By Katrin Schumann

How long does it really take to write a book? From beginning the first draft to seeing it on bookshelves? It's generally accepted that more books = more success/ happiness. But what does being "productive" really mean, and does it make you happy as a writer? 

I used to think the solution to almost all writerly problems lay in having more time—a comforting thought since I had so very little of that particular commodity. Simple, I thought: when I have more time, I'll do more writing, and I'll be happy and productive.

On some level ...

Last year, I didn't make any New Year's resolutions. Frankly, I was tired of pushing myself so hard, and I thought: hey, how about I just try my best this year? It felt like a gentle enough goal given that I had just started a new job and my first novel was about to be published. While I knew quite a bit about what was ahead (I'd published nonfiction before), I had very little idea about whether the outcome for this book would be good, bad or indifferent, and how I would end up feeling about it all

In the past few years, I've done an enormous amount of editing. I work as a manuscript consultant and help other writers develop their books, and I've (almost completely) rewritten two novels. Here are some of the things I've learned about the editing process:

TOP FALSE ASSUMPTIONS EDITING CLIENTS MAKE

1. An editor will "fix" your manuscript. (An editor can help you fix it.)

Our nine-month Novel Generator program is designed to help students at all levels complete (or make substantial progress toward completing) a first draft of a novel in an environment that offers support, accountability and feedback appropriate to this early stage in the novel-writing process. 

The combination of craft instruction, accountability, instructor feedback, and class continuity in the Novel Generator has helped our students to leave the program with either a finished draft, or a partial draft and a clear path to the ending.

Applications for the Spring 2020 Novel Generator are due Monday, December 2nd, at 11:59pm (EST).

Learn ...

Ready to write the first draft of your novel? Applications for the Spring 2020 Novel Generator are now open. The deadline to apply is Monday, December 2nd at 11:59PM (ET).

The Novel Generator is a nine-month program designed to help students at all levels complete (or make substantial progress toward completing) a first draft of a novel in an environment that offers support, accountability and feedback appropriate to this early stage in the novel-writing process. Read about our submission requirements here.