How Long Does Writing a Book Take?
I seriously considered leaving out this article on how long writing a book takes. Why? Because I am not sure it is possible to put a timeframe on something like writing a novel.
There are just too many variables.
Do you have one hour a day or five to devote to writing a book?
Are you a slow and steady writer, or a fast and furious one?
Do you want to get from A to B as quickly as possible, or do you want to enjoy the scenery along the way?
Are you writing a slim work of fiction, or a 1000-page door stopper?
And so on...
(Before going any further, something you might be wondering is this: How long is a typical novel? The short answer is somewhere between 80 and 100,000 words. For the longer answer, check out What Is the Ideal Novel Length? - opens in new window.)
If you search the Internet for novel writing guides (and I do that a lot - checking out the competition!) you frequently come across some course or program claiming to show you how to write a book in as little as 30 days.
If you write 3,000 words per day, the argument goes, you will have a 90,000 word novel sitting on your desk by the end of the month.
Which is total garbage, of course...
- What about the time you spend coming up with a novel idea in the first place?
- What about the time you spend planning and researching the book?
- What about the time you spend learning the novel writing rules, or reading novels to see how other writers do it?
- Even when you do start the actual writing, what about revising each day's 3,000 word quota? (And trust me, unless you're a genius you will need to do plenty of revision.)
- What about those days when you're just not firing on all cylinders and you end up spending your novel writing session playing solitaire on your computer? (We all have days like that.)
- And on the basis that there is more to life than writing a book, what about taking time off?
Now, I am sure it is possible to write a novel in six months, maybe less if you really pushed yourself (and don't have the inconvenience of a living to earn). But I would think that 12 months is a more realistic minimum, and two to three years if you don't want to rush.
You don't become a doctor or a lawyer in a few months. You don't become an expert in anything in such a short space of time. So why would it be any different with writing a book?
"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand."
- George Orwell
"It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?"
- Vita Sackville-West
How Long Do Professional Novelists Take to Write a Book?
The answer is that they take anywhere from a few weeks (Barbara Cartland comes to mind) to the best part of a decade (I can't remember who off the top of my head, but I read an interview with a famous writer who had taken that long).
If a professional writer brings out a new book every year, they are said to be prolific.
A new novel every two to three years seems to be about the average, with a four or five year gap between novels not uncommon.
So where does that leave you?
Well, the thing to remember is that professional novelists, at least the famous ones, have the luxury of being able to write full-time.
(Yes, I know they do other stuff besides writing novels, like going on book tours and writing newspaper columns, but they still don't have a day job to go to.)
Also, they are good at what they do and have years of experience behind them - and the more we do something, the quicker and more efficiently we can do it.
If you are writing a book for the first time and you do have a job, you have neither experience on your side nor plenty of hours in the day - meaning the two to three years I recommended as a comfortable target might not be quite so comfortable after all.
Bottom Line?
Only you know your circumstances and the particular novel you have in mind, and only you know if you are prolific or one of life's tortoises.
So only you can make a guess at how long writing a book to a publishable standard might take.
I'm just trying to warn you against setting unrealistic targets (or setting targets at all, actually).
My best advice is to take your time, enjoy the journey, and not reckon on reaching your destination until you reach it.
Write as often as you can, and be as productive as you can during your work sessions.
But don't put added pressure on yourself with a ticking clock. It will only make you rush - and rushing is unlikely to make your novel a better novel.
Above all, don't forget to enjoy yourself. Your livelihood doesn't depend on you finishing your novel to a deadline (at least, it shouldn't - making money from writing should never be your primary motivation).
In fact, the healthiest way for newcomers to view writing novels is like a hobby with prospects. And what is the point of a hobby if you forget to have fun?
Next Step...
Having said all that, I can fully appreciate that some of you will want to have a timeframe in mind before you set out on something as momentous as writing a book.
And so I have written an Outline For Writing a Novel in One Year. Just don't take it too seriously.
