730 x 365
That’s the simple equation I’ve come up with to shape my writing for 2015 and beyond.
I’m so excited by all things writing in the pipeline for 2015 – and there’s a lot. A second Kings of the World book, a sequel to Apocalypse: Diary of a Survivor and six (count ’em – six) Scared to Beath stories (or Zombie Rizing as the series may be known). I’m definitely keen to start a Kings of the World junior series as well but it doesn’t take long for the required word count to build up – serious organisation required.
After some quick maths ( or math, depending on your continent of schooling):
Kings of the World 2 – 80k
Apocalypse 2 – 80k
Scared to Beath x 6 (@ 10k ea) – 60k
That’s already 220,000 words. When you add in a Kings if the World junior (10k) and another collaborative project I hope to work on next year – well, let’s just say I figure I’ll need around 260k words.
That’s where my equation comes in 730 x 365 = 266,450. If I write 730 words a day – every day of 2015 – I will smash out a quarter million words next year and have as many as ten new titles available. All at the low price on 2-3 pages of copy a day.
Why 730? Why not 712 to land on 260k exactly? Well, I like a little wriggle room, for those ‘just in case’ moments*, plus, I like the figure of 730 as it happens to be double 365.
So that’s my commitment. 730 words each and every day of 2015. When it’s distilled down to a daily challenge is seem easily manageable, but when you add in day jobs, raising/time with the kids, partner, exercise plus all the other things that come with releasing a book – editing, promotion, design, etc, well, I think it’s a pretty significant challenge. But the rewards will be huge.
*Speaking of ‘just in case’ moments – we’ve just had three weeks of Abby in and out of hospital with seizures (common in Rett girls). Fingers crossed she is out the other end of them now (I’ll be writing more on this in another post) but it has made me acutely aware of how life can totally change – because that’s what life like’s to do.
730 x 365
