ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

You are here: Home / Blog / Why Does It Take So Long?
NEVER MISS A BOOK RELEASE

Join 30,000 Subscribers

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO
PUBLISHING NEWS

New book releases, give-aways, and appearances.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO
BLOG UPDATES

Free fiction, snippets, and funny stories.

Read our Privacy Policy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. You always give us good. That’s why we are the devoted BDH. We know quality when we see it. Take your time and especially take time for yourselves. See you on Monday.

    Anne in Virginia

  3. I’m so grateful that you do this for us, WHENEVER you can. I’m pretty sure that writing like yours doesn’t happen in a 5 minute sit-down at the computer. The dialogue and story that you always give us is so deep and perfect… and that doesn’t happen without time and much thought. Thank you, again!

  5. Good lord. Please don’t think that person represents most of us. We’re incredibly grateful you guys let us read these things for free, no matter when we get them.

  6. You’re providing not just ‘cheap’ but free, so I’m fine with skipping the ‘fast’ and waiting for the ‘good’ when your other responsibilities permit. Enjoy your weekend too.

      • That’s way cool. And it’s interesting to watch the difference in the play back speed when you click the “actual speed” button.

        And for real?? “Why does it take so long??” Bc you’re not a machine and it’s a creative process! It’s subject to the whims of the muses and moods and the fact a human has to be free from all the other crap they have to do to survive and function to sit there and be in the right headspace to make it happen! Sure you can set up a computer to make 2+2=4 any time you want. But this is substantially more complex.

        Sorry. I’ll get off my soap box. And I won’t call them names like I want to.

        Thank you and I appreciate y’all and your FREE fiction. Take what time you need.

    • I agree, that playback function is so cool! And it’s really fascinating to watch the words as you write, thank you for providing us with this unique view into the process!! 🙂

      • I really enjoyed that glimpse into your writing. Thank you for sharing with us. Have a great Mother’s Day weekend!

  9. Happy Mother’s Day to you hope you have a nice relaxing (if you want) day .
    And thank you for the snippette (small snippet) . I can’t write ,but I appreciate how long it takes you to compose such complex and complicatedworlds and characters( and in the BDH’s mind they are people,who you care about, and want to succeed and kiss ass.) and that takes talent and time– and It’s free. So don’t get your knickers in a twist and just wait.

    Thank you again ( I love how you included Artha, such a beautiful doggy.)

  11. Hope you have a great mother’s day. Go enjoy the rest of the weekend. We will wait.

  13. Writing is creative work. It doesn’t just spring, fully formed, from the keyboard, like Athena from Zues’ head.

  14. LOL! Bestest writer clapback ever!!! Thanks for that. I’ll take good! Don’t need fast and super appreciate the free. As a member of the BDH, I must acknowledge that we are very well named. You just feed us such good stuff.

  15. As others said it takes as long as it needs to for you both to be happy with what you’ve produced. We are lucky to have the series. Happy Mother’s Day. In the UK we celebrated it in March. It’s always before Easter here.

  16. “Why does it take so long?” Ouch. When I was 12 I read my 1st Tamora Pierce book. She doesn’t release chapters and there can be years between her books. I am amazed that the Author Lords grace us with these chapters with such speed. Thank you. Mind, I will be hitting refresh…..lol.

  17. Oh, man. Why does writing take so long? Because it ain’t easy, folks. If it was, everyone would do it. One, please remember to check the little ticky box on Ilona’s wonderful video that says “actual speed”. Two, SO much more than just the actual writing goes into writing. Research, planning, plotting, stopping to think about the exact right words to convey the emotional beat of the moment you are capturing. Stopping to think “wait…is that the way this character would say that?” Stopping because a brilliant thought just occurred to you that would make a scene 1000x better, but now you have to go research Tibetan wind chimes or something. Stopping because you just said the same thing in different words that you just stated two paragraphs ago. Now you have to decide which one to change or delete.

    And when the scene is finally done, then there is almost always another read through with tweaking and small editing/changes/fleshing this out/deleting that. It all takes time. Lots and lots of time. And every writer is different. If all is running smoothly, I average 1000 to 1500 words per hour, and that is if things are going well and flowing and I don’t get stuck on anything. But some writers average 500, and some average 3000 in the same time frame. Writing speed is a difficult thing to measure, and if you want a good story, it all takes time. <3

    • My dad wrote papers for scientific journals as part of his living. He has always said, “Papers aren’t written. They are rewritten.” That has to be true for just about anything worthwhile.

  18. Thank you for the snippet. I watched it both in normal and fast speed – fantabulous in both. My weekend was looking dire but things changed and now I’ll have a new segment to look forward to after I fly home from a long shift at work. I can hardly wait.

  19. Holy cow that’s really cool to see!! Thanks for the insight! We are thankful whenever you get the next chapter to us!

    I’m a horrible writer… nothing freaked me out more than a 500 word essay in school. Thankfully I can leave the writing to experts like you and stick with finance!

  22. Oh my! You are much more patient than I. My polite response would have been something along the line of ‘I am not a machine. I have a life. You try this for awhile.’ You are incredibly patient with us. Thank you. I am practicing patience when what I want to do is: *taps fingers for 4 seconds* When do you think you will have it finished? ?

  24. Goodness, couldn’t whoever wrote that email give you a break. Waiting a few days is not forever…you give so much of yourself already. Especially as you haven’t been well. Thanks for taking time to give us an insight into your writing ?

    Happy Mother’s Day to all in the US, here in the UK it was celebrated in March. ???

  25. This was really neat to watch. Thank you for giving it to us. Thank you for Innkeepers. It is awesome and amazing and worth waiting for. Have a wonderful Mother’s Day!!

  27. Since we love your “good” it’s worth the wait. This part of the story sounds very interesting. Maybe we get a clue as to why the wedding had to be on Arland’s planet.

  28. Thanks for the writing illustration of “are we there yet.”

    Happy Mother’s Day!

  29. OMGosh. Really? Why does it take so long? Anything good takes time. Thank you for giving us this free fiction and taking the time to make it good. I and I know others, really appreciate it.

  31. Good is more important than fast. It’s not like aliens are holding the world hostage unless they get another chapter?? LOL

  32. Considering how long GRRM’s fans are waiting, I think you write at near light speed! Thank you for the installment, and have a great Mother’s Day!

  33. Good is fine and free ought to be all the reason we need not to whine but….

    Whenever you are ready and thanks for these fabulous stories.

  34. I’m new to following the blog, although I believe that I own just about everything you’ve published. Might have missed a short story or two. I’m amazed that you produce as much of “Innkeeper” as you do each week, considering everything ELSE you’ve got going on. Like most of the rest of us, I’m incredibly grateful for what does appear each week, whenever it appears. (And the best thing about a Monday release date? It’s closer to Friday. . . or am I the only one who wakes up on Wednesday saying “It’s almost Friday”?)

    • I like snippets on Monday. Friday is its own reward, but Monday needs the help, imo.

  35. You are not the slowest set of authors I follow; not by a long shot. I waited 6 years for one author’s next book in a series… now I have already been waiting 3 years for her next one… so you two are highly prolific in comparison.
    I just wish I could take l I nger to read each new book I get… but I am a glutton. .. I inhale them.

  36. Wheee! That was fun!
    Take all the time you need to write — I’m excited to see it whenever you post it.

    Thanks for this and I hope you have a lovely Mother’s Day!

  37. I would assume fast, on demand writing is a good exercise in creative writing for authors of all levels. But I would never presume to think that writers of your level could or would want to churn out stuff rather than spend the time to produce quality work.

    I cannot believe someone had the nerve to seriously whine at you about why it is taking longer than they want. I mean yeah, the BDH whines, but in a good natured kind of joking way. The moment one of us gets the urge to e-mail a “why is it taking so long” complaint, it is time to step away and find something else to do for a while. It is boorish and rude, ESPECIALLY with regards to what I look at as a gift.

      • Lol… but the shakes we get from withdrawal might affect our ability to trim stems.

        … now I have have to go find the flower arranging mention. I remember it, but not exactly where.

        • Chapter 3, part 1. Arland refuses his transfer out of Commander Karat’s unit.
          I think Knight Derit was also described as unable to “Find his way out of a boot with flood lights and scout support.”
          (I’m not sure how vital he is to the plot, at least until he heals up enough to walk again.)

  38. Honestly I’ve always been completely floored that you write as much as you do nearly every week while having other projects going on as well. And the snippet is completely fascinating!!

    Thank you for the glimpse into your process. =)

    And howdy by the way, I’m just down the road from you guys in San Antonio.

  39. Have a totally safe and Happy Mother’s day tomorrow. any thing worth having is truelly worth the wait. Your stories at worth the wait, BDH will wait patiently, while whining under their breath about all the others who haven’t learn the lessons in life.

  40. Can you please forward that question to George RR Martin and then post his reply.

  41. Thank you for sharing that tidbit! I love learning how you write as it is helping me with my storytelling. Hope you have a great weekend and your family spoils you on Mother’s Day, or at least helps out.

  42. As a writer of many things, I get that writing takes time. And good writing takes more time. When I made my living as a technical writer, I and whatever team I worked with had a sign posted in our space: Fast, Good, Cheap — Choose Two. It’s always a good reminder.

  43. That was amusing! Thank you for those of us who know how much work even a sentence of description can take.

  44. Yeah, it’s hard to wait, but that’s not your problem 🙂 I’m happy for you to take just as long as you want and need, and grateful to get it when you’re done.
    It’s kinda like Christmas, when I was a kid. The anticipation makes the gifts all the more exciting! In these instant-gratification times, that excitement can be lost.

  45. Lovely insight. Whenever you post a part I will be waiting. No hurry… after writing a 40 page story for a friend, I am in awe that one can write *and* remain sane. The details are killer.

  46. How can you write that well so quickly with so few edits??? I write a lot in my job and i apparently edit a LOT more than you. This may seem slow to others but it’s not…

  47. And just FYI I’m always kind of astounded that you can deliver such consistent writing with innkeeper each week when you’re doing other things. A lot of really good writers can’t just summon it at will like you seem able to do.

  48. Every group has one and this individual is clearly ours #sigh

    I think most of us would’ve received that and responded with something akin to ‘sod off’ or ‘Can’t wait, eh? How about when your IP address is blocked from seeing the next snippet for an additional day? ‘

    Instead you used it as an opportunity to educate and to give us an incredible insight into the processes behind the creation of the worlds and characters we adore so deeply.

    Thank-you for your patience and for sharing your talent with us.
    And Happy Mothers Day!

  49. What ever times it takes, that’s the time it takes. Most important for you to be happy with your writing .
    Get well and enjoy Mother’s Day

  50. Harrummphhhh . . .Seriously?? You generously post your fabulous story FOR FREE and someone has the nerve to complain????? Creativity takes time and oh, by the way, you have a LIFE besides writing — which is, after all a job — so I opt for good and enjoy anything you wish to share. Thanks — and Happy Mother’s Day!!

Skip to content