Did you know that if you write 500 words a day you’d have written a book in about five months? The average book length is between 70,000 and 100,000 words. 500 words is about two double spaced pages. You can write two pages a day, right? You can probably write more than that. Is 1000 doable? Then you’ll have a book in about 70 days.
Planning your writing requires a few key elements. The first is to set a daily writing goal. There are two ways to approach your daily writing goal.
Word count goal – For example, write 1000 words a day
Time goal – For example, write for an hour.
Here’s another situation where you may want to try both to see which best suits your needs and writing style. For example, you may be able to write 1000 words in twenty minutes. If you have more time in the day to write, then an hour a day may be a better goal because you’ll get more accomplished.
When you self-publish, there are no rules about how long your book should be. However, remember that you’re writing for your audience and they have preferences. You can look at a dozen books in your chosen genre and average the word count.
You might notice, for example, that fantasy books tend to be longer than mysteries and that young adult books tend to be around 60,000 to 70,000 words. This information can help you set your writing goals too, especially if you have a publication date in mind.
By the way, if you have a publication date in mind, make sure that your first draft is completed at least a month beforehand. You’ll still need to edit and format it before it can be published.
Another element that will help you is to create a supportive writing environment. Some people need to write in complete silence. Others write more effectively when they’re surrounded by strangers and noise. Some write better in the morning and others prefer the dark of night.
When striving to find your best writing time and environment think about….
- When your imagination is most active.
- What home distractions may prevent you from writing
- Where you might write
- What you might enjoy having around you as you write. For example, would you prefer to have an endless supply of coffee and free Wi-Fi or do you want to be surrounded by pictures of family and friends?
A famous horror writer says that he wrote his first book sitting in his car parked in front of a graveyard each night. Creepy, but productive!
Read the other blog posts in the series here.