How fast a writer are you?

If I have a deadline, I can usually pump out a short story before it. But a book takes me a lot longer. I would say I can complete a book in a year or a year and a half, if I am making it a priority, which I have not always done. I've been in writing mode for a good roll now, and I get about 1000 words a day. Though, admittedly, I dont really have a good writing spot and I still have to wait till the house goes quiet to do it.

I've not ever made publication a priority, but if I am trying to get published, that is a whole nuther craft, which also takes times. I dont have a good system for it. But I expect I will have a type of system soon.

I am always in edit mode it seems, but I dont hate that. I was taken out of the game by kids getting older and such. Now they are all but moved out, so...I can give proper energy to it.

I consider myself slow, but I am accepting of that. I am also a slow reader. I would not even be able to read a book in a month. Usually takes me longer.

BTW, I never do NANO. I dont care to write at the pace it would take to complete it.

 

Just as a second thought, but if you produce a book ready to edit once a month, and send it to an editor, and then write another and keep the cycle going, you can be working on one, while working on edits for another, and keep the pace going. Course, you may not have a life while doing so...but...have to decide what you want.

 

I think this depends both on where you are in your writing career and how you publish. In the thread "Losing Interest When Writing?" I said that for me writing got serious when my publisher asked about a sequel. It got serious mostly because I suddenly had expectations to meet, in the form of a good enough sequel to keep the readers and my publisher happy. That added a lot of pressure.

But what I also discovered was that publishers have deadlines, and that as a contracted author you have to meet them. For the first book you write it doesn't matter, you only send it off for publication (no matter how you publish) when its good enough. You have time and you're in control. But when you're on contract for a sequel you've got a deadline by which date the publishers draft has to be ready. That adds even more pressure, and I had to learn to write more quickly and with much more focus. It is hard work, and it takes self-discipline and organisation. I've never yet missed a deadline, but as I don't write for a living that means there have been some late nights and some long weekends.

From my perspective I'd say that getting the publishers draft done in time means having a clear idea of where the story is going and why when I start to write. Without that the story doesn't get finished in time without a huge struggle. You also have to learn to accept when the story is good enough, rather than perfect. For me that means I have to be able to let the story go, knowing there were a few more bits I could have added or changed or tweaked in some way. That was difficult the first time, but I've learnt that as long as I've made the story consistent with other novels and short stories in the setting it will be good enough. Its always possible to make a few changes during the editing process prior to publication, but they won't be large changes and its usually my editor who suggests them.

As for how long it takes me, I'm dyslexic so my timescales aren't typical. A short story will take me 4-6 weeks to write, a novel (95000 words or so) about 6-8 months. And I don't do re-drafts or re-writes, nor do I outline or self-edit. My editor is paid for by my publisher and she does the editing, and my publisher arranges the final proof reading.

 

I've manage 2 books per year for the past 3 years. 3-4 months of writing, 2 of editing.

A few things to know about the book-a-month people.

Very few people start out that fast. They work up to it. Otherwise it's a great way to get burned out... Most of them also do it full-time, and those who manage while still working sacrifice a lot to get it done.

The process for most is to write the book, give it only a small polish, then send it to the editor and forget about it. The editor does his thing for however long he takes. Once the manuscript comes back, the writer simply accepts all changes and publishes the book. These writers teach themselves to write clean drafts, and work with editors who they know and trust.

They write the next book while the editor does his thing. Once the writer wrote "The End" their involvement is usually minimal.

Also, you can write 2 50k books in the time it takes to write 1 100k book. Most book-a-month authors put out relatively short books. Not everyone, but most will be in the 40k-80k range, instead of the 100k+ range. It also takes less planning and editing.

Not all book-a-month authors actually write a book a month. Some write a few in advance, and then publish them close together. Say you take 3 months to create a book. You write for a year (so 4 books), and then publish 1 month apart. This will let you get 5 books in 5 months (since you can keep writing while publishing), and the 6th two months later. Alternatively, you can also write with a group of people and all publish under the same name.

In the end, it comes down to 3 things:
- how many words per hour do you write?
- How many hours per day do you write?
- How much time do you spend on the editing phase?

increase the first two and / or decrease the third and your output will go up.

 

Writing more formulaic stories will definitely speeds things up. Plotting becomes easier, writing is more straightforward, and editing is also easier since you can focus on the smaller details instead of the bigger ones.

I should point out that I believe there's value in spending more time in editing, especially for a first novel. It teaches you a lot, but I do also believe it leads to better books. When you rush the editing, there's a chance you write more forgettable fiction, which is fine, but it means you need to keep writing new books to sell stuff, since there's always a new, shiny thing coming out. It's a bit like a summer hit pop song. It's great and catchy and after the summer is over everyone has forgotten about it. Contrast that with a timeless hit from a big band which just keeps selling. There's room in the market for both, one probably takes a lot more time then the other.

As for blindly trusting someone, I don't think I'll do so. Firstly, it's my story, and my responsibility. I own the words on the page and will be the one questioned about them. As such I'm definitely going to read all of them and make the decision which ones to put out. Secondly, it's a learning experience. Each edit teaches you something about your writing and writing style. Assuming you'll always do the edit with an editor it's a fairly cheap lesson. You might as well make the most of it, even if it slows you down.

 

Book a month is nonspecific... what word count? A person could release 200-250k words as one book (as I do) or 4-6 pretty easily. I'm content with 250k per year, but I see that going up in the future. Then again, if it takes 2-3 years to get a book where I want i, which is happening now... Meh. So be it. Too many other things to do in life to sit in a chair typing all day, heh heh. My shortest book at 60k-ish took about a month to write and a couple of weeks to edit.

 

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.

 

Damn. Why listen to one who tells you to cut so much? Sorry you lost the original.

I recently lost just about everything. Had my hard drive in a forensic recovery for weeks but was eventually able to recover most of what i was missing, including the current wip. Would have sucked to have to start over.

 

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.