One knocks one off between tea and bedtime....

[Katie-Ellen]

one day three years later?

Article: How To Write A Bestseller

http://services4authors.com/2015/06/15/how-to-write-a-best-seller/

 

[Nicole Wilson]

The title of this thread made me think of James Patterson, who has his name on something like 20 books a year.

There's a quote from the TV show Castle (which I'm apparently obsessed with as this is my 3rd or 4th mention of the show in the last week on the Colony) that aptly describes his publishing record: Patterson calls and says he's going to be late for a poker game and Castle says "he probably wants to use the time to write another book."

In any case, interesting points in that article. I also use Buffer to post my social media things. Easier than having to remember to post something every day.

 

[Jason Byrne]

The title of this thread made me think of James Patterson, who has his name on something like 20 books a year.

There's a quote from the TV show Castle (which I'm apparently obsessed with as this is my 3rd or 4th mention of the show in the last week on the Colony) that aptly describes his publishing record: Patterson calls and says he's going to be late for a poker game and Castle says "he probably wants to use the time to write another book."

In any case, interesting points in that article. I also use Buffer to post my social media things. Easier than having to remember to post something every day.

Good Christ, he's put out seventeen books this year. You think he only works on one project at a time? How does someone do that? I've been working on three books for five years. In that time he's published eighty-four...

 

[Jason Byrne]

Also, a series about a writer, much less a writer played by the awesome Nathan Fillion, is okay with me. I'll have to check it out.

 

[Emurelda]

I like the 'write shorter' part...that resonated well with me

Buffer eh? Will have a try @Nicole Wilson

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Good Christ, he's put out seventeen books this year.

And June's not even over yet.

I've been working on three books for five years. In that time he's published eighty-four...

I actually heard another author, Kevin Anderson, speak at last year's Comicpalooza (Houston's version of ComicCon) who had 125 books to his name. And then he called his wife a novice at 50.

 

[Jason Byrne]

I like the 'write shorter' part...that resonated well with me

Buffer eh? Will have a try @Nicole Wilson

See, he said break up your 150k book into three easily digestible books, and I was like, "mine's 269k. Choke on it." But then, I just switched to nicotine-free liquid in my vaporizer pen.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Also, a series about a writer, much less a writer played by the awesome Nathan Fillion, is okay with me. I'll have to check it out.

It's great. If you've seen anything else with him in it *cough cough* Firefly *cough cough* the sense of humor is near identical. And there are Firefly references every once in a while. Plus, he does talk about writing, which is nice. I actually stole his screensaver from the show. It says "You should be writing", each word on a different slide.

 

[Jason Byrne]

It's great. If you've seen anything else with him in it *cough cough* Firefly *cough cough* the sense of humor is near identical. And there are Firefly references every once in a while. Plus, he does talk about writing, which is nice. I actually stole his screensaver from the show. It says "You should be writing", each word on a different slide.

Did you see him in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog?

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I like the 'write shorter' part...that resonated well with me

Buffer eh? Will have a try @Nicole Wilson

It's very helpful. Posts while I'm at work. It also helped with #pitmad because I could schedule a chunk of my tweets at a time and not sit by the computer all day.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Did you see him in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog?

*gasp* No! I'm a total fangirl so my hubby and I will need to find other stuff he's in.

 

[Emurelda]

Also, a series about a writer, much less a writer played by the awesome Nathan Fillion, is okay with me. I'll have to check it out.

Yep, it's all about churning it out...keep the content flowing.

Oh yeah and I love the series advise too.

 

[Jason Byrne]

*gasp* No! I'm a total fangirl so my hubby and I will need to find other stuff he's in.

You'll love him as Captain Hammer, opposite Neal Patrick Harris.

 

[Emurelda]

See, he said break up your 150k book into three easily digestible books, and I was like, "mine's 269k. Choke on it." But then, I just switched to nicotine-free liquid in my vaporizer pen.

Ha...yeah! Well i've got my 30k word novel and I'll...erm..go somewhere quiet....

 

[Nicole Wilson]

You'll love him as Captain Hammer, opposite Neal Patrick Harris.

NPH is in it, too? Even better!

 

[Emurelda]

It's very helpful. Posts while I'm at work. It also helped with #pitmad because I could schedule a chunk of my tweets at a time and not sit by the computer all day.

Excellent! will check it out.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Ha...yeah! Well i've got my 30k word novel and I'll...erm..go somewhere quiet....

My first attempt at a novel was 33k words as well. And my latest one, while much better, is still 75k, which is short for most fiction and nothing compared to Jason's.

 

[Jason Byrne]

Ha...yeah! Well i've got my 30k word novel and I'll...erm..go somewhere quiet....

Yeah, but yours is for YA, where the range is around 40-60k, so you're right where you should be.

 

[Jason Byrne]

My first attempt at a novel was 33k words as well. And my latest one, while much better, is still 75k, which is short for most fiction and nothing compared to Jason's.

They say the guideline for fantasy is roughly 100k, but these days if it is a little less than that don't sweat it, Nicole. I have yet to see anywhere with length guidelines stretching beyond 150k, so I would advise you not to do as I have done...

In fact, a limit as high as 150k is generally reserved for the specialized, epic-only publishing houses. And I'm way beyond that. I'm going to have a hard time. Hopefully, you won't as much.

 

[Emurelda]

Yeah, but yours is for YA, where the range is around 40-60k, so you're right where you should be.

Actually it's MG which is around 25k to 40k.

Don't scare me with another 10k trek!

 

[Emurelda]

They say the guideline for fantasy is roughly 100k, but these days if it is a little less than that don't sweat it, Nicole. I have yet to see anywhere with length guidelines stretching beyond 150k, so I would advise you not to do as I have done... In fact, a limit as high as 150k is generally reserved for the specialized, epic-only publishing houses. And way beyond that. I'm going to have a hard time. Hopefully, you won't as much.

My question is how much did you throw out for it to end up at over 250k?

 

[Nicole Wilson]

They say the guideline for fantasy is roughly 100k, but these days if it is a little less than that don't sweat it, Nicole. I have yet to see anywhere with length guidelines stretching beyond 150k, so I would advise you not to do as I have done...

For the most part, they say genre fiction (including thrillers) is between 80-100k, so I'm right at the edge. I'm not terribly worried about it though.

 

[Jason Byrne]

For the most part, they say genre fiction (including thrillers) is between 80-100k, so I'm right at the edge. I'm not terribly worried about it though.

Oh — yeah — you're fine. You're right where you should be. Especially if it's a no-holds-barred-adrenaline-fueled-thrill-ride.

 

[Jason Byrne]

My question is how much did you throw out for it to end up at over 250k?

Actually, funny story — I had to throw out like 50-80,000 words in one section. I keep a 'table of events' to keep track what happens day to day, where everyone is, and what they're doing. Somehow I horribly disordered events, so people arrived places before they could have feasibly traveled that far, other people arrived a day too late to be involved in the events they were supposed to... it was mess. I scrapped the whole section and started over.

 

[Emurelda]

My first attempt at a novel was 33k words as well. And my latest one, while much better, is still 75k, which is short for most fiction and nothing compared to Jason's.

I think we have a couple of anomalies on this forum. 250k gets me up to 10 books in my series... I can dream of achieving that within 6 months...only dream.

 

[Emurelda]

Actually, funny story — I had to throw out like 50-80,000 words in one section. I keep a 'table of events' to keep track what happens day to day, where everyone is, and what they're doing. Somehow I horribly disordered events, so people arrived places before they could have feasibly traveled that far, other people arrived a day too late to be involved in the events they were supposed to... it was mess. I scrapped the whole section and started over.

Sounds familiar..but what's my excuse? Fishy focus memory

 

[Jason Byrne]

That book took me... about 15 months. The next one was shorter, at 237k, and that one took me three years to write. But that one called for insane amounts of research. It's a 12th-century foot journey from Germany to Botswana.

 

[Emurelda]

@Nicole Wilson 75k is optimum for a debut novel well done. First Harry Potter was 85k wasn't it?

 

[Emurelda]

That book took me... about 15 months. The next one was shorter, at 237k, and that one took me three years to write. But that one called for insane amounts of research.

Is it an epic fantasy? *curious*

 

[Jason Byrne]

Is it an epic fantasy? *curious*

Problem is, it's not! I don't have a hundred characters, nor armies bursting against each other like froth upon cliffs, nor the fates of kingdoms and realms...
They're more about a man and a woman and the terrible time they have trying to fall in love. I'm selling them as books touching the genres of Traditional Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, and Magic Realism.