From the Productive Indie Fiction Writer:
I’ve spent the last couple of posts being pretty firm about the importance of doing the work. In Hauling the Bricks and The Indie Author’s Scam Survival Guide, we talked about how there’s no magic shortcut—just putting in the effort, day after day, is what gets you there.
But let’s take a moment to step back and make this whole “writing a lot” thing feel a little less daunting. Because honestly? It’s just math. And math isn’t scary. (Okay, maybe calculus is, but this is the fun kind of math—the kind that leads to finished books.)
The Math of Writing More
The formula for writing a lot is deceptively simple:
Words per hour × Hours per week = Books per year.
Let’s break it down. If you can manage 1,200 words per hour (which is totally doable with a little practice), and you write for just two hours a day, five days a week, that gives you:
12,000 words a week
600,000 words a year (with two weeks off!)
That’s at least six books a year, even accounting for outlining and planning time.
Want to push it a little further?
Three hours a day, five days a week gets you 900,000 words a year—around eight books!
Two hours a day, six days a week gives you 720,000 words a year—about seven books!
And this isn’t some grueling, burn-yourself-out pace. It’s simply consistent effort. A couple of hours a day. No heroic all-nighters. No frantic scrambling. Just showing up and putting words down.
Writing a Lot Is Easier Than You Think
Writing a book might sound overwhelming, but writing 1,200 words in an hour? That’s a scene. Maybe two short ones. Totally manageable.
Writing a book isn’t about sprinting from Chapter One to The End in a caffeine-fueled blur. It’s about stacking small, achievable writing sessions on top of each other until—boom!—you’ve got a finished manuscript.
This is why writing fast actually makes you a better writer. You stay immersed in the story. You don’t lose momentum. You train your brain to get words down efficiently instead of second-guessing every sentence. (And let’s be honest, overthinking never made a sentence better—it just made it take longer.)
Need more motivation? Here are 21 reasons why writing a lot is a great idea: 21 Reasons to Write Lots of Fiction Quickly.
The Basics of Indie Success
Writing a lot is just one part of the indie author formula. The other pillars?
Publish regularly—Keep books coming so readers don’t forget you exist.
Market effectively—Get your books in front of people who’ll love them.
Engage with your readers—Build a fanbase that’s excited for your next release.
But it all starts with writing. And writing a lot doesn’t have to be a struggle. It’s just math. Small, consistent efforts add up to big, impressive results.
So, the next time writing feels overwhelming, just remember: It’s just one scene. One session. One hour at a time. And before you know it, you’ve got a book. Or five. Or eight.
And that is how you win at indie publishing.
Tracy Cooper-Posey
SRP Author and owner of The Productive Indie Fiction Writer
