Write a book in 28 days?...

Dsannielk · Apr 4, 2006

Guaranteed published in 90 days?

I came across this earlier today.

An English guy called Nick Daws claims you can write a best seller and publish it in 90 days. He guarantees, not published in 90 days? Not happy? You get a full refund.

Yada ya.

So what do you all think? Is this credible?

Seems a bit too good to be true methinks…

loquax · Apr 4, 2006

I pasted the article into Word and did a find and replace on "!"

59 replacements.

Maryn · Apr 4, 2006

If Mr. Daws is right, then why aren't there dozens of best sellers by Nick Daws? Sounds like a plan to separate hopeful writer from money.

Maryn, distrustful

Uncarved · Apr 4, 2006

completely possible

Sit down, type random words till they equal anything.
Submit to PublishAmerica, you'll have a contract within 9 days, LOL

Dsannielk said:
Guaranteed published in 90 days?

I came across this earlier today.

An English guy called Nick Daws claims you can write a best seller and publish it in 90 days. He guarantees, not published in 90 days? Not happy? You get a full refund.

Yada ya.

So what do you all think? Is this credible?

Seems a bit too good to be true methinks…

rtilryarms · Apr 4, 2006

Well, I hate to speak down on self-help books. It probably will help some people.

But.

If I google "Nick Daws" and "Best Seller" I get one page of self promotion and advertisement.

If, on the other hand, I google "Tom Clancy" and "Best Seller" I get many lists of books which he wrote that BECAME best sellers.

The same with Robert Ludlum.

the Same with Jenna Glatzer.

But not one for Nick Daws.

I think i would have to challenge his "Best Seller" bona fides. Amazon does not support that claim.

MadScientistMatt · Apr 4, 2006

Nick's claim: "In the past three years alone, Nick Dawes has written over 30 bestsellers." A search of Amazon turned up less than half that many books total, many of them out of print, and most with sales ranks in the millions. The only thing I can say to his credit is that the publisher does not appear to be a vanity press. He claims that a book can not only be written in 28 days, but that one only needs to spend an hour each day at it. That would mean around 2,000 - 3,000 words per hour - YIKES!

And to top it off, the endorsement from Don Strauss is dated April Fools' Day.

zornhau · Apr 4, 2006

MadScientistMatt said:
in 28 days, but that one only needs to spend an hour each day at it. That would mean around 2,000 - 3,000 words per hour - YIKES!

And to top it off, the endorsement from Don Strauss is dated April Fools' Day.

I asked SL Viehl how many good words she writes in a day. Her answer:

By good words, I'm assuming you mean words I'm not going to delete or rewrite during the evening or final edit. I usually write an average of 15-20K per day, but of those I usually overhaul or lose 3-5K during the edits, so about 12-15K.
http://zornhau.livejournal.com/72415.html

But that's in a full day's writing.

(She can certainly write a book in 28 days, and she has written bestsellers. So perhaps here book on how she does it might be more useful than the one mentioned upthread: http://shop.hollylisle.com/index.php?crn=1&rn=359&action=show_detail )

Jamesaritchie · Apr 4, 2006

zornhau said:
I asked SL Viehl how many good words she writes in a day. Her answer:
By good words, I'm assuming you mean words I'm not going to delete or rewrite during the evening or final edit. I usually write an average of 15-20K per day, but of those I usually overhaul or lose 3-5K during the edits, so about 12-15K.
http://zornhau.livejournal.com/72415.html

But that's in a full day's writing.

(She can certainly write a book in 28 days, and she has written bestsellers. So perhaps here book on how she does it might be more useful than the one mentioned upthread: http://shop.hollylisle.com/index.php?crn=1&rn=359&action=show_detail )

That's just weird. Even 15K per day is three very long novels per month, or thirty-six very long novels per year. I believe good writing can be done quickly, but I believe I'll pass on anything written this quickly.

Jamesaritchie · Apr 4, 2006

Dsannielk said:
Guaranteed published in 90 days?

I came across this earlier today.

An English guy called Nick Daws claims you can write a best seller and publish it in 90 days. He guarantees, not published in 90 days? Not happy? You get a full refund.

Yada ya.

So what do you all think? Is this credible?

Seems a bit too good to be true methinks…

A fool and his money. . .

Kasey Mackenzie · Apr 4, 2006

_Definitely_ too good to be true. If it were that easy there would be a _lot_ fewer talented "midlist" authors and many more "bestselling" authors. Cause I can assure you that they would have already snapped up this *cough* self-help book and put it to good use. That they haven't is a good clue right there.

badducky · Apr 4, 2006

Heck, if I can write a full 15-page poli sci research paper in twenty-four hours and make an "A" like I did a few years ago when I was younger and more energetic, I bet I can write a novel in 28 days.

But, why would I hurt myself like that? Why would I damage my relations with the world like that? Who am I? Kerouac? As much as I want to lose my mind, I'd much rather take a little more time then that.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

And, I'm sure Mr. Daws wrote the book he's hawking in 28 days. (59 Exclamation points...)

zornhau · Apr 4, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
That's just weird.

My initial response, and those of my peers, had more expletives.

Jamesaritchie said:
Even 15K per day is three very long novels per month, or thirty-six very long novels per year. I believe good writing can be done quickly, but I believe I'll pass on anything written this quickly.

Well, for a start, she's actually a rather good , so you'd be missing out! Her sales vindicate her quality: IIRC she sold 11 books last year, but I'm not sure if that includes write-for-hire contract work.

Her explanation is that she's been writing for 30 years. However, I suspect it helps that her SF tends to happen in a well established universe, and that her novels tend to focus on just one viewpoint character, with several supporting characters.

Given she sells what she writes to proper publishers, and lives rather well, it seems reasonable that she has something to teach us.

NeuroFizz · Apr 4, 2006

Writing should never be a get-rich-quick scheme, either from a monetary viewpoint, or from a creative one.

aadams73 · Apr 4, 2006

zornhau said:
Well, for a start, she's actually a rather good , so you'd be missing out! Her sales vindicate her quality: IIRC she sold 11 books last year, but I'm not sure if that includes write-for-hire contract work.

Given she sells what she writes to proper publishers, and lives rather well, it seems reasonable that she has something to teach us.

She's fabulous! And she spends a great deal of time giving truly helpful advice to us aspiring writers via her blog.

James D. Macdonald · Apr 4, 2006

zornhau said:
I usually overhaul or lose 3-5K during the edits, so about 12-15K.

Click to expand...

I wonder if a decimal point went missing? I manage maybe 1.2K per day. 12-15K words is forty-eight to sixty pages in manuscript format. Four point eight to six pages, on the other hand, is entirely believable.

But back to the question: Nick Daws has been known of, and roundly laughed at, for years. That's how long that web page of his has been up.

(If you are planning to write a novel-length manuscript in under a month, using an hour a day, consider in investing in a couple of these.)

zornhau · Apr 4, 2006

>I wonder if a decimal point went missing?

That was pro-writer acquaintance's considered response as well. But no, that really is her daily wordcount.

maestrowork · Apr 4, 2006

There's also voice dictation software. No typing! So if you talk very fast.... it's possible that you could finish a novel in 28 days.

zornhau · Apr 4, 2006

I think that's how SLV does it.

Jamesaritchie · Apr 4, 2006

words

zornhau said:
>I wonder if a decimal point went missing?

That was pro-writer acquaintance's considered response as well. But no, that really is her daily wordcount.

You'd think her list of published novels would be a heck of a lot longer than it is.

Max Brand (Frederick Faust) once averaged 26,000 words per day for an entire year, but his list of published work was correspondingly long.

Jamesaritchie · Apr 4, 2006

zornhau said:
My initial response, and those of my peers, had more expletives.

Well, for a start, she's actually a rather good , so you'd be missing out! Her sales vindicate her quality: IIRC she sold 11 books last year, but I'm not sure if that includes write-for-hire contract work.

Her explanation is that she's been writing for 30 years. However, I suspect it helps that her SF tends to happen in a well established universe, and that her novels tend to focus on just one viewpoint character, with several supporting characters.

Given she sells what she writes to proper publishers, and lives rather well, it seems reasonable that she has something to teach us.

After looking at some of her novels, I'll still pass. Definitely not things I want to read. After thrity years, books should be harder and slower, not faster and easier.

BuffStuff · Apr 4, 2006

I liked it. It's relatively cheap and if you don't like the specific technique he discusses in the course then you can get your money back. In the discussion that I've had with him (Daws) he seems like a stand up guy.

He runs a few writing sites:

www.mywritingblog.com

http://www.nickdaws.co.uk.

and:

http://www.mywriterscircle.com

Email him if you have any questions. Much of the information in the course is dedicated to non-fiction, but he includes many examples of how the technique can be applied to fiction. The primary technique he teaches isn't earth shattering in my opinion but it is an interesting slant on novel-writing and if it resonates with you, and helps you to write faster, then great. If not, then get your money back.

Akuma · Apr 4, 2006

28 days???

Well, I'm not sure...at least the zombies will be dead by then.

NETFEED/NEWS
(Visual: clip from British zombie movie)
Today the renowned writer and antagonist Akuma made another bad joke which nobody understood.
AKUMA: 28 days? Zombies? Get it? Aw, I've got nothin'.

CaroGirl · Apr 4, 2006

Akuma said:
28 days???

Well, I'm not sure...at least the zombies will be dead by then.

NETFEED/NEWS
(Visual: clip from British zombie movie)
Today the renowned writer and antagonist Akuma made another bad joke which nobody understood.
AKUMA: 28 days? Zombies? Get it? Aw, I've got nothin'.

Good movie! I always wonder how on earth they managed to film London without a soul in sight during that opening scene. Fascinates me every time.

maestrowork · Apr 4, 2006

I happen to enjoy life. For those who don't, writing 12K words a day might be your calling. Keep that up and you may live to 45 years old.

BuffStuff · Apr 4, 2006

Carogirl wrote:

>>>Good movie! I always wonder how on earth they managed to film London without a soul in sight during that opening scene. Fascinates me every time.

The film crew hired Chuck Norris.

-BS

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