You’ve decided to write a book. Yay! But how do you manage your time to make sure you finish it? Learn how to create a writing schedule.
Mastering the Book Writing Schedule
Let’s be real, it’s a lot easier to SAY you’re going to write a book than to actually do so. There’s a reason why the majority of people who set out to accomplish this don’t. But there is a major tool the successful have in their arsenal. A writing schedule. A REALISTIC one. Let’s break down what that looks like below.
Learning Your Writing Style/Stamina
The first thing you need to do is pay attention to how long it really takes you to write a chapter. And how can you best accomplish that?
I used to believe I could only write in long stretches of uninterrupted time. Then I returned to teaching and got into the stage of kid chauffeuring. I’ve realized I needed to tweak my writing style if I wanted to maintain my productivity. Luckily, an author friend of mine recommended Immersive Writing Sessions. These have been life-altering for me! This particular playlist by Abbie Emmons also offers a cute, visual way to keep me on track.
They’re designed to follow the Pomodoro method of twenty minutes of targeted, uninterrupted time followed by a five- minute break. She also has them timed to be four sessions that add up to two hours total. They’re perfect for me to get in my two hours a day while fitting my more on-the-go lifestyle. I can realistically assess when I can grab twenty minutes of uninterrupted time- like right after a class ends before I have to grab my kids or in the parking lot outside ballet. And yet it adds up to two hours of productivity over the course of the day.
So, I count by chapter. I know if I keep to this schedule regularly- I can complete 1-2 chapters a week. I’m a slow writer with historical fiction- working on it. But there are also different ways to calculate this. For instance, my author friend who recommended the sessions- she uses Save the Cat and counts by beats. She knows it takes her 16 hours, roughly, to complete a beat.
Drill down what works for you, but first try getting into a regular routine with your writing for a few weeks and pay attention to your output and notice patterns. THEN you can move on to the next stage.
Drafting Your Writing Schedule
Once you can estimate your output, you can look ahead to the calendar. One thing I’ll mention is it really helps if you have a planned outline so you know how many chapters your book will contain. I know I’m alienating pantsers here, but the planning ahead really will help. Check out my blog post on Outlining Strategies to help with this.
For instance, I know my book will have about thirty-two chapters. So, now knowing my usual output each week, I can count ahead how many weeks it will take me to complete the book.
Now, here’s where realism comes in. I also look ahead for what life obstacles are going to impact that. For instance, when the kids are off from school and going to be home disrupting me. When I’m going to have papers due to grade for my students. Or family in town visiting, travel plans, holidays, etc. These things all need to be considered because you will NEVER write as much as you think you will during these life events. So, plan for them instead of being disrupted and feeling like a failure later.
Revisions and Editing
A few things to consider for the end. One. Make sure you build in buffer room. There WILL be other life events you could not have anticipated or planned for. Like the week’s worth of Snow Days that had kids home and threw off my schedule last week. Or sickness, etc. So, make sure you add in an extra week or two for breathing room.
Two. You also need to build in Revision and Self-Editing time. I usually leave myself a few weeks to go through big-scale revisions and self-editing. I also ALWAYS recommend working with a copy editor. So, you will need to build in time for that as well. Most copy editors need at least a month to complete their edits. You will then also need time to implement their feedback.
Final Thoughts on Book Writing Schedules
I know this probably seems like a lot and like it will take forever. Writing a book is not for the faint of heart. There are ways to do it faster. I know there are people who can knock out books in a few weeks to a month. NanoWriMo right? I’d caution that these are the exceptions though. And they have most likely cleared their schedules to completely prioritize nothing but writing for that period of time. That is another approach. Although a more difficult one when you’ve got other obligations.
However, this writing schedule approach is to help you avoid the trap of allowing it to drag on forever. I say this as someone who has fallen into that trap the past few years trying to balance life and this final book of my trilogy. So, finding that right balance of reality vs. upholding expectations is crucial.
Good luck everyone and happy writing!
Do you have any other writing schedule tips that have worked for you? Please leave them in the comments below! Thanks, I look forward to hearing them!
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