theOffice member Samantha Ettus is obsessed with helping women reach their potential. As a work/life balance renegade and parenting expert, Sam has worked with thousands of celebrities, CEOs and professionals who aim to perform at the highest levels in their professional and personal lives.

She’s a bestselling author of four books, a writer for Forbes, a sought after speaker and host of a nationally syndicated call-in radio show. Sam’s fifth book, The Pie Life, will be published in May, 2016.

We asked Sam to give us a little insight into her process as a writer and how she manages to get it done.

On her first crack at writing…

I have been writing since I was 9 years old. My friend, Cathy Ross and I sold poems on the street in front of my parents’ building in New York City. I wrote the poems and Cathy illustrated them. We then xeroxed our packets of poems on green paper at my dad’s office and sold them on the street for 25 cents. When I sold my first book, The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do to Random House, we needed an illustrator and we hired Cathy. She went on to illustrate my next three books as well, so our teamwork started at age 9 and lasted 30 years!

On what she needs in order to write…

I do best when I have a large chunk of time ahead of me so I can just focus and get lost in my writing. Unfortunately, this rarely happens as I am a mom of three young kids and have a lot of professional obligations outside of my writing.

My last four books were anthologies and right now I am working on my fifth book, The Pie Life, which will be published in May, 2016. This book is the first that I am writing on my own. It has been a giant challenge and I am loving it. Given my hectic schedule, I don’t have the luxury of writing whenever the mood strikes, so I have had to be super disciplined about when I write. Being productive during set hours is essential for me but it also means that if I wake up at 3AM with an idea, I run to jot it down so that it will be waiting for me in the morning.

On why she writes at theOffice…

I love theOffice because it is serene. The sounds, the atmosphere… It is a little slice of peace that absorbs you into great energy as soon as you walk in.

On what turns her on as a writer…

My writing is now entirely non-fiction. It is focused on inspiring women to reach their full potential professionally and personally. I aim to turn the traditional ideas of work/life balance upside down. A lot of my writing requires extensive research, some online, but most often from interviewing experts or other luminaries. I get so excited about gleaning insights from successful women’s experience and stories!

Want more?

Follow Sam on Twitter for tips and insight on a healthy work/life balance

And if you’re looking for quick inspiration, here are a couple of excellent lists she’s compiled:

Inspiring Quotes from 100 Extraordinary Women

19 Ways To Be More Effective Today

We are looking forward to the next book. Go Sam go!