I tried asking friends and colleagues questions like, "How long does it take you to do [x y z] part of a graphic novel? What's a reasonable expectation to set?" Apparently those answers are highly personalized because everybody's answers varied a great deal!

I apparently just needed to give myself room to understand my own process. My editors were great about dynamically managing expectations as deadlines shifted around. Some parts took me longer than I thought, while others went by much more quickly than I could predict.

Figuring out how long each portion of a project takes within a broader, more rigid timeline just takes some doing. It's both daunting and a little freeing to know that it's different for everyone just because everybody's writing and drawing strengths are apportioned differently.

Now I feel much more certain of my process, and I'm sure that'll help it proceed more steadily than before. In the end, I learned there's no shortcut to figuring out your own process, and there's no real comparing your process to others. You just have to do it. ?

I'm getting so hyped for #FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles