How long did it take to complete your first novel?
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Mine took a year... Then again, I was in high school. My current WIP should take about one month for the first draft (I'm half way there and it's been two weeks writing time, so I'm guess-timating).
You can do it!
You can do it!
About four months to write the first draft. Then I let it percolate for about six months, then the second draft I went through in a week. Then about a month of back and forth with my editor.
So call it six months, with a six-month break from the work in the middle of the process.
Subsequent books have taken considerably less time.
So call it six months, with a six-month break from the work in the middle of the process.
Subsequent books have taken considerably less time.
5 and half years then 6 years to get an agent for it (some rewriting did take place in the 6 years)
Four months for the first draft, but I ended up trunking it. The current novel is taking much longer because of school.
A bit less than a year, but it's semi-shite. 
Have started a couple of others but not finished. May of may not get back to novel writing some day. Focusing on shorter works and non-fiction for the time being.
Have started a couple of others but not finished. May of may not get back to novel writing some day. Focusing on shorter works and non-fiction for the time being.It took a year for the first draft, and then another year to do the subsequent ones. BUT, now I'm doing an edit to bring it down to the 115,000 word zone.
defcon6000
Banned
It took 11-1/2 months to complete the manuscript, but I didn't write every day. There were periods of up to weeks at a time where I didn't write a word. I tried to do the math and I figured up that I had less than 250 actual effort hours in typing words into my WP. The finished draft was about 165,000 words.
I can't say that I would have finished my book in 7 or so weeks if I had written for 8 hours every day. A lot of the time away from my keyboard was spent thinking about where my story should go. There were also times when I just could not write. I had the story line in my head but couldn't get the words to flow.
Hope this helped a little.
I can't say that I would have finished my book in 7 or so weeks if I had written for 8 hours every day. A lot of the time away from my keyboard was spent thinking about where my story should go. There were also times when I just could not write. I had the story line in my head but couldn't get the words to flow.
Hope this helped a little.
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2 years, more or less. I could have had it done in 1, most likely, but I had a serious case of procrastination on the last half of it.
About six month to write a draft for an adult novel. Maybe four months for a middle grade one.
Revising/editing is another story.
Revising/editing is another story.
Thank you for that; I've been feeling bad about how long it's taking me to do mine (I'm on year four).
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It took me 3 years to write my first one and another 4 to learn how to write and then another 3 rewriting and rewriting. It was only the Angry Robot submission that kicked me into finishing.
Since March I've written 2 first drafts of novels and am halfway through a 3rd.
Though editing is another matter entirely.
Since March I've written 2 first drafts of novels and am halfway through a 3rd.
Though editing is another matter entirely.
I started writing a year ago and produced a manuscript (1st draft) in about 4 months.
Went to a conference and found it was complete crap. Re-defined my concept and re-wrote in about 6 months. That was crap because although I had a good story idea, it was only my second 70K words of writing and my craft was not there.
I re-wrote this about 3 times and workshopped it/ took more courses and then applied for Viable Paradise XV. My manuscript is now aging until VP (if I get in, fingers crossed, should hear soon.) or the same time period so that I can have a fresh perspective when I come back to it.
My goal is to begin querying Dec 2011/ Jan 2012.
Currently I am working on some short stories to hopefully get some professional sales and also narrowing down the next novel to one of 4 ideas I'm tossing about in my head.
Ideas come easily to me. When I write I can produce about 1500 words at a sitting. However, with a newborn at home, I've slowed down a little. Hopefully he will sleep through the night one of these days.
Went to a conference and found it was complete crap. Re-defined my concept and re-wrote in about 6 months. That was crap because although I had a good story idea, it was only my second 70K words of writing and my craft was not there.
I re-wrote this about 3 times and workshopped it/ took more courses and then applied for Viable Paradise XV. My manuscript is now aging until VP (if I get in, fingers crossed, should hear soon.) or the same time period so that I can have a fresh perspective when I come back to it.
My goal is to begin querying Dec 2011/ Jan 2012.
Currently I am working on some short stories to hopefully get some professional sales and also narrowing down the next novel to one of 4 ideas I'm tossing about in my head.
Ideas come easily to me. When I write I can produce about 1500 words at a sitting. However, with a newborn at home, I've slowed down a little. Hopefully he will sleep through the night one of these days.
To be honest, mine took me just a little under 3 months (I had written a chapter a day, lol). However, that was the first draft. Since then, it's been under many edits (such as the word count- it's been cut by 45k, now it's at 100k. Is that the usual word count for a first time writer of the epic fantasy genre?)
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My first novel took about 3 years. However, I must add that I wrote the first 50,000 or so words longhand. Then had to type that out when I got a computer, then pick up where I left off. (though finished and not bad, it is still under the bed.)
Second novel took about 5 months. (edits to start next month)
20,000 words into the third, which took about 3 months, but I haven't picked it up in a long long while.
Second novel took about 5 months. (edits to start next month)
20,000 words into the third, which took about 3 months, but I haven't picked it up in a long long while.
I'd guess that my first novel took less than a year - I wrote the last 55k in a month for Nanowrimo and finished around my 16th birthday. But I spent years before that tinkering around, trying to find something that worked.
I wrote my first novel in high school in about two years, but it was dreadful. The one I'm writing now I consider my first "real" novel. I've been working on it since October, so 9 months I guess. Editing now, I had hoped to have a final draft by New Year's. I'm working a little slower than I thought though, so it may be more like the New Year's after this.
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Four months -- but we were out of work (giving us time to do nothing but work on the book) and an editor was making encouraging noises.
Four months was still too long. By the time we submitted, the publishing house had changed direction.
Four months was still too long. By the time we submitted, the publishing house had changed direction.
6 months for me, but it was not a good novel by any stretch of the imagination. I did learn a lot from the exercise though and I'm not sure that spending any longer on it would have changed the outcome (trunked). There were just too many fundamental flaws. Learned a ton though.
I'm still working on it, a little bit at a time, and it's been years. I just can't put it away or decide it's ready to publish.
That said, I wrote it (80,000) in a little over four months, and I've written three since - including one in a month (NaNoWriMo).
That said, I wrote it (80,000) in a little over four months, and I've written three since - including one in a month (NaNoWriMo).
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