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How fast a writer are you?

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
Heh...I had a backup system actually. Just hit in the right moment to catch me unprepared. It was my own fault. But...I do computer forensics so it was just putting in a lot of work with a hex editor. Still lost a lot, but I dont seem to care about the other stuff.
A computer forensics background in these scenarios is gold!
Definitely the right person for the task
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
Ouch.

Uhh I actually can't answer this question. I thought you was asking about how many words per week or so on. I have had the first novel I wrote in like a perma frost state for a while now.

I had it at around 80k words then I was told it needed to be about 1/4 of that on another writing forum site. So I thought I was doing the right thing and cut it down and down and down some more.

Just to get told I was actually closer to novel size the first time at around 80k sadly I can't find the backup of the original I know I have saved to a specific thumb drive that is unable to be located.

Now I'm in fear of it not being cohesive and I am trying to re write the parts I know that I cut.
 

Helen

Inkling
Hey everyone!

So here is the question: how quickly do you wrap a book?

I ask because, while I'm relatively fast when it comes to the process of writing itself, my edits, rewrites, re-edits, pagination, book cover, and so on seem to take forever.

I know of a lot of writers who dish out a book/month, from first word on "paper" to ready for kindle/publication.

I would like to be one of those guys, but I don't seem to be able to find my way out of the swamp of "getting the book ready".

For example, my book now is going though what I hope being its final editing process (I'm working with an editor). The edits alone are taking months (probably as it should be).

If you belong to the group of people who produce 4-10 books/year, how do you do it, aside from the writing process? Do you self-edit? Do you have editors/other professionals who work with/for you who move very quickly? Are you a one person army and do everything by yourself?

I am now writing my 3rd book and have not even published my first because it's still going through edits. I love writing, but I also really want to get those books out there and see how they do in the wild.

Share your tips and process! It would help a lot!

I think if you're motivated and see sales on Amazon, it can be done. I'd be concerned about keeping an eye on quality, but that can be a block in itself, and being prolific induces quality...YMMV
 
My first novel was published in 2020, and my second in 2021. My third book is up for pre-order, with a release date temporarily set for the end of 2022. The first draft of book 3 is written, and I'm a third of the way through the first draft of book 4. My "co-author" helps primarily with story ideas, story structure, revisions, editing, proofreading, etc. Between the two of us, we should have both books 3 and 4 published by the end of 2022.

We'd be further along if I wasn't suffering from vertigo, which hit me suddenly in April of this year. For a few weeks I was producing no words at all. Before that, I was cranking out 2K to 3K words a day, 5-7 days a week. Now I'm lucky to write 1K to 2K words a day, 3-5 days a week. I still have the vertigo, and experience mental fatigue too easily now. But I'm getting better. With any luck, I'll crank out some game and/or puzzle books this year, too. I published one game book and three puzzle books in 2021, and really want to publish some more in 2022. I'd have done a puzzle book already this year if not for the vertigo, I suspect.
 

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
I think if you're motivated and see sales on Amazon, it can be done. I'd be concerned about keeping an eye on quality, but that can be a block in itself, and being prolific induces quality...YMMV
that is a good point.

i think the component i'm missing to test this theory out is sales on amazon (or presence on amazon for that matter) but i'm looking forward to try and put this in practice lol

Thank you for the input!
 

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
My first novel was published in 2020, and my second in 2021. My third book is up for pre-order, with a release date temporarily set for the end of 2022. The first draft of book 3 is written, and I'm a third of the way through the first draft of book 4. My "co-author" helps primarily with story ideas, story structure, revisions, editing, proofreading, etc. Between the two of us, we should have both books 3 and 4 published by the end of 2022.

We'd be further along if I wasn't suffering from vertigo, which hit me suddenly in April of this year. For a few weeks I was producing no words at all. Before that, I was cranking out 2K to 3K words a day, 5-7 days a week. Now I'm lucky to write 1K to 2K words a day, 3-5 days a week. I still have the vertigo, and experience mental fatigue too easily now. But I'm getting better. With any luck, I'll crank out some game and/or puzzle books this year, too. I published one game book and three puzzle books in 2021, and really want to publish some more in 2022. I'd have done a puzzle book already this year if not for the vertigo, I suspect.
I'm sorry to hear vertigo is affecting your work, but even so, you seem to have a strong and steadily productive handle on things. keep it up!
 
How much and how quickly I can write fluctuates based on what part I'm working on. The middle of the book is usually where I drag the most. I also have the most trouble with world building and structure. This one novel I'm working on has been taking me three years to write.
 

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
How much and how quickly I can write fluctuates based on what part I'm working on. The middle of the book is usually where I drag the most. I also have the most trouble with world building and structure. This one novel I'm working on has been taking me three years to write.
I can definitely relate, although my slowest point is usually the beginning.

By the end, my fear is the opposite. I don't wanna rush it, so I actively slow down to make sure.
 

Helen

Inkling
Hey everyone!

So here is the question: how quickly do you wrap a book?

I ask because, while I'm relatively fast when it comes to the process of writing itself, my edits, rewrites, re-edits, pagination, book cover, and so on seem to take forever.

I know of a lot of writers who dish out a book/month, from first word on "paper" to ready for kindle/publication.

I would like to be one of those guys, but I don't seem to be able to find my way out of the swamp of "getting the book ready".

For example, my book now is going though what I hope being its final editing process (I'm working with an editor). The edits alone are taking months (probably as it should be).

If you belong to the group of people who produce 4-10 books/year, how do you do it, aside from the writing process? Do you self-edit? Do you have editors/other professionals who work with/for you who move very quickly? Are you a one person army and do everything by yourself?

I am now writing my 3rd book and have not even published my first because it's still going through edits. I love writing, but I also really want to get those books out there and see how they do in the wild.

Share your tips and process! It would help a lot!
Not fast enough. Always takes waaay longer than anticipated.
 

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
Not fast enough. Always takes waaay longer than anticipated.
You think it's because it's just hard to get an idea of the time it would take before we start writing, or could it be that we overthink/spend too much time on things we should not?
 

ThinkerX

Myth Weaver
Currently, I am *releasing* the books in my series at the rate of one every two months - but it took me a decade to get eight novels to the 'finished second draft stage,' and right now I am engaged in what amounts to tedious third rewrites of two of them. Generally, it was 2-3 months for the first draft, by almost double that for the second draft. Past that were endless rounds of 'rewrite lite' and editing passes, though none took more than a couple of days - looking at different things with each pass. With a determination and no major plot problems...a good six months.

During that decade, I did finish (again, to the second rewrite stage) a good eight or ten novellas - call it 15-30,000 words. Getting one of those to that stage takes a couple of months.
 

Nighty_Knight

Troubadour
Way slower than I should be. When I am hitting a groove for a few days I can punch out like 5k words in 3 days easily. Then I have months where I hit less than that. I am trying to write more. It really comes down to just not letting myself get distracted as much. Procrastination is also a big issue, but that's with everything and not just writing for me.
 

Nighty_Knight

Troubadour
My first novel was published in 2020, and my second in 2021. My third book is up for pre-order, with a release date temporarily set for the end of 2022. The first draft of book 3 is written, and I'm a third of the way through the first draft of book 4. My "co-author" helps primarily with story ideas, story structure, revisions, editing, proofreading, etc. Between the two of us, we should have both books 3 and 4 published by the end of 2022.

We'd be further along if I wasn't suffering from vertigo, which hit me suddenly in April of this year. For a few weeks I was producing no words at all. Before that, I was cranking out 2K to 3K words a day, 5-7 days a week. Now I'm lucky to write 1K to 2K words a day, 3-5 days a week. I still have the vertigo, and experience mental fatigue too easily now. But I'm getting better. With any luck, I'll crank out some game and/or puzzle books this year, too. I published one game book and three puzzle books in 2021, and really want to publish some more in 2022. I'd have done a puzzle book already this year if not for the vertigo, I suspect.
That's a pretty impressive rate honestly! Both before and after your vertigo diagnosis.
 

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
Currently, I am *releasing* the books in my series at the rate of one every two months - but it took me a decade to get eight novels to the 'finished second draft stage,' and right now I am engaged in what amounts to tedious third rewrites of two of them. Generally, it was 2-3 months for the first draft, by almost double that for the second draft. Past that were endless rounds of 'rewrite lite' and editing passes, though none took more than a couple of days - looking at different things with each pass. With a determination and no major plot problems...a good six months.

During that decade, I did finish (again, to the second rewrite stage) a good eight or ten novellas - call it 15-30,000 words. Getting one of those to that stage takes a couple of months.
That is impressive dedication. Please let us know how they do!
 

L.L. Maurizi

Troubadour
Currently, I am *releasing* the books in my series at the rate of one every two months - but it took me a decade to get eight novels to the 'finished second draft stage,' and right now I am engaged in what amounts to tedious third rewrites of two of them. Generally, it was 2-3 months for the first draft, by almost double that for the second draft. Past that were endless rounds of 'rewrite lite' and editing passes, though none took more than a couple of days - looking at different things with each pass. With a determination and no major plot problems...a good six months.

During that decade, I did finish (again, to the second rewrite stage) a good eight or ten novellas - call it 15-30,000 words. Getting one of those to that stage takes a couple of months.
I think my stages are of similar length to yours (except for my first novel, which took me well over 5 months to finish the first draft of.
 
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