35 days after I began, DIRTY MARTINI is complete at 72,044 words.
I need a beer.
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32 comments:
Huzzah! Fantastic, Joe. Congrats! :)
Wow! When you say 'complete', are you referring to all drafts, or your first draft? Either way, I'm in awe. How many hours a day, on average did that take?
:) Pam
Holy smokin' keyboard! Congrats. :)
Congrats! Can't wait to read it.
Congrats!
Wish I could write a 72k book! ;)
And you still had a day to spare!
That's my question too. First draft finished, or fini?
Congrats!
Congrats!
Just send me a copy of the word document, and we should be good.
Congrats, Joe! Is 72K a typical final length, or will you add to it in later drafts?
Now dare to break your own rules and take the night off to celebrate.
Congrats Bro!
Congratulations, Joe! Can't wait for my sneak peek. Is there a sex scene?
:-)
Barry
On the one hand, congratulations, and on the other hand, with all the whiskey references in your writing, "beer" is not the word I expected in that sentence. :)
Leave Joe alone, now.
He's drinking beer and watching TV and going out to eat and reading a book and surfing the internet and having sex (tandem or solo) and sleeping more than 8 hours and...
Hey! He DESERVES it.
Congratulations, Joe!!!
You're an inspiration to us all.
Holy shit!
Congrats! And I hate you. :)
Give your poor hands a couple days off or I'll start calling you Mr. Carpal Tunnel.
Congratulations, Joe! I'm impressed.
Wow, thanks for the kind words everyone.
Pam (and others): This is about the fourth draft. I averaged about ten pages a day, but every day before writing I'd go back and rewrite the previous 20 pages. Then I also revised the first half and the second half on two seperate days, to make sure it read straight through okay.
My agent will have suggestions. A writing friend of mine will also offer some very good input. I'll incorporate that into another rewrite, and send the book to my editor, who will ask for changes. Then I'll rewrite it again, get notes from the copy editor, and rewrite it a final time.
Carl Graves (he's the guy that drew the FOUR PACK OF JACK design on the right) email me!
Jeri/Mark--72k is typical for me. Whiskey Sour was 67k, Bloody Mary was 72k, Rusty Nail was 77k. My books typically take place over a period of a week or so, and there is a lot of action and dialog. A lot. That means a lot of white space, so it winds up being a 300 page book even though the word count is on the short side.
A word about length; a book should be at least 65k, but shorter is better for first time authors. Shorter means less money to print and to ship, which is attractive to a publisher. Shorter also means a quicker read. I've had dozens of readers tell me that they read my book in a day or two, or in one sitting, and they've never done that before.
This book took a few days longer to write than previous books, for a few reasons.
First, I had to take some time off for a conference and some events.
Second, I had to do more research than I've ever done before on a book. (if you haven't downloaded GOOGLE EARTH yet, it is brilliant for writers.)
Third, I actually got stuck for two days. I write a very detailed outline (30 pages) before I begin the book (because I have to turn an outline in to get paid) and usually it is just a case of adding dialog and action to the outline.
But I found a plot hole in my outline, and it required some major thinking on my part to fix it. I'm talking about staring at my monitor pulling out my hair kind of thinking.
Now, I get to answer email. 735 are waiting for me...
Congratulations! It's always a huge relief when I'm finished with a book. I know I've done it yet again. So I know how you feel.
Enjoy your beer, or two!
Oh! If only, by the grace of God, went I
:-)
Grats, Joe! Can you give me the name of the guy who sold you the stuff that makes you write so fast. I've got homework writing along with novel writing to do here, and I could use a boost. ;)
(Will also keep in mind that shorter is better.)
Another nosy question....how long does it generally take to write your outline? Do you think you could write as fast without one?
Have to say, you've totally inspired me to pick up my pace!
:) Pam
Congrats!!!
35 days?! Holy wow. I don't hate you, really I don't. Congrats, Joe! And thanks for sharing your process.
Congrats, Man. That's huge.
Adam
Wahoo! Congrats, now go take a nap! You deserve it!
Joe, thanks for sharing your writing process with us. I love to hear how other writers work, and was dying to know how you manage to write a novel in a month. A solid outline and incredible focus--aha!
Pam--Writing an outline is a pain in the ass. In fact, I think I'll blog about that right now...
Awesome job, man. Looking forward to reading it.
I hate you, too.
But I like Jack Daniels.
Congratulations, quite an accomplishment!
Joe, you rock!!!!!
Congratulations, Joe!
Take a beach vacation out of petty cash.
You could have made it to SleuthFest afterall. Maybe you even would have won the Flamango Award this time.
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