Put It Out There

How many books should a writer write in 1 year?

1?

Less than 1?

More than 1?

One indie author I know comes to mind; this person writes 6 to 8 books per year.

The books this person writes are good books. The books written by this person sell well and receive good reviews.

This person writes full-time.

That's how this person is able to produce 6 to 8 novels in a year. It's roughly a book every 6 to 8 weeks.

Some people would say this is too many; that the quality must be poor. Not so, apparently, given the quantity of books sold, overall high praise, and career advancement. And money earned. And let's face it, that's a good thing. But for now, let's remain focused on productivity.

I've written 5 novels in the past 12 months, with publishing beginning next month. And I have 6 more in development, open, right now, at this very moment, in Word, nearly ready for the first draft to begin.

Other writers I know (or know of, mostly through social media and not personally), write far less than 6 to 8 books per year. It's more like a book every 3 to 4 years. Or never. Zero books. Because all they do is write; they're always writing, always editing, always polishing, always starting new projects, new novels, and always perpetually hoping to make it as a writer; but they never actually finish something, slap a cover on it, and put it out there.

And you have to put it out there.

No matter what it is.

You have to share it.

That's the point.

But what if no one knows who you are because they've never heard of you because they've never read your work because you've never put your work out there?

So put your work out there.

If you've already put your work out there, bravo; kudos; well done; continue to do so.

If you've not yet put your work out there, take a moment to consider why this is.

And then forget about all of that, be courageous, set a deadline, work backwards to create a production schedule timeline daily word count to figure out how many words you must write and/or edit in order to meet your target date, and then do it.

Get it done.

And then move on.

Don't worry about perfection.

It's doesn't exist.

It's better to do as well as you can on your current WiP with whatever knowledge and ability you have now in order to complete your project so you may move on to the next project.

Think about all the cool stories you want to tell. That's exciting, right?

You can't move on until you've completed what you're doing now.

Focus on the thrill of creation, of telling the story, and moving on. (Don't focus on sales or reviews or money or comments; doing so will sow insecurity, doubt, and hesitation.)

The only way to get better is by doing.

Not by theorizing. Not by observing. Not by contemplating.

But by doing.

So get going.

Be inspired.

Have fun.

Love what you do.

Tell your story.

And then put it out there.