“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
One of the most commonly asked questions budding authors have is: ‘How long does it take to write a book?’. The reality is that if you ask ten writers how long it takes them to write a story, you’ll likely receive ten very different responses. But, that shouldn’t discourage your writing journey! While every writer works at their own pace, there are a number of ways of measuring how much time it will take you to finish a book. Factors such as personal experiences and the complexity of a genre can play a part in how much progress you make. Join us today at What We Reading as we run you through our guide to working out how long it takes to write a book, the importance of tracking your times and some of our must-know tips on how to write quicker (without losing out on quality).
How Long Does It Take To Write A Book?
The length of time it takes to write a book can depend on a number of factors. The word count per day, the length of the book, how many revisions it goes through and the experience of the author can all dramatically affect how long they will spend writing. Every author has their own goals and ways of writing that work for them.
As an example, Stephen King sets a target of ten pages per day, claiming that a first draft should be completed in three months. It only took John Boyne two days to write The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Stephanie Meyer only needed three weeks for Twilight. However, on the flip side, it took Donna Tartt a decade to write The Goldfinch and J.R.R. Tolkien twelve years to complete The Lord of the Rings.
For what works with us, we’re big believers in word and page counts as a great way of tracking how long a book might take to complete. Most paperbacks are between 250 to 400 pages, featuring about 275 words per page. A 350-page paperback will contain roughly 96,250 words in total.
Ultimately, the variability in how long it takes writers to finish their books is to be expected. This is because every writer and story differs dramatically.
Tips For Setting A Book Timeline
If you’re looking to establish a plan for writing a book, here are some of our top tips for working how much time you’ll need to get it done.
- Choose the genre: Whilst no book is ‘easier’ to write than another, the length of time it will take to write a children’s story is likely going to be drastically different to writing a complex piece of historical fiction. Once you’ve chosen the type of book you’re going to write, it becomes much easier to determine what your rough word count should be, and how much time it will take to hit it.
Check Out How Many Pages Are In Each Genre
- Choose your word count target: As mentioned above, each genre has its own average word count. For example, romance novels tend to be between 60,000 and 90,000 words.
- Set your word count goals per session: Whilst the likes of Stephen King are capable of pumping out bestsellers prolifically, this isn’t always an achievable pace, especially for greener authors. Instead, we would recommend sticking to a word count target of about 500 words per session. Feel free to adjust it higher or lower depending on whether this is easy or hard to hit.
- Choose how much you’ll be writing: Think about your day-to-day schedule and how many writing sessions you will be able to fit into it. Authors with full-time jobs and other commitments may only be able to cram in a couple of sessions over the weekends, for example. In these cases, it will naturally take longer to write a book. Five writing sessions with 500 words per session means finishing a novel-length book in roughly thirty-five weeks or about eight months.
- Consider planning, outlining and researching: Everything mentioned so far is based on word counts and pages. Developing a strong and concise outline that allows writers to organise their themes, characters and arcs will also impact how long it takes to write a book. When writing specific genres such as historical fiction may require a fair amount of research too, which will naturally impact how the length of time your novel takes to finish.
- Don’t rush: Arguably the most important point to remember is that enjoying the process of writing and ensuring the quality you’re producing is the key to producing a good story. Whilst you might have an idea of how long it will take and how long you want it to take, a variety of reasons might impact how achievable this is. Your book will benefit from the added time and revisions you put into it.
How To Become A Faster Writer
As we mentioned, experience is one of the best ways of becoming a faster writer. Nevertheless, here are some extra tips on how to get your story done and dusted faster:
Start small
If you’re a budding crime author looking to pen the next great thriller full of suspects, motives and revelations, there’s a good chance that so many components could make the writing process slower. To make sure you can finish your story, and ensure that its quality is still top-notch, it might be worth writing a shorter, more simple story first. That should give you more confidence, as well as an insight into the practices that work for you.
Check Out How Reading Improves Your Writing
Write at your most productive time
People are productive at different times of the day. Some writers are full of ideas and energy in the morning, whereas others feel most productive during the later hours. Experiment with writing at different times of the day and see how it impacts your speed.
Check Out When The Best Time For Writing Is
Be disciplined
The more you write, the better you become at it. Set aside as much time as possible that you are going to dedicate solely to writing, even if you don’t have a deadline to adhere to. Carve out regular writing sessions into your daily schedule, make it a habit and help your writing mindset by building a ritual around it through working at a certain place, making a certain beverage etc.
Create an outline
Establishing characters, themes, plot points and a general outline of your story will go a long way in making your writing process much smoother. Make a plan, set out the main sequence of events, and consider the word counts for each of these. This will help keep your mind organised and track your progress.
Ditch the distractions
Distractions are everywhere for writers. If you’re writing by hand, turn off your screens, switch off your internet and place your phone out of sight. If you’re typing, close any open browser tabs, social media apps etc. Even if it’s only for half an hour or so, eliminating distractions helps you focus on the process of writing, which should always have your full attention.
Experiment with music
Some people prefer to write with music on. Others prefer an audiobook or podcast to help keep their imagination flowing. In comparison, others need total silence to be able to write fluently. Experiment with what works best for you.
Don’t worry about perfection
It can be tempting when penning your first draft to ensure the quality is as high a quality as possible. However, great writing rarely comes at a first attempt. The important to remember is that you have time to go back and revise. Your focus should be on getting to the end of your story. Editing as you go takes up time; so, if you’re someone motivated by the feeling of making progress, it’s good practice to skip the typos!
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
