Maybe this is pathetic, but I still dread producing a book that doesn't earn back its advance. I hate obligations that are financially foggy.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I still have a full-time day job, which is why it took me five years to write An Ear to the Ground, and why I won't have another book finished by next week.
I never expected my books to do even as well as they have. I still feel grateful for it, every single day.
I never want to deal with a book once I'm finished writing.
Making books is hard work. Some books are, of course, more demanding than others.
It's nice to be in a situation where the two books that I write for a sort of regular monthly income are also works that I enjoy immensely, rather than them being some kind of bread and butter, do it because you have to do it.
I'm always a bit disappointed when I've finished working on a book.
I often have the impression that the book I've just finished isn't satisfied: that it rejects me because I haven't successfully completed it. Because there is no going back, I'm forced to begin a new book so I can finally complete the previous one.
As soon as I finish a book, I sell the paperback rights to different publishers and that's where I recoup my money.
One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
I work very hard every day not to have a lot of expectations. You just let go of the results, because a book will be on bookshelves and in libraries long after we're gone, and, in some ways, whatever happens is none of our business.