How Long Does It Take to Write a Novel? (Anne Charnock for Writers Digest). Of course, the real answer is “it depends.” On the writer, schedule, desire, research needed, and many more options. In this post, Anne compares the writing of her second novel, Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind as compared with her first novel, A Calculated Life.
The first took years, with breaks of sometimes months between work periods. The second, for which Anne kept a record of her time (excluding research) was 222 days. With the research, it was 52 weeks (this was for a novel of about 70,000 words).
Writers benefit from exploring how other authors write, experience, and finish books, and this is a worthwhile read. Anne discussed her drafting versus editing time and her use of an outline and a themes/motifs spreadsheet.
Read the full post here.
Similar Posts
MASTERING THE ART OF COPYEDITING FOR A FLAWLESS BOOK PUBLICATION
The importance of copyediting to your manuscript cannot be overestimated. Here’s an introduction how to do copyediting, and whether to use an outside copyedtor.
Publishing Your Book: Formatting for eBook
Introduction In the last post, we discussed how to format your manuscript to prepare it for printing (whether it be for traditional publication or print-on-demand. Regardless of which path you take, it is often beneficial to prepare the manuscript for electronic publication as well. The content remains the same, of course, but the formatting is quite…
NaNoWriMo: Preparations, Part 1 (approach and tools)
As I discussed in my post on October 9, 2014, I have joined the National Novel Writing Month community this year. On November 1, I will begin writing my next novel. The goal is to write 50,000 words by November 30, ideally by writing about 1700 words each day. I usually write between 800 to…
How to Write A Book Review (Part 2)
In the last post, I discussed how to prepare to write a book review: what questions to prepare beforehand, how to scan, read, question, and take notes. This article describes how to add the most important element of a professional book review: the critique. I try not to critique a book until I have been through…
5 Valuable Insights for Self-Publishing Authors
From one of our favorite websites, Live Write Thrive, C.S. Lakin provides some insights for self-publishing authors. Here are her top five: There is no secret formula to success. More important than anything: write a great book. Then write many more. Amazon really is the place. Marketing and promoting is hard work, and you have to be…
Why You Should Write A Crappy First Draft
Writing a bad first draft can help you avoid writer’s block. Instead of trying to write a good first draft, just focus on creativity and write. Edit later!