Read. Write. Read. Write.

It’s the writer’s struggle — reading time vs. writing time. We’re supposed to stay on top of the books that are out there, but how do we do that when we spend all our spare time writing?!

I typically read about 50-75 books per year. Here’s how I do it:

Summer: Read. Autumn: Write. Winter: Write. Spring: Revise.

Summer seems to be the season when I have the most reading time, with the long daylight hours and a lighter load in my day job, so I’ve made Summer my Reading Season. From the first day of Summer to the last, I take a break from writing and I just read like a crazy reading fiend, about two books per week.

Then, first day of Autumn, I start outlining my next manuscript (which has been percolating in the brain kitchen all summer); after about a month, when the outline is done and my agent has given feedback, I start writing again. Throughout Autumn and Winter, I write like a crazy writing fiend. Write, write, write. Lots of research along the way too, but lots more writing. So Autumn and Winter are my Writing Seasons.

I’m a rabid plotter and a slow, careful writer, so the first draft is in great shape by end of Winter. By first day of Spring, I’m ready to revise. (I use Pacemaker to push myself throughout my Writing Seasons, giving myself six months to finish the book. That’s what it typically takes me.) I send the revised draft to my agent and incorporate feedback. So Spring is Revising Season. By first day of Summer, I’m done and ready to start reading again!

Since the pandemic, I’ve written two books and read 150+ books with this system, which works for me. We’re now out on submission with those two books. I find that by end of Summer, I can’t wait to start writing again. Then, by end of Spring, I can’t wait to start reading again. I do read a bit throughout Autumn-Winter-Spring, but nowhere near as much as Summer.

Hope this helps!