How long does it take to write a book?

Before you can answer this question, first you must consider the type of book.

Are you writing an epic novel? Non-Fiction? A book of poems?

The answer will vary depending on the type of book and genre. However, it’s not uncommon for new authors to take roughly 7 years to write their first book.

Depending on the length of the book, it can take even longer.

But believe it or not, some diehard writers will tell you it’s possible to write a novel in 3 days. The less hardcore will tell you 1 to 2 months, or 1 year, is feasible.

The real answer is, it depends entirely on the content of the book.

Other factors also come into play here: 

How much time can you dedicate to writing? Can you write full-time, or do you have a day job?Have you ever written something this long before?Do you know the story by heart, or are you still figuring it out?What is your average word count per hour?Are you familiar with strategies for book plotting and overcoming writer’s block?How good is your self-discipline? Are you adept at avoiding distractions such as social media and TV?

The answers to these questions will play a huge part in determining your writing speed.

Why Non-Fiction is Faster to Write than Fiction.

Now, that said, don’t despair and think you’ll never finish a book. There are some real, proven strategies to getting started.

If you want to write non-fiction, there’s some good news here: non-fiction is generally much faster to write than fiction. Writers estimate it takes a few hundred hours, or 4-5 months, versus the estimated few thousand hours, or 6-7 years, it often takes to write fiction novels.

Not only is non-fiction often shorter than say, and epic fantasy novel, but writing a factual book can be a lot less work than writing fiction. 

Sure, you have to do research the same as you would for any other book. It’s far easier to pinpoint what to research for non-fiction. And you don’t have to invent a magic system or figure out how technology plays into your sci-fi plot. 

These things can be very time-consuming, and fiction research can be more difficult because the things you’re inventing don’t exist in real life.

So, if you’re interested in non-fiction, this could be a great place to start. Blogging and freelancing are also great ways to get your feet wet in the writing world, and can help you practice your writing speed.

If you’re like me and non-fiction sounds like a boring way to start your writing career (or if your fiction book is already in progress), don’t worry about the time it might take to finish. 

I may not be able to give you a 100% definitive answer to the question, “How long does it take to write a book.” But the fact is, if it’s important to you, it’s worth the time it could take to finish your book.

How to Speed Up Your Fiction Writing (For Real!)

1. Writing software can help you keep notes with you wherever you go

Writing apps can be a big help when it comes to increasing your speed. Imagine being like me, and having about a dozen notebooks full of random notes and different versions of my book. Then losing said notebooks about a dozen different times and rewriting scenes that I’d already written.

(Albeit, scenes always turn out better the second time around… but still time-consuming and obnoxious).

Don’t be like me. Use an app like Mind Node to help you keep your thoughts organized and accessible at all times, from any device. 

You’ll save yourself a lot of time if you don’t have to search for the note you wrote on a napkin that one time, in a coffee shop long long ago. That you maybe stuffed inside a notebook, or perhaps shoved into your wallet. Or maybe it has since been eaten by a small child.

2. Plot your novel to help you avoid writer’s block

I mean, how long does it take to write a book if you have to battle writer’s block every couple weeks? 

This is the reality for many authors, myself included. But you’ll be far better-equipped to overcome writer’s block if you’ve done prep work to help jog your brain along the way.

For example, having an outline can help you remember what drives the plot. It can also help you spot when your storyline has gone on a tangent.

For me, an outline also helps me remember why I’m writing, and what I want the reader to feel during each stage of the book. This can help me refocus and get out of a block more quickly than not having an outline.

Check out my full post on overcoming writer’s block (plus a free download of my ebook, 12 Writer’s Block Hacks You Haven’t Tried).

3. Research as much as you can in advance

As I mentioned earlier, fiction writing can be unpredictable. Perhaps it’s because I’m not much of a plotter, but I have yet to fully anticipate everything I need to research for my novel in advance.

That said, you can still conduct research before you write. Use your outline to pinpoint things that are relevant to the plot. Write down the different aspects of your world that are necessary to the plot, too, and identify what you’ll need to research for worldbuilding.

For example, I knew I needed to research maritime cultures before drafting Curse of Brys. There were many details that needed to be solidified so I could simply tell the story: building materials, the sustainability of an island culture, trade relations, mythology, and so much more.

Now, not everything was completely addressed before I started writing. As I wrote, there were certain things I realized I should’ve researched more in depth (like what my MC would need to know to navigate a ship through a hurricane… go figure).

There is some leeway because you might be inventing new plants, animals, or building materials. That’s fine, but researching the way things work in real life will help you make your world more believable.

4. Practice writing every day & increasing word count speed

Practice makes perfect!

Or, as my band teacher used to say, “Perfect practice makes perfect!” When you perfect your writing practice, you get a lot more out of your time. 

You’ll also be more efficient if you write a little bit every day, versus writing a whole bunch every once in a while. It’s far easier to remember what you just wrote the other day than it is to sift through your story to remind yourself what you wrote a year ago.

Focusing on your hourly word count can also help you increase your writing speed. It doesn’t really matter where you start, as long as you can increase your word count over time.

5. Save editing and re-reading for later

Nothing slows down the drafting process like revising your book.

Trust me, I completely understand the temptation to edit while drafting. Sometimes I just have to write with my eyes closed so I don’t try to revise what I just wrote.

If I learned anything during the revision process for my first novel, it’s that it doesn’t matter how many times you revised your book to begin with; you will always revise it again and again.

Revisions can get really messy. Editing tends to have a domino effect. When you change one thing in Chapter 10, suddenly you have to go back and change Chapters 1-9, and maybe the end of the book, too.

Save yourself the headache. Don’t make changes until the book is done (or nearly done). Chances are, you’ll go through multiple drafts of your manuscript. There’s very little point in having perfect syntax in a scene that you’re just going to delete later.