I can write ten articles a day.
On average, my articles consist of 500 words, so this means I can write 5,000 words
per day.
The average non-fiction book is 50,000 words, or ten days of productivity.
There's only one problem with this math: For me, it's an unsustainable pace.
I don't LIKE writing that much, despite the fact that I can do it. It makes me feel like that vintage ?I Love Lucy? episode where she is trying to keep up with a pastry conveyor belt that is speeding out of control.
In a word, this pace makes a mess, if not of what you're writing, then of you!
If I bang out ten articles, the next day I'll pay a price. I won't want to get near a keyboard.
So, with one down day, at least, all of that intensive output will be halved. Across two days, I'll average five articles.
So, isn't it better to set a more modest pace and to craft one or two items a day, and leave it, happily, at that?
Yes and no.
One of my biggest best-selling books took the least amount of time to write: about three weeks, as I recall. I labored over the manuscript night and day, but it was a labor of love.
In my very soul I felt it was going to be a best-seller and it nearly wrote itself; I was nearly bursting with it.
Not to heed that WRITE IT NOW impulse would have been foolish, and I doubt the text would have had the enthusiasm it contained the way it came out.
But that's an exception, especially for a professional writer.
The pro needs to steadily produce, and it's better to do it at a slower pace, if you can.
That may make the process a little less exciting or harrowing, but it will get consistent results.
Just one thing: Always hit your minimum target; otherwise this concept will boomerang.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books, over 750 articles, and the creator of numerous audio and video training programs, including "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant-a favorite among salespeople and entrepreneurs. For information about booking Gary to speak at your next sales, customer service or management meeting, conference or convention, please address your inquiry to: [email protected].
