Writing in the Pandemic by Sue Moorcroft

Sue Moorcroft

This year’s been a hard one for many people. I consider myself fortunate because ‘getting paid for making stuff up’ wasn’t a bad way to survive the Covid-19 restrictions. While I was writing, my mind was in another place where people could still hug, kiss, visit pubs and travel, it made up for some of the stuff I was missing.

What was I missing? My writing retreat in Italy and writing breaks in Malta. Holidays. Family. Friends. The gym. Publishing parties, book launches and research trips abroad. And meetings with my publisher and agent. In the UK, in-person meetings have become possible again but for eighteen months they took place on Zoom or Teams. There were advantages, because I could attend in leggings and slippers and I saved the time and money I’d normally spend travelling, but I missed the personal connections formed by being physically in the meeting.

I can’t imagine what would have happened to publishing (and probably every other industry) without video conferencing and industry professionals working from home via their computers, carrying on valiantly, despite everything. I was conscious that I benefitted from an OK study and a fairly quiet house but some I work with had crowded homes, had no childcare and/or had to homeschool their kids. Some had partners/spouses facing all the same frustrations. Yet, somehow, via the dedication of staff, publishing kept going. I played my part by hitting deadlines and doing my best, like them, to adapt. Crying on their shoulders about how tough my life was seemed unfair and irresponsible.

However, my income has been adversely affected. In fact, I felt as if the UK government had something against me as in spring they put the country in lockdown the instant Summer on a Sunny Island came out, closing book shops and curtailing footfall in supermarkets. Then they called an autumn lockdown to coincide with the release of Christmas Wishes. It’s a relief that this year Under the Italian Sun and A Home in the Sun were released into a more relaxed selling environment and Under the Mistletoe should benefit the same way. Also, sales of ebooks and e-audio have been more than healthy, for which I am incredibly grateful, as I was also affected by publishers of translation editions putting my books back a year.

Covid doesn’t exist within the pages of my books. My editor and agent advised against it and I think they were correct. While my novels deal with some tough subjects, essentially they are escapist, and I believe Covid is what most of my readers want to escape from.

Unfortunately…Covid does exist in real life. Despite having had both vaccinations, I began symptoms on July 26th and was very unwell by the 29th, a situation that continued for weeks. I had to pull out of a conference and a commission to write a magazine serial and my publisher has moved my summer 2022 book back in the publishing schedule. I lost easily a month’s writing time and then could only work for half days for a further two weeks, and I was working at about 80% effectiveness by mid-September. My editor and agent could not have been more supportive during this unpleasant time while I struggled through the brain fog to get back into the book I’d been forced to abandon a few chapters before the end.

All that’s behind me now! I’m here to enjoy the coming publication days - Under the Mistletoe in the UK and A Christmas Gift in the US and Canada.

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle UK as well as top 100 in the US. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, Readers' Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde Bursary. 

Sue’s emotionally compelling, feel-good fiction is currently released by publishing giant HarperCollins in the UK, US and Canada and by other publishers in other countries. Her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

Born in Germany into an army family, Sue spent much of her childhood in Cyprus and Malta but settled in Northamptonshire, England aged ten. She loves reading, Formula 1, travel, time spent with friends, dance exercise and yoga.