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It generally takes me about nine months from the point the book is conceived to the point my editor sends it off to be typeset.

I tend to overwrite; I need a good editor.

I usually submit a novel at a certain number of words, and when I've finished working with my editor, the novel is longer than when I submitted it. I need my editor to help me open up the story.

Each of my books took roughly one and a half years to write. Some may have taken a shorter time to write the draft and a longer time to revise, while others were the opposite.

I did a complete rewrite of 650 pages in two weeks.

Sometimes I can spend as long revising a manuscript as I spent writing it in the first place.

I have great editors, and I always have. Somehow, great editors ask the right questions or pose things to you that get you to write better. It's a dance between you, your characters, and your editor.

Usually, I would mistrust a book if it took that long to write. Usually, if it isn't done in two years, I suspect there's something wrong and throw it away.