VML managing director of Sydney and Melbourne Sarah Bailey has just released her latest thriller novel, Body of Lies.
Bailey, who already has a busy career in advertising and a family life, says that she simply carves out the time to write because it’s a passion. For her, it must get done and is just not negotiable.
“I was lucky to get an agent and then a publisher relatively quickly, which I know isn't everybody's story. That was pretty motivating,” she says.
Bailey treats writing novels like a big project she works on alongside her career in advertising, parental leave or whatever is happening in her life at the time.
“I have a terrible process and routine. There is no consistency to it whatsoever. One thing I’ve embraced in the last couple of years is if I'm having a really busy time at work, if there's a pitch or a difficult period with people away, I don't force myself to write no matter what,” says Bailey.
“I’ve just sold myself to the fact that there might be a fortnight where I don't even open the Word file. And that's just the way it is. And that's fine.”
When she does have time, Bailey aims to be efficient. For her, that’s not moving from her desk until she’s done - no matter how many words or hours she sets to work on her novel.
“And when I can't write, I just lean into that as well and accept that that's just the way it is. That’s been a nice, healthy way to look at it and it's made me feel happier when I do have the chance to write; it's kind of a special, lucky opportunity to have some time.”
Body of Lies is the fourth book in the Gemma Woodstock thriller series from Bailey, who also wrote The Dark Lake (2017), followed by Into the Night (2018), and Where the Dead Go (2019).
Her ideas come from a myriad of places. It’s less about detoxes from screens for her, and more about consuming as much content and news as she can.
“When you’re consuming so much content, there's always little seeds and thoughts that sort of pop into your brain,” she says.
For Bailey, they’re thoughts that might be inspired by a cold case, a real life event, someone saying something or just an odd little thing that sparks an idea.
“I find the ones that keep looping around in my mind tend to make me think there’s a thread that might be interesting to other people as well.
“And then I just build and change. You start with a thought and then it turns into another thought. It's like advertising where there's an idea and then it sort of takes shape and then you're like, ‘oh that doesn't make sense, we can't do it that way’. It’s very similar, just a bit bigger and longer.”
A lot of people think the dream is to be a full time writer, says Bailey. One day, she says, when she’s much older, Bailey hopes that too will be her reality.
But at this point in time, she says that isn’t something that’s quite right for her being someone who is very extroverted.
“Being home alone or somewhere alone writing and that being my only job wouldn't be good for me or for my writing,” she says.
“It's really helpful for me to have a job where I'm around lots of people and lots of ideas and problem solving. I'm quite commercial so I like the business part of my work in the strategic part of the job."
Writing is more than a hobby for Bailey, but it's sort of a completely different project that’s all hers.
Advertising is such a group project, she says, but both have similarities and benefit each other.
“It’s working to a deadline and taking something seriously. You have to have that same kind of dedication to finishing something, seeing it through, sitting down and getting it done,” says Bailey.
"That discipline is definitely shared across both endeavours. When I’m giving feedback to the creative teams, it will often be the same kind of feedback my editor will give me on my books. Some of those skills around trying to say something and then working out the best way to convey it is something that you get very good practice at in advertising."
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