Friday, May 30, 2014

How many books should a writer write in one year?

A few days back I read a writer’s interview. She said that her plan was to write four books each year and self-publish them. I was quite shocked. I felt that four books in one year is a bit too much. It takes most of us so much time to write just one book, what with life, work, social commitments and other things interrupting our writing.

The writer not just spoke about her ambition of writing four books in one year, she was actually doing it: writing one book, editing another, revising a third and outlining the fourth. My eyes nearly popped out when I read her interview. I am wondering whether I should ask her how does she do it? Maybe she has a time-turner that gives her extra hours in a day or perhaps her muse is extra generous with her. Or maybe she writes in her sleep too.

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel that when writers write so many books in one year, the quality of the writing is compromised. Good stories take time to develop and take shape. The writing improves over several drafts and revisions.

I have read that some writers take years to write each single book. Well, to each, his own. I also read that when one signs up with an agent, agents expect a writer to write one book each year.

What are your views regarding writers writing several books every year? Do you think the quality of writing suffers when writers write many books in a year? What is your personal take on this? Have you written several books in one year? What is your writing pace?


24 comments:

  1. Gosh, don't think I could manage anything like four in a year! Maybe if they were all really short I could. I suppose everyone is different, their pace of work and how much time they can devote to their writing. I have just finished a first draft this morning of something I have been working on for a few months. I know that there is still quite a few months work left to do before it will be submission ready.

    Happy writing to you :)

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  2. Two novellas or one novel. Practically, I cannot write more than that in a year!

    Destination Infinity

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  3. I tend to work on one big project and a number of smaller ones in the same time period. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to pull off 4 novels in a year and be happy with the end results, but who knows? Never say never! :)

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

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  4. I am slow. Luckily I have a stock of publishable material, but if I was writing to publish immediately, I'd be on a one book every three years schedule. Not ideal!

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  5. I know writers who write a book every month, but they are full-time writers who can easily write 5k-10k a day. Others take years to write one book. Everyone's different, and I don't think the writing suffers or is better one way or the other.

    I plan to write two novellas and two novels in the next seven months (only one would be published this year). I'd like to eventually average writing 3-4 novels a year, but as I say this, I'm not just coming up with the idea and throwing words at it. I dwell upon an idea for months/years before I write an outline, which I let it sit and tweak it. Then, I write. So the story is pretty much in my head before I ever start typing. And I do try to give some time (up to a year) between first draft and published draft. It is doable. :)

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  6. The great Mickey Spillane was known for finishing novels in nine or ten days! I could only wish for that kind of speed, I'm way too easily distracted.

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  8. I'd like to read some of those books and see the quality. I write first drafts of two books a year, but it takes at least another year to revise those so they're ready for publication. (My books are short - [picture books and children's chapter books. I am sure if I had to write a novel, it would take me much longer than a year to write the first draft!)

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  9. I think being prolific is different for different people. I'd love to write at least one book a year, but I'd also rather write one really good book than write a hundred mediocre books. So if I need the extra time, I take it without any guilt:)

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  10. I think it depends on the writer, and the nature of the projects. I know that I'm juggling several projects at once. However, they are all different. My second novel comes out Monday. My poetry book (collected over five years) came out last February. I'm working on another novel and some writing curriculum that I would have to write anyway for teaching purposes. The different nature of each project helps keep them separate. I just need two separate 1-2 hour blocks for writing time each day, M-Sat.
    I don't think that writing slower actually helps me much. I used to agonize over ever chapter, and all that did was make me miserable. Now, I write it out, agonize over it a bit, ask for help from proofreaders, and revise - usually at least three times. Then, I'm done.
    Just think, Charles Dickens wrote around two to three books a year, and he wrote some lengthy tomes.

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  11. I think it depends on the writer, and the nature of the projects. I know that I'm juggling several projects at once. However, they are all different. My second novel comes out Monday. My poetry book (collected over five years) came out last February. I'm working on another novel and some writing curriculum that I would have to write anyway for teaching purposes. The different nature of each project helps keep them separate. I just need two separate 1-2 hour blocks for writing time each day, M-Sat.
    I don't think that writing slower actually helps me much. I used to agonize over ever chapter, and all that did was make me miserable. Now, I write it out, agonize over it a bit, ask for help from proofreaders, and revise - usually at least three times. Then, I'm done.
    Just think, Charles Dickens wrote around two to three books a year, and he wrote some lengthy tomes.

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  12. Oops, sorry about the double comment. Also, I'm with Cherie - lots of time goes into the pre-writing process for me. I've had the trilogy I'm working on, and the writing books, in my journal and scrap idea pages for a few years now.

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  13. I think the key here is whether the person has to have a "day" job or they are supported financially so they can focus entirely on writing. I have a regular, 40 hour a week job, and write 1 or 2 books a year (though the second wouldn't be fully edited within the same year). I could probably do 4 if I didn't have a regular job, though that could potentially end up being a creative drain even if I had the time to do it.

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  14. Rachna, I think it really depends on the writer's pace. I don't think the quality will decrease. Maintaining the quality is up to the editor. S/he should make sure the rewrites are good. Although I'm really clueless as to how some people just manage to do so much work like that; 4 books in a year! Gosh! What brains! What a determination...

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  15. This is definitely a question of quality. You'll never see a Big 5 author churning out several books a year. Self-pubbed, the opposite, since it's a popular belief that the more books you have out, the more money you can earn.

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  16. I can't imagine the quality not being compromised. I have to wonder if she's not married or have kids or have close friends and family . . . how does one have time? Even with detailed outlines, there's so much to do, it seems it might be too rushed. I guess, whatever works for her. *Shrugs*

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  17. I think it varies on a case be case basis. Most people would burn out at that rate, but if you have system that works for you then god speed. I only wish I was half as prolific.

    mood

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  18. Kudos to the writer who can churn out so many books!

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  19. 4 in a year sounds strenuous! if they are a full time author it's conceivable, but pushing it and i would suspect quality might suffer... but her sales and her reviews will dictate results...

    now that i have a pattern and am used to it, i try to get one out a year, but i have a publisher and editor... and a speedy crit partner!

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  20. It depends on the genre and the lengths of the novels. Some genre's, quality is mainly about plot, not character development. If plot is the main force, then one can probably write faster. If character development is primary, then it'll probably take longer to write the book.

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  21. For a full-time writer, 700,000 words in one year may be feasible. Depending upon the genre, that could be ten novels or two. For someone who writes one hour a day, that total comes closer to 100,000 words per year, which is at most two and a half novels (and who writes 40k word novels anyway?). It all depends upon how much time you put into editing too. These estimates count about half of the year writing and half of the year editing at a pace of about 500 words per hour either way.

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  22. Some people are prolific with their writing, able to write multiple books a year and not lose any quality. But not many. Certainly not me.

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  23. I do think it varies from person to person- I know some writers who will say that it genuinely took them years to write one book and that every moment of those years was spent in active pursuit of fixing issues with plot, revising, revamping characters, what-have-you. And I totally believe them. Writing is hard.

    I've also heard authors say that the story came to them in a flash and they wrote the whole damned thing from beginning to end in two months, revised it in a third and were off to publication- just like that. I believe them, too.

    So I think that depending on the author, what they're writing, whether or not it's part of an ongoing series or completely original that will change the length of time it takes.

    That being said, I don't anyone in the world who won't advocate for quality over quantity.

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  24. Four sounds like a load, but as your other readers argue, it just depends on the author.

    I remember John Grisham asked which he thought was his best book. He said that it was his first. With his first book he had no deadlines or pressure to finish--he just had his life to that point to work on something important to him.

    So, in answer to your question, I like to think like Grisham--an author should want to do his/her best work and that takes time and being away from constant deadline pressures.

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