SFA 075 – How to Write a Novel in a Month

For this week’s show, we delved into how to write (and ideally edit) a novel in a month. We talked about the first time we did it, at what point in your writing career it makes sense to try (assuming you’re interested), how to plan and be ready before starting, and how to stay focused and motivated on the project. Even though we’re mostly outliners at this point in our careers, we tried to hit on things that can work for both pantsers and plotters.

News:

• Jo and Lindsay are both starting new epic fantasy series this year and talked about some of their considerations for titles and covers and word count.
• Andrea is starting a local mastermind in Utah and is open to more people if you’re a serious writer and live in the area.

What we touched for our main topic:

• Defining what it means to “write a novel in a month” for us. For most of this, we assumed you wanted to write it and edit it. Of course, how plausible this is will depend on how much time you can carve out.
• What the first novels were that we wrote in a month.
• The planning or “pre writing” stage.
• How long we spend on planning/pre-writing.
• How pantsers might approach prep differently from plotters (outliners).
• Ways we stay on track, goals we set, and our tricks for staying focused.
• Leveraging the early “exciting part” and getting more done in the opening days when the project is still new and fun.
• How an accountability partner, or just someone you report your progress to, can help.
• How your typing/thinking speed will play into this book-in-a-month goal.
• How we handle revisions, especially if we’re trying to get them done in the month period.
• Scheduling your editor and cover designer ahead of time, especially if you’re trying to publish a book a month multiple times in a row, not just finish a single novel in a month.
• Realizing that this is a more realistic goal for someone with at least a few novels under their belt, someone who’s learned the ropes and doesn’t usually need a number of editing passes.

Closing:

Thanks for listening, and thanks for Joshua Pearson for producing the show. If you’re not already in our Facebook group, you can find it under Six Figure Authors or follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/504063143655523/