copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance.

12 Comments

  1. I’m so glad we’re a blessing for you! You are a blessing to us as well! We had so much fun “encouraging” librarians to hop in that line for your book. ha! Knowing that no author is entirely struggle-free while writing, I love being able to send a message to let you know that I loved the book. I think all of you could use more of that!

  3. Such a fun post, Dani. I’m privileged to have a bird’s eye view of both the chaos and genius of your writing process. My writing friends definitely keep me on track. Without them, I’d given up long ago. Thank you for your mentorship and friendship. Both bless me beyond words.

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Definitely the Tangled method. Glad to know I”m not the only one 🙂

  5. Love all the ways you stay sane as a writer. A community of writers and readers is my main source of sanity in this crazy world. And coffee. Always coffee.

    1. Aww. Thanks so much. Community is huge, isn’t it. And, yes, most definitely coffee 🙂 Can’t wait to see you in July.

  6. I am both a voracious reader and a writer. As a reader, I buy, read, review/blog, encourage, and recommend my favorite authors and books to anyone who will listen.
    As a writer, I definitely fall into the Tangled method. LOL! One thing that keeps me most sane is my family. They, even the ones who are too little to read my stories, believe in me, and that is humbling and awesome.

    1. Hi Gena,

      Great ways to support authors!

      LOL! That’s great and, you’re so right, a supportive family is HUGE.

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