People often ask me how long it takes to write a book. To be honest, I’m not sure I have a definitive answer!
It all depends on what you actually include as ‘writing’.
Is daydreaming about the plot while you’re cooking or walking the dogs classed as writing? Or when you wake in the middle of the night with a solution to a plot twist? Or that moment, when you’re doing the supermarket shop and a scene starts playing out in your head?
You see the problem here? A lot of ‘writing’ happens while you’re actually doing something else!
But I’m going to have a go at working out a rough time-scale…
The writing process is divided into three distinct parts:
So let’s have a look at each of these…
Plotting
I start gathering ideas for a new book while I’m writing a new one – I suppose it’s a way to give my mind a break, or perhaps it’s just a great way to procrastinate!
Plotting, drafting and editing.
Some ideas float around for ages before they take shape, others come together much more quickly.
But if we’re trying to put a timescale on this, I probably spend a couple of months working an idea up into a detailed outline. This is usually done in the gaps between writing or editing.
Once my editor is happy with the outlien, I’ll have a couple of weeks of working on the details and breaking the story down into chapters.
I need plenty of space for plotting to allow those sparks of creativity. Although the main work on plotting is at the beginning, it will get tweaked and refined all the way through to the end.
Drafting
I find drafting both daunting and exciting – when the words go on the blank page and collect together to form a first draft.
In terms of how long it takes, I can give you a definitive answer here!
My first draft takes between 30-40 days.
I know this because I’ve kept records for each book I’ve written, keeping a daily tally of wordcount. This acts as a motivator, but also… I’m a bit of an analysis nerd! And by understanding how long each part of the process takes, it helps me plan realistic schedules for future books.
I like to blast out a first draft, to keep all the threads of the plot in my head and immerse myself in the story. Nothing else gets done when I’m drafting!
Now I have a starting point – on to the hard work…
Editing
Before I got a publishing deal I had no idea about the rigours of the editing process and how many times I would actually read through my book before it was ready to publish. It was a real eye-opener!
This is what happens…
Structural edit – My editor will give me pointers as to how the story can be improved in terms of pacing, twists, characters and their motivations. It can be quite daunting as it means unpicking your storyline and re-building.
Line edit – My editor reads my second draft and comes back with any further changes. At this stage, it’s usually smaller tweaks, so not quite as much work, but each edit is a chance to refine and improve the story and I do enjoy seeing everything develop and sharpen up.
Copyedits – A different editor reads through at a more detailed level, picking up timeline issues, repetition and inconsistencies. They are a fresh pair of eyes to test out the plot and whether it works and I find this a tricky edit. So much detail to tidy up!!!
Proofread – A proofreader goes through to check spelling and grammar, but they also pick up any inconsistencies at this late stage that might have been missed.
I have to do a final check through both the print and ebook versions once the book has been typeset,
If you add up all those processes, then editing takes me about 3 months.
So… how long does it take to write a book?
The answer is… about six months of my time.
In terms of elapsed time, because the book goes to and fro while different people edit and proofread, it’s about ten to eleven months.
