How long does it take to write a book?
If you don’t want to read this post, I’ll save you some time, because the answer is ‘as long as it takes’.
But I also kind of hate that answer, so let me go into a bit more detail.
With my first novel, My Name is Monster, I first had the idea for the book in 2011. At least, I say I had the idea for the book – but maybe it would be more accurate to say I had an idea which then developed into the idea behind the book, over the course of about six years.
I actually started writing My Name is Monster in October 2016, and from then it took about two years to write and complete the final round of edits in 2018. Although, as I’m sure you’ll be aware, that isn’t the end of the story (see what I did there?) because even once the finial edits are complete, there are all the other publishing things that need doing, like copyedits and proofreads – followed by typesetting and publicity and the actual physical printing of the book, and the buying in by bookshops etc etc.
The novel was published in 2019, so I suppose you could say it took me eight years to write – from inception to publication.
But then, you could also say it only took two years, if you don’t start the clock till I actually wrote the first sentence, and you end it when I finished the final edit.
Then again, what if you only count the first draft? I finished that at the end of May 2017, so I suppose you could say it only took seven months – and there’s a huge difference between something taking eight years, and something taking seven months.
My second novel, The Edge of Solitude, comes out in July. I first had the idea for it in March 2020, so in terms of the total timeline of the book’s creation, it took just over four years.
But then, I didn’t start writing the text of the book till the end of 2020, and I finished the edits (with the exception of copyedits and proofreads) in summer 2023 – so actually maybe it only took two and a half years.
As for the first draft? Once again, this took about seven or eight months.
I’m still in the process of rewriting my third novel, so I can’t give you the full details of how long it’ll take by the time it’s fully done. Sorry. Maybe I’ll do another post about it once I’ve finished it.
What I can tell you is that I had the idea for it in summer 2021, and I started writing the first draft in November 2022 – so just over a year later. And it was another year later, in November 2023, that I finished writing the first draft – not because it took the whole year, but because I set it aside till then. In fact, this draft only took a total of four weeks to write: two weeks in November 2022, and then another two weeks in November 2023.
How was it so quick? For one thing, this novel is shorter than the other two, and there was a lot less world-building to do, since it’s set where I live, and in a time I remember. For another, I think this first draft was much more rough and ready than those for the other two novels. But also, in November 2022 I was on a residency, at KSP Writers’ Centre in Perth, Australia, and I spent two weeks just bashing out the words with very few distractions. And then in November 2023, I spent a week drafting the novel at Gladstone’s Library in Wales, and another intensive week working on the book when I came home.
Now you might be thinking, wow – you finished it so quickly, it must be almost ready for publication! But the difference with this book is that the rewriting process has taken much longer. Or at least, it sort of has. In terms of hours, probably not really – but in terms of months, I think it’s safe to say it’s dragging. Because other things have happened (not least edits, copyedits & proofing for The Edge of Solitude) and I’ve had to put redrafts of novel number three on the back-burner.
So pretty soon, we’re going to be knocking on the door of two years just to get to the second draft stage of this (actually fairly short) novel.
Which brings me to another point, which is that all these ‘how long does it take’ figures are suspect anyway, because we’re all doing other things as well as writing - whether that’s a non-writing-related day job, or other freelance work, or caring responsibilities, or life admin, or just sitting in the garden and watching the birds. None of us sit chained to our desks 24/7 for two weeks or seven months or eight years to write a book.
And that’s ok.
I often talk on here about ‘the writing life’, but in reality, there are so many different lives you can lead as a writer. For some people, the writing will be a huge percentage of their time and income. For others, it’ll be much smaller. None of that diminishes the fact that you are living as a writer.
What about you? I’d love to know how long you’ve been working on your current project – and whether you feel that’s a long time, or not very long at all. Because remember, it’s all about perspective! Do let me know in the comments below!
It takes four weeks. Or it takes seven months. Or it takes eight years. At least, that’s how long it’s taken me to write various stages of various books.
At the start of this post, I said that writing a book takes as long as it takes – but if it’s ok by you, I’d like to revise that answer.
Writing a book takes as long as you need.
Best of luck with your project! Happy writing – and do let me know how long it’s taken you so far!
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