Isn’t just easier to say: So, I picked up an article from Russell Nohelty on how to write a book in a weekend – more specifically, how to write a 60,000-word pulp fiction novel in a weekend. There’s preparation beforehand, but the actual writing should only take about 3 days.
I had finished NaNoWriMo and knew I could finish and publish a book. I was in a panic because YouTube had changed its Partnership Program and I was no longer invited. Nohelty and some other authors on his Facebook page said that it takes 20 books for an author to be able to sustain him or herself on books alone. So, I decided I would write 20 books over the next 5 years.
I haven’t said this too many people. I know I can write a book in a month’s time. It took me another month to edit it and just a little over a week to format it for Kindle. I figured 3 months per book, would allow me to write 4 books a year. Since I already have one in editing, one on Amazon and one at the publisher, I just need to finish one more book this year. If I can keep to this pace, I will easily make 20 in the next 5 years.
My wife asked me if I wouldn’t burnout. My mom asked me if it’s realistic – she’s goes to author talks with my niece and those authors take 6 months to a year to write a book. I decided to see what I could do since my series is based on the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, I thought I would see how many books Franklin Dixon and Carolyn Keene wrote… They’re pseudonyms… Many different authors wrote those stories…
Okay, fine, I looked at some other author numbers:
- Agatha Christie wrote 80 books and short story collections and 6 more books under a pseudonym.
- Louis L’Amour wrote 100 books and 400 short stories.
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 21 novels among other literary outputs.
- Stephen King has written 55 books.
- Ray Bradbury wrote more than 30 books.
I have 10 titles or ideas for Adventures on the Amur, and I am almost through writing the first one. The biggest impediment to publishing that many books is finding someone to do the cover and being able to afford his or her art. the next impediment is doing the advertising it takes to get a book sold on Amazon. Finding a publishing company would be amazing, but I don’t even know how to start with that.
So, is 20 books in 5 years realistic? Nohelty broke the numbers down in his book, but he used graphic novels as his written work. Let’s say an author could conceivably write 1,000 words a day, and a book is 60,000 words. That’s about a book every 2 months. Can it be done? Mathematically, it looks like I should be able to do it. Now, we will just have to wait for time and income to see if I actually can.