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Clark's early mornings
Clark became a legendary mystery writer. Her husband died, and she was left with five children, no husband, and no real financial support. She kept her full-time job through all of it.
Harlan Coben holds her up as proof that there is always time to write. Her routine was to wake, write from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., and only then get the kids up.
Coben's travel agency years
Coben wrote his own early books around a full-time job at his family's travel agency, setting up tours overseas. He traveled to Rome, Florence, and Venice to negotiate with hotels in his grandfather's and mother's names, and he wrote at night and at lunchtime.
How did Mary Higgins Clark become a novelist?
Clark began writing short stories while raising her children and holding a job. Her 1969 book about George Washington sold poorly, and she turned to suspense. Her first suspense novel, Where Are the Children?, was published in 1975. Her publisher later reported more than 100 million copies of her books in print in the United States.
How did Trollope write while holding a job?
Anthony Trollope worked for the British Post Office for most of his career and wrote his novels around it. In his autobiography he described rising at 5:30 each morning and writing for three hours before work. He held himself to a quota of 250 words every quarter hour and checked his pace with a watch. He published 47 novels.
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