*Note: Copied over from Morning Pages journal vol. 14, personal journal vol. 11, dated 9.24.2024*

We have the guidelines: mostly write the stuff that’s going to bring you the success and financial compensation you want. You have a driving force: finish the work you start.

How long does that work actually take?

Let’s look at a timetable. Again, none of this is set in concrete, but it’s in the wet mixture, so there’s some solidification to it but none of the posts are planted.

It takes you, realistically and with a ton of grace, a month to come up with a story that will eventually become a novel. This goes from the initial concept to a full outline in a story bible, either in a notebook or on OneNote.

From there, we have the first draft. Since I work primarily in middle grade fiction, let’s call the book anywhere between 40,000-60,000 words. That’s the most comfortable for me in terms of word count. Maybe more, but never less. Getting an hour to write every day (which, again, is giving myself a ton of grace, but let’s just say) I could produce about a thousand words. Meaning it takes me anywhere from a month and a half to two months to write a book’s first draft.

From there, we could say a month for the red pen edits, a month for follow-up third and fourth drat edits, respectively, then a month for Beta Readers. Lastly, a month for the final Fifth Draft edits. This is all giving me way too much credit with my time management, but, hey, the wind blows my way sometime.

In total that’s…7 months.

For one book.

Thanks for reading,

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