FAQ - Distractions and Submissions

Q: How do you deal with distractions when you're writing?

A: Oh, boy, I'm not sure I've got a good answer for this. I'm surrounded by distractions and to some extent they feed my creativity. In summertime, the distractions are many and pressing and it's hard to get a lot done when the garden is demanding my attention.  I don't have the luxury of someone to cook and clean (though my husband helps out here) so that I can do nothing but write.  And, frankly, I'm not sure I'd want to spend all my waking hours writing.


The best I can say is that I attempt to find some chunks of time -- usually late at night because I am not good at getting up before daybreak -- and make the most of that time.  Generally, once I'm well into my story, I don't want to stop.


The  internet, of course, is another distraction, right there at your fingertips, even late at night.  One could and probably should, turn off email and stay away from Facebook, Mr. Google, and blogging.  This is a whole separate class of distractions which I think I'll talk about in another post.

 Q: How are manuscripts submitted anymore? Surely not on paper?
A: If you are submitting to an agent, you find out what their preference is. Ditto, an editor or publisher.

My first 3 or 4 books were submitted as printed out manuscripts and a disk copy.  Recently I've emailed the whole thing as an attachment and the publisher has printed it out for my editor and then the copy editor to make their marks on.

I think a lot of people still prefer the hard copy -- it's up to you to make sure you're doing your submission in the preferred form.