Being an author is at minimum a part-time job. Not only do you have to create something that never existed before, but you then have to edit it, polish it, and then publish or query it, all while managing author pages, learning to improve your work, and more.
Managing the writing on top of the business side, along with normal day requirements, is challenging. Most of us cannot and should not give up our day jobs or family responsibilities to write more, so how do you manage to balance it all without spending 10 years writing a book?
Here are my top productivity tips that help me write novels faster and with less effort:
Dictation
I can't praise this method enough. With dictation, I can write 5,000 words an hour, and with tools like Grammarly, I spend less time editing it afterward. Dictation does take a few hours to get the hang of, but once you understand how to use it, you’ll be flying through your first draft.
Set and track goals
Most people start out by saying “I want to write a book.” That’s a noble beginning, but if you want to write a book faster and be more productive, you have to be more specific or you might end up lost writing the same book for years and making little progress.
I suggest making specific time goals for completing each draft. For example, finish the first draft by the end of the month and the second draft by the end of the year. If you want to write and publish a book within a few months, your goal may look like finishing the first draft in month one, finishing the second draft in month two, getting beta feedback, then completing the third draft in month four.
Goals can help you stop scrolling on social media and keep focus during your writing sessions.
However, not everyone can keep to self-discipline goals; in fact, most of us can’t without outside pressure. One way to keep yourself moving is to ask someone to read your story a month from now. There’s nothing like meeting a deadline to get you moving faster than before.
Use AI
I know, I know, most people are against AI, but that's because they don't want to put their creative works into the machine. I completely understand that. But AI has a lot of great uses that can help authors through the writing process without requiring you to hand over your creative talent. Here are just a few ways you can make AI work for you, instead of against you:
Use image-generating AI to help you envision characters, locations, and book covers.
Use AI to help you overcome writer’s block.
Get help picking a catchy book title.
AI can also act as a grammatical editor for complete sentences or punctuation.
Have AI generate name ideas for you based on meaning or characteristics.
AI is a powerful tool and it’s not going anywhere. In fact, it’s likely going to become more common as the technology improves and with the right regulation and frameworks to keep AI from stealing everything, it’s also a bright future for writers around the world.
If you’re nervous about using AI, that’s okay, but I would encourage you to at least be familiar with what it can do and what it sounds like because chances are good that you are already reading and interacting with AI-generated content. I am finding more and more fake profiles on social media that use AI to comment on posts, to write books, blogs, and more. If you don’t know how to identify AI, then you might be fooled by someone with ill intention.
Create a routine of success
This is something most successful people in the world do — they create routines that condition their bodies and brains to win. This ranges from having the same meal on game day to listening to the same playlist to repeating mantras and so much more. You can learn more about these routines in "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. However, the point of the routine is to make success just another step in a long process of practices.
Personally, my success routine is simple. Around 7:30 pm, I start wrapping up whatever I'm doing in my normal life so that I can grab my laptop by 8 pm. Then I sit down, select my story to work on that day, select the corresponding playlist (I make one for each book or genre) and then I take 10-15 minutes to pace while thinking of what I'm going to accomplish that night. Then I sit and do it. This routine helps me focus, prepare a plan, and execute on it without getting distracted. There is a huge difference in the days that I do or don’t do this routine, so I do it whenever possible.
Writing is a part-time job
If you're serious about getting published, then writing should be your part-time job.
Start by thinking about your writing as a business. Your books are the product, your author name is your brand, and you are here to sell something amazing that people want to read. It all starts by writing like it’s your job, then marketing like it’s your business product. Most people struggle with the business part of writing, but it can be one of the most important parts. So if you want to be more productive, start thinking like a business person. It will save you from spending four hours making a Pinterest board that no one will see, it will save you from scrolling on social media endlessly instead of writing, and it can help you realize the important work.
Have a rest and replenish routine
Resting is vital for success and productivity. All of us eventually hit a point where working burns us out. Many people try to push through that instead of resting, which can be detrimental to your output and results. Pushing through can burn you out more and eventually make you want to give up on your dream.
We all need to rest so we can come to the page ready to do great work. So build mental restfulness into your routine. This can be simply getting extra sleep at night, having a limit on how much you write in a day, taking regular breaks while writing, or simply eating and exercising more so you are able to sit down for hours at a time.
When needed, take a few weeks off. A few weeks away from your work can do more than 50 hours of strained mental labor ever could. Every year, I find myself needing to take a week or month-long break from my main work in progress and when I return to it, I am more productive than I was before. That’s because when you take a break, you’re able to return to the story with fresh eyes and perspective.
But taking a break does not have to mean stop writing. Many times, I continue writing but in a different genre. For example, I recently took a three-month break from my upcoming epic fantasy book and for those three months, I wrote horror short stories. Thanks to that break, I’ve better honed my suspense and tension-building skills. Now that I’m ready to return to my fantasy book, I’ll be selling my horror short stories and making a little money on the side. It’s a win-win.
What are some productivity tips that work for you? Drop them below.
Comments