Novel In A Year Project

Download .mpp file >>

Download .xlsx file >>

So, in my curiosity about the writing world and all of that, I had a discussion the other day about how "accomplished" authors like Janet Evanovich or Michael Connelly release just about a book a year.  Which to me, says that it most definitely can be done.  Now, at first glance, it may seem like "Oh, a professional writer has all the time in the world so you can't compare."  But before you jump to those conclusions, think about the fact that we of the unpublished variety are not on book tours for last year's book, and we're not doing appearances and signings and contract negotiations and all that fun stuff that accompanies being a professional writer.  So they have to squeeze it in, too.  Yes, they may have SOME additional time that you don't have, but isn't that the time that we would hope to free up by enjoying the luxurious life of professional novelist?

So, I decided to see if it was feasible, using insane NaNoWriMo-driven 50K in 30 day timeframes (assuming I'm writing a 100K novel or so).  And (suspense and drum roll please) it is.

So I've attached the results.  Your particular schedule may fluctuate dramatically from this, depending on the number of revisions you want to do, how cooperative your beta readers are, etc. etc. etc., but this is just an example of how it COULD be done.

So download it in your preferred format (Microsoft Project 2007 file or Microsoft Excel 2007 file), adjust your start dates as you like, and get rolling.  Print the deadlines in giant letters and tack them to your monitor.  Work tirelessly towards them to meet your goals.  Crank out a new novel every year.

It can be done.  Are you up for it?

Enjoy!