Recently, a fellow writer (who publishes short essays and pieces of travel writing) told me about a book she’d just finished reading. It was an excellent book she said, but added with wide eyes: “It took him seven years to write! That’s crazy. I could never do that.”
I have this thing I do when I’m not sure how to respond: I involuntarily freeze stone-faced for a few seconds, thus allowing my brain to work. It’s what happened after my friend's remark. All kinds of thoughts whipped through my head, as I stood there motionless, considering what to say next: Wait, I’ve spent at least that long on my book! What does that mean? Is it really crazy to do that? Am I crazy? Have I wasted my life? Does the fact that my book took me so long to write mean that I’m a bad writer?
In the end, I shrugged and tried not to seem defensive: “That’s how long my book took me to write.”
It was a bit of a white lie. Truth is, it actually took me longer.
I doubt that anyone who picks up Epistolophilia will guess that it was twelve years in the making. For one thing, it's not even a particularly long book. But even though I didn’t write consistently for twelve years, and accomplished a lot of other stuff during that period, from the first discovery of Ona Šimaitė’s story to the appearance of the book, that’s the amount of time that elapsed.
There are many reasons why it took so long to complete. First, I had to gather research materials from five archives in three far-flung countries. Once I'd collected these, I had thousands of manuscript pages to sift through. What's more, to read a large portion of these documents, I had to remember how to read Russian (a skill I hadn't used for some ten years). When I actually started writing, I made some false starts and took some wrong turns. Finally, I had a baby. That slowed things down even more.
Had I known then what I know now, I could have saved myself a few years. But I didn’t, so I couldn’t. Live and learn. Write and get better at it.
How long should a book take to write? My answer: as long as it takes.
Writing, in large part, is an endurance test. The creation of a book is a marathon, not a sprint, so one of the most valuable traits a writer can cultivate is patience – with herself, with the industry, and with the creative process.
Some writers work incredibly quickly. I applaud them and, truth be told, am slightly envious of them. But if you’re like me, and write at a snail’s pace, that’s OK too.
Make peace with your natural pace and rhythms, whatever they are. That’s how the best work happens.
[Originally posted on http://julijasukys.com]
[Photo: cishore]
I have to take my inspiration from good, successful authors who write full-length books in three months or less. (There's a lot of authors who can do this and who *do* do this.) They are authors who write 5,000 to 10,000 words a day. Those words add up quickly.
Thanks Julija, this post is a timely reminder for me. I think books by the same writer can take different lengths of time too. My first book took me less than 18 months, while my current one is heading into its (gulp) fourth year. (Its final year. Really.) My prediction for your second book is that it will take less time than your first. Good luck with it!
Hi Ellen,
I would say that circumstances are always personal, so the two (circumstantial vs. personal) are one and the same!
The first question I was always asked at reading groups after my first book was published, was "How long did it take you?" I was always stumped by the question, wondering, do I include all the stops and starts,and life dramas and interruptions, or compress the timeline? The full span was about 7yrs, but no one was looking over my shoulder then. Now that I am working on another I am still stumped. Which part is my process? Which part is my life, (and its obstacles) Which part is discipline or procrastination or resistance. The feeling of flying along is a great feeling, and I always wonder if I can make that happen or write faster. I always remind myself of the advice 'honor your process' but sometimes I wonder if the when and how fast is personal or circumstantial. Just thinking out loud.
Thanks!
Jolie,
In answer to your question about grants: first and foremost, take a look at your city, state or provincial (if you live in Canada) arts grants. Next, look at the national grants (in Canada, it's the Canada Council for the Arts; in the US, the NEA). It's a good idea to subscribe to a site like Mira's List (miraslist.blogspot.com). Mira Bartok is a wonderful writer who runs a blog that posts grant opportunities. Keep an eye out for writers' residencies at universities and artist colonies like Yaddo. Think about your subject matter -- there are library grants for people working in specific subject areas like early US history. Perhaps this week, I'll post a longer piece on this as part of my Countdown to Publication.
Hi Terri,
I'm a perfectionist - but only to a point. My writing life is filled with deadlines. (Examples - I have an article due by midnight tonight. My first novel is due to my publisher on January 31.) Deadlines stop me from being a complete perfectionist. (And that's a good thing. Otherwise, it would be hard for me to make money off of my writing.)
Hi Julija,
Yes, I have a question. I keep forgetting about grants. I know of the various places to find them, but what are *your* top sites for researching grants?
Jolie
Hi All,
I love the feedback that this post has sparked. It feels good to know that I'm not alone in my elephant-like gestation periods for books, and I applaud those of you who are writing 3 books a year (I have no idea how you do it!)!
One thing to keep in mind for those of you who, like me, work slowly: it's a good idea to have overlapping projects. As I'm finishing up one book, I'm always dreaming up the next: applying for grants, and doing research. The back-and-forth is refreshing and gives you something new to be excited about when the old project gets, well, old. Conversely, the well-known and almost-finished book is comforting when despair sets in with regard to the embryonic one.
Second, I find that essays are a good way to work out ideas in the beginning stages of a book. I usually publish a piece or two that have grown out of the first half of writing. Published pieces are a good way to show that a subject has legs and may help find a publisher. Don't publish more than 10 per cent of the book, though, otherwise publishers will start to hesitate.
Happy writing and happy New Year soon!
If any of you have questions you'd like me to mull over in the weekly "Countdown to Publication," I'd love to hear it. Post your ideas in comments here or send me a note privately if you prefer.
I am working on a vegan cookbook right now and have a publisher friend who publishes them who is eagerly awaiting it because he is interested in publishing it. You would think I could get the proposal package to him but the truth is, I have been working on the sample chapters for several months. I have carefully worked on this material and I finally realize that it is not just that I want to do a good job- I want to do a PERFECT job. Are any of you perfectionists like me and just literally drag your feet redoing things to death because you have to do it perfectly or not at all? I have always been that way in academics and in everything else.
What a nice article. We should celebrate our own pace. Like Jolie I am a writer/novelist, publishing at least three novels a year, though I write far more than this. What's most important is publishing work you love...and too, being able to fondly recall writing it. <--That's the real peach.
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
My non-fiction book, "Rasputin and The Jews: A Reversal of History", took me 15 years to write. Without having a baby or too many distractions. Much of my research material was in French, which took me a little longer to read because, like you with Russian, it had been a while. And I kept finding new sources. I agree - it takes however long it takes and the length of time is totally irrelevant.
Can relate to this. I've spent more than 50 hours and three months on an essay that's still not finished. Another one that started and finished in the meanwhile took less than half that time. Practice helps. Sometimes though the writing tells YOU what it wants.
As an editor once told me, some pieces take forever to culminate. You end up feeling about them the same as you would a lover who's overstayed his welcome.
The idea for my YA novel came to me in a dream about 17 years ago....I wrote it up as a screenplay first, but it just didn't take. I put it on the back burner and let it simmer for a LONG time, throwing an occasional ingredient into the pot, while I wrote other things: more (unproduced!) screenplays poetry, grants and fundraising letters and a newsletter for my children's schools, etc...A few years ago, I picked it up again...but it didn't catch fire until last year after my separation. Suddenly, the main character's struggles to light her creativity made sense...and in the past year I have written 300+ pages. Along the way, I have struggled with my perfectionism - my good girl, straight A student mentality that served me well when I was a high school student, but paralyzed me a bit creatively as I got older. I've learned to enjoy the process and trust my natural rhythms...also, to stoke my creativity with lots of other inspiritng activities, like sculpting and ecstatic dance. It's close to finished now - and I entered it in the SheWrites Contest. And personally, I have never felt more centered and filled with purpose.
Terrific advice, thanks. Some of my all-time favorite novels were 5-10 years in the making. I'd like to believe that the longer a book takes to compose, the more substance it has.
I've finished some stories in a few days and other things I put on the back burner to come back to later. It all depends on what's going on in my life, how much free time I have, my inspiration, etc. Writing can't be forced. Your mind needs to be in the right place in order to create something worth reading. You can't put a deadline on writing.
I plan to spend three months per book. That may sound like a short amount of time to some authors, but there are many authors who do it and who do it well. Each author is different. A book that takes 10 years to write does not necessarily make that book better than a book that took three months to write, especially when you've been an author, editor, article writer and blogger for many, many years.
My first novel took at least ten years not counting incubation time. Truly my whole life until the moment I externalized the story--autobiographical as so many first fictions are. The time it takes depends so much on what is cooking. It really does.
I am always amazed to read about authors kicking out several books a year. I wonder how they do it. And yes, I am jealous, as well. My first draft took me three years. I'm not sure how much time to set aside for the endless editing and rewrites. Writers are a diverse group, and I think there are no concrete answers...unless you have a book deal and real deadlines to meet.
My first (and only--so far!) novel Messalina: Devourer of Men took over 10 years to write. It started as a short story to entertain myself, and then I decided to expand it and work on it as a serious candidate for publication. Sometimes I wish I didn't take as long. But I did. So what? I'm satisfied with the final product and I know other's are too. I have about 7 other novels waiting to get out, but it won't take me nearly as long because I now have a (better) plan on getting them done.
I'd rather take the time to write the story I need to write than feel rushed and produce something I wish I hadn't wrote.
We need to stop comparing ourselves to each other and just focus on our own progress. I can't take seven years to write a book, because I want to become a full-time novelist. However, every writer has his or her own goals. Be content with your goals.