Heidi Heilig

Day In The Life of a Debut Author…

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Hey all! So, inspired by the epic Victoria Schwab and her post detailing a day in the life of 18 incredible authors, (such as the fabulous Rae Carson, and the talented Ashley Blake, and of course Ms. Schwab herself!) I thought I’d share a day in my own weird life during this strange time running up to the pub date. (A hypothetical day–an amalgam of days–not a specific day, because sometimes specific days are taken up entirely with watching my phone blow up because I can’t resist running my mouth online.)

So this is A Day In The Life of a Debut Author with a 15 Month Old Baby and also Bipolar Disorder who Is Trying To Promote Book 1, Write Book 2, Outline Book 3, and Fight Injustice*

5:30-6:30am: My day starts when my baby wakes up. He’s 15 months old right now and the three of us live in a tiny studio apartment (less than 400 square feet) so when he’s up, I am immediately aware and I go to him, because my husband stays up late at night to get his own work done. Soon after the baby wakes, there is frantic coffee and baby wrangling and throwing one of 4 “work outfits” onto my person (yes, I wear one twice in one week. Yes, I need to go shopping. I hate shopping. A typical day will NOT include shopping.)

7am: DOUGHNUT

7:05am: I’m on the way to the office, where I work as a receptionist. On quiet days, my day job is my haven. When the phone isn’t ringing and the guests aren’t arriving, I can get some writing done. Currently this includes promotional content for book 1, which comes out in just under 5 months (gulp.) I’ve also had to figure out travel and schedules recently, because there are some book events coming up. I’m also, as mentioned above, trying to fix the problems with Book 2 (I’m on draft 11) and outline book 3.

When I’m stumped on one project, I switch to the next. Unless of course I see something infuriating online, in which case I get some arguing done. I need to get better at time management probably, but it’s also a manic thing for me, to chat and talk somewhat frantically on the internet. Also, bigotry is evil and fighting it is not something I regret.
Lunch happens sometime during this block.
3pm: After my day job, I head right home to do my second job, which is superintendent of the 32-unit building where I live in Brooklyn. I make sure the place is clean, and 3 days a week I haul the building’s trash to the curb. (THE GLAMOROUS AUTHOR LIFE.) Then I go up to my house and hopefully grab a quick shower and do home stuff–make dinner, care for the baby, mop the floor (if you have ever been near a 15 month old you know why mopping the floor is a daily task.)
7:30pm: The small one finally falls asleep and I can write or do internet stuff again. Usually by now my brain is pretty tired (I write best in the morning.)
9pm: Sleeping if I can. My kid is not a great sleeper so I usually wake up with him 2-3 times a night. I try to sleep at least 7 hours total a night because it’s one of the ways I control my bipolar disorder. My husband needs more sleep than I do (yes, medically), so he is not on night duty.
Trying to review this through the eyes of someone who doesn’t live in my skin, I realize that it probably seems like I do very little actual writing. But I am really privileged to have the writing time I do have. I’m lucky to be able to make it work.
And of course, my baby won’t be a terrible sleeper forever. (I HOPE I HOPE)
So, if you are reading this and you are swamped with work and family and medical stuff and you want to be an author, I wish you the luck that I have in finding the time to write. I believe in you!
*it’s kinda specific, sorry–I’m at a bit of a weird place in my life. But i’m betting there are people who can relate.

On Reviews and Responses, and a Personal Policy

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In the year since the book sold, I’ve seen several instances of authors stalking or threatening reviewers. So, first off because it’s most important:

Threatening and/or stalking someone is never, ever okay.

It is so Not Okay that I don’t even have a metaphor for how Not Okay it is.

In fact, “Not Okay” is a huge understatement. It is wrong. It is illegal. It is evil. No one should ever do it.

I have never been the subject of a bad review. (Because my book isn’t out yet. I’m sure that I will get some when it starts to be available. That is life. Can’t be all things to all people/there are bad reviews for classics/etc.)

But I have been stalked and threatened.

And it is terrifying.

Is a bad review terrifying? … Maybe? But not in the same way. If someone hates my work, I do not fear for my life. And if they somehow make me fear for my life with personal threats and calling my private cell and heavy-breathing their review into my ear, then, you know, I go through appropriate channels to try to protect myself. And “Appropriate Channels” is NOT threatening or stalking.

(Nor is it using a large platform to sic fans on reviewers. I don’t have a large platform so this may never be applicable to me, but it should be said because apparently some people don’t know this?)

So, okay, with the internet the way it is, people are more accessible than ever. We can tweet and email and chat and crosstalk and argue and all that, and I love that, I love connecting with people. And as the pub date approaches and my circle widens, there is more opportunity for cool conversation but also more risk. And I never want to make anyone feel unsafe, ever.

So I want to just include a personal policy, of sorts, for social media. As time goes forward, I will be thinking about and developing this policy further, but for now this is what I’ve got.

–If you ask me questions directly online, or invite me into a conversation, I will happily and respectfully try to respond. I love talking to people (though I am awkward about it at times) and appreciate conversation.

–If you Tweet about me but do not appear to be inviting me into conversation, I will err on the side of not responding. I’m not ignoring you to be rude! But I would rather risk appearing rude than making you feel unsafe.

–If you review my work, I may or may not read it, but I will always appreciate it–even if you hate the book. Why? Because you took the time, and time is your most precious resource. Thank you, truly.

–If you review my work and loved it and rave about it and it comes to my attention, I may in fact print out your review and keep it to look at when I’m unsure of myself. It means the world to me to know I did well in the eyes of a reader.

–I will always support a better safety and harassment policy on all social media platforms.

–If I hurt someone or cause harm, I will want to apologize. I will feel sorry. I will likely make some kind of public announcement of what I did wrong (keeping names out of it) and my intent to do better and any plans I have to that effect. I may or may not apologize directly, depending on my sense of whether or not a direct apology/contact is wanted by the person I hurt. (I am aware that sometimes, when harm is caused, the person harmed wants nothing more to do with the person who has harmed them and that’s okay too. Stuff is complicated and I want to try to do the right thing.)

Okay. I think this is a good policy, though again, it is evolving. And I always want to do better so feedback is welcome.

How To Avoid Working On Your Work In Progress

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Guess what I’m doing today!

If you guessed procrastinating, you are correct.

YOU WIN ONE MILLION INTERNETS.

I have a draft of book 2 that’s staring at me, and I’m steadfastly refusing eye contact. But my soft deadline is six weeks from today, which is coming up alarmingly fast.

Long ago*, procrastination looked like Netflix binges of crappy horror movies while I started internet fights. But now that I have deadlines and a small beeb at home, procrastination looks different. Here’s a list of things I do while procrastinating that still (hopefully) help me inch towards my deadline.

1. Research: This one’s great! Since I’m writing historical fantasy, I can still Netflix binge, but I get to watch documentaries instead of horror movies. Better for my psyche anyway. And I get so much inspiration from getting a visual on those old documents, photos, or letters they show with the slow Ken Burns zoom/pan. I’m not a visual person so watching something gets my brain firing in new ways.

2. Reading: This one can be dangerous. When I have writer’s block, reading is a godsend, but when I’m procrastinating, I’ll happily try to fool myself into thinking that my entire TBR list is vital to finish. I have to be selective because I will read and reread new books and old favorites, and I’ll never want to stop. Still, reading can help jog something that’s been stuck in my brain, so it’s vital. One thing that helps more than others is reading and critiquing for critique partners. Making my brain work on problems other writers are having is a good way to exercise my problem-solving muscles.

3. Blogging: HA HA. I actually don’t know if this one’s helpful. Obviously I should be laying down words on book 2 rather than here. Still, I can tell myself I’m being helpful to readers or getting out my angst or whatever. And there’s a limit. I can’t work on this post all day long. Eventually I’ll get annoyed with myself and go open my document.

4. Shaming myself by blogging about procrastinating: Yup. I’m annoyed. I’m opening my document.

*Before book 1 sold.

Does a Writer Have to Write Every Day?

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Short answer: No.

If you still have a few minutes, here’s the long answer.

There are a lot of quotes around saying that a writer must write every day. Michael Connelly: “Write every day, even if it’s just a paragraph.” Ray Bradbury: “You must write every single day of your life. . . ”  Robert McKee: “Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour.” Articles purporting to be habits of highly successful writers usually include this bit of advice.

But it is WRONG.

NO. BAD PINTEREST.

Writers–like humans–come in all types.

There are writers who cannot survive without writing every day. They keep slips of paper in their pockets and pens in their hair and sometimes they wake in the night and write in their journal, which is on their nightstand, open to a fresh page.

There are writers who have been into photography recently but when go on a road trip with friends, they livetweet the experience and then Storify it on the spotty wifi at the last motel before home. Then after they unpack, they take up knitting.

There are writers who just recently heard the word “NaNoWriMo” and googled it and thought “Huh. Why not me?”

There are writers who have grueling work schedules and come home to families that need feeding and have no time to wash their hair, but while they’re standing over the stove making some delicious mac n’ cheese, a thought moves in and makes a home behind one ear and eventually starts to expand into all the rooms in the head. Then one day that writer gets fired and they spend their first week freaking out and the next week helping that idea move to paper.

There are writers who find it impossible to get out of bed on very dark days, much less drag themselves three feet to the computer, but on the good days, they write hilarious stories and make their readers laugh and laugh.

This is not an exhaustive list of writers. There is no one way to be a writer. And the ways a writer writes may change over time. Frankly, I think it’s a very privileged to say that a writer must write every day, because not every writer can. Of course a highly successful (i.e. HIGHLY PAID) writer is more likely to be able to write every day. But you don’t stop being a writer when you put down your pen.

So, no. Writers don’t have to write every day. Imaginations can be boundless, time is still limited. Writers write. . . eventually.

Interview at DiversifYA

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I’m honored to say I was interviewed over at DiversifYA. Check it out if you want to read about my crazy hapa self!

I highly recommend reading the interview archives. There are a whole bunch of diverse writers talking about their experiences, with bonus advice for authors who want to write diverse characters*.
*That’s all of us, right? RIGHT??

Four Letter Word, Rhymes with Duck

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Luck, of course! What did you think I meant?

Recently, a friend who’s just finished a manuscript wanted to talk about my path to publication. Her first question was an interesting one:

“How much of getting published is luck?” she asked.

My immediately answer was: LIKE ALMOST ALL.



I mean, on top of accident of birth to a privileged family which resulted in, among many things, excellent schooling and lots of disposable time to read and write, I had a story in me that managed to interest both The Greatest Agent In The World and The Best Editor On The Planet. And we all work really well together. Also, I live in an apartment where 3 gourmet donut shops have opened within walking distance in the past year. This is like primo luck and I did nothing to deserve it.

Because that’s what luck is, right? The stuff we can’t control.

So I thought about that and wondered, how useful is it to talk about luck, really? Maybe instead I should talk about the stuff I know I had a hand in. The stuff I can recommend doing. 

So what isn’t luck? What can you control?

The writing, of course. You start with a blank page–you control every word that goes on it. They’re your accomplishment–or your fault. So make them good. Reread them and make them better. Then go off for a bit and read other people’s words very critically, and then come back to your words and make them the best you possibly can.

What else though? Well, it gets a little tricky there. 



You can do a lot of research and query the right people for your project. You can try to pay attention to larger trends or manuscript wish lists so your work has a better chance of being au currant. You can be your best self and a good Literary Citizen so that when it comes time for you to work with agents and editors, you’ve practiced your social graces and can make good small talk. But all of these things take luck, and also sometimes they don’t matter. 

Personally, I didn’t know much about agents before I started querying, I didn’t know what a manuscript wish list was, and I am socially very ungraceful: like I said, I’ve been very very lucky. And the nature of luck is very unfair. 

But it can also be very freeing.

Because knowing the rest is ultimately out of your hands means you can focus on those beautiful words. And–at least for me–that’s always been what I cared about most.

So fill those pages. Tell your stories. Write. 

And I wish you the very best of luck!