When I started writing my first novel, it took me five years. It’s not a long book, yet because it was my first time, I didn’t know how to start or what to do. After doing a load of research and reviewing my manuscript more than a hundred times, I finally published it.
This was my experience. Yet let’s hear it from the experts. They say that, on average, it takes someone from 6 months to a whole year to write a book. That depends on the genre they’re pursuing. Note that it will take much longer if you don’t establish a writing routine for yourself. So let’s find out what are the things that can influence your writing period.
Research
We all need to research throughout or before we write. If you’re writing a fantasy or a sci-fi, then you need to do tons of research. You’ll be creating a different world all from your imagination yet based on scientific facts. Because the reader always seeks something that roots him or her to their world. That’s why I suggest you take as much time as you can to thoroughly research and plot your manuscript outline.
Reviewing your work
Let’s say you just finished writing your first manuscript. If you think you will hand it directly to the agent or the publisher, then you’re sadly mistaken. As an author, I suggest you go through your manuscript a gazillion times until you can’t take it anymore. Because you’ll be surprised at the tremendous amount of plot holes, you’ll be encountering. That’s okay; believe it or not, you’ll see that your novel has changed 180 degrees; for the better.
So you’re done reviewing the manuscript. Now you need to hire an editor. Note that the editing takes around two to three months, yet it all depends on your editor.
It is perfectly okay to write garbage – as long as you edit brilliantly.
C. J. Cherryh
Exceptions
Remember Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, well it took him three years and three months to write his novel. A Dance with Dragons, George RR Martin’s novel, took him six years to write. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, however, took him only two days and a half. I know, I was as just surprised as you are when I found out. It even became a movie later on.
So never worry about time, because what matters most is the outcome.