When I wrote People of The Tiger and Blessings of a Curse, I wrote them purely for my own enjoyment. I write only when I felt like it, setting it aside when I didn't, sometimes for months at a time. I was constantly re-writing as often as I was adding new material, just playing with the storylines until I thought it was cool. Both books took years.
When I wrote Hunters In The Sky I was determined to be professional about it; just sit down and write the damn book, pre-plan the storyline, be disciplined enough to produce professional work from the beginning that requires very little editing, keep going until it's finished. I completed a 285,000 word novel in four months while working a strenuous full-time job. I took two months to publish and publicize with equal dedication, then I planned to do it all again with the next book.
Now I'm amazed at that. I've been working on The Fire And The Storm for over a year, mostly making steady progress, but I just can't sustain the dedication to write in every spare minute and neglect everything else in my life while I do so. I thought I could, and I feel bad that I publicly said I would. I think that once I achieve enough success to write full-time I'll be able to arrange my life well enough to produce a big novel about every eight months at best. This year I lost my wife to divorce and my best friend to suicide, and a lot of my family have had equally serious problems. Under my present conditions I'm four-fifths finished The Fire And The Storm, but my production has been improving lately.
To everyone who's given me encouragement and help, thank you so very much. It's made a big difference.