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| Old Typewriter by Petr Kratochvil |
Q. Are you insane?
A. No, not particularly. I am not making this decision because I have any severe mental disorders. I have made this decision because I have a dream: to make a living as a writer. As of this November, I will have been at it for a year. The response from readers has been overwhelmingly positive and sales have been encouraging, so I feel I'm doing something right. And while I am very pleased with what I have accomplished in that year, I know that I can do more. I also know that my current situation will not allow me to write full-time forever, so while I can, I am going to take full advantage of the time that I have.
Q. How long is a "novel?"
A. For this project, I will aim for at least 60,000 words per novel. Of course, I fully expect most of the novels to be longer than that. So why 60,000? What constitutes a novel varies widely depending on whom you ask. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America sets the threshold at just 40,000 words. I've seen some estimates as high as 80,000 or 90,000, even over 100,000. But 60,000 feels like a good compromise between those two extremes.
Q. How many words will you write a day?
A. Well, if I write 2,000 words a day, I'll reach 60,000 in a month. But like I said, I expect many of my novels to be longer than that, so my daily minimum will be 3,000 words. For me, this is 3-4 hours of uninterrupted work a day. That will be 90,000 in a month, which means that I may even end up with a few days left over at the end of the month if the novel ends up nearer the 60,000 minimum.
Q. Do you have all the novels already planned out?
A. I have five or so that I have given enough thought to to begin writing immediately. I have very basic ideas for the others but they will need to be fleshed out before I begin writing them.
Q. What are you going to write first?
A. This month (October), I will write Sullivan's Wrath, the sequel to Sullivan's War. In November I will write Sullivan's Warning, the last of the Sullivan Trilogy proper. But the story will not end there. Two of the books I will write over the next year will be, essentially, bookends to the Sullivan Trilogy. One will take place before the events in the trilogy and the other afterward, but they will all tie together. I have several other projects in the works that I will write in the coming year. Most of them will be science fiction, but I also have ideas for some paranormal/horror stories, a historical fantasy and a couple of literary novels.
Q. How are you going to find the time to do this?
A. I can write about 1,000 words an hour. As mentioned, my current circumstances will allow me to write full-time. Writing for a minimum of three hours a day will hardly be a strain. However, I intend to try to write more than that and stay ahead of schedule so I will not fall behind if something comes up. This will allow me to take a day or two off if needed.
Q. How many of these book are you going to release in the next year?
A. I will, of course, have to spend time editing and revising the novels. It is my goal to have at least four of them released by the end of 2013.
Q. Why are you starting now and not in January?
A. Because I can start now. I can write full-time right now. The longer I wait, the less certain my situation becomes. Plus, this month of October begins on a Monday, which made it feel like a natural starting point.
Q. Why are you starting now and not in January?
A. Because I can start now. I can write full-time right now. The longer I wait, the less certain my situation becomes. Plus, this month of October begins on a Monday, which made it feel like a natural starting point.
I will keep you all updated on my progress. I'll be using the hashtag #12NovelsIn12Months on Twitter if you want to follow along. I know that I can do this, and I'm hoping that it will be the kick-start that I need to fulfill my dream of being able to live off the proceeds from my writing. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. If you'd like to help me accomplish this goal, the best way to do that is to consider buying my books (just click on the book covers in the sidebar for links) so I can stay solvent while I write. :o) Wish me luck!
Best,
Michael K. Rose
have you been to 12novels.com ? :D she is great inspiration if you need some.. or maybe she got the idea from you? i dont know the details... but she has already been doing this for the past 7 months so you should definitely read her posts because they are really inspiring, and awesome. good luck on your journey!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link and the luck. I figured others had done this before, but I didn't go look for them before deciding to do it myself. I've had a great first day (4,000 words so far) and am aiming to hit 5,000 before the clock strikes midnight.
DeleteBest,
Michael
That is a tremendous first day! How are you able to write so much in one day? It takes me 2-3 hours to just write 2k. :-/
DeleteI can write about 1000 words an hour. I want to get 3000 a day so three hours of writing a day, maybe four if the going is slow, really isn't that much. The first day I was hyped up because I was starting a new book, so it went faster than usual.
DeleteMichael
This is a great goal and I know you CAN do this! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement, Ben!
DeleteMichael
It's all unicorns and rainbows! Go Michael!
DeleteFunny you mention that, because SULLIVAN'S WRATH has Rick Sullivan visiting the rainbow unicorn planet. The evil king Sprinklesparkle has enslaved the smelly but friendly gnomes who labor away in the marshmallow mines. Sullivan is there to free them.
DeleteMichael