AnzAuthors Blog  

Hard work and sunshine

I love living in Australia, with its sunshine and lack of snow, and I love being a novelist. I’m published mainly in the UK, so I spend part of the year there as well. It’s a wonderful lifestyle. Aren’t I lucky?

No! It’s not luck that got me here. When people say that, I get annoyed, because I work really hard, putting in ten-hour days, 6 or 7 days a week.




First of all you have to learn to write well enough to get your books accepted in a highly competitive market. For years I used to get up at 4 am to write before I went to work. Is that lucky? I don’t think so.

After you get published, you have to work equally hard to stay published. People forget that. You not only have to continue writing, but must also deal with research, business correspondence, editing, proof reading, giving talks, answering reader emails (more than two a day now and I love them), keeping up with technology and keeping abreast of what type of stories the market wants.

I could go on, but I’m sure you’re beginning to understand what’s involved. The only luck I’ll admit to is first, having the ability to write a story - and even that skill needs honing, so perseverance is important too. And secondly, you need to find an editor who really likes your stories - and who has a slot for a new writer. But that writer must have put in the work necessary to produce a good, well-polished story.


Why don’t you try one of my books? I’ve had 51 published so far, mostly as Anna Jacobs, a few as Shannah Jay (SF/F). They’re out in paper format and as ebooks too for sale on my website or on line elsewhere. 

Anna’s next books are ‘Destiny’s Path’ (historical) coming March 2011, and ‘Moving On’ (modern) coming in April 2011. You can read the first chapters on her website at http://www.annajacobs.com

 Written by Anna Jacobs
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