Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day? (2024)

Posted by Doris Booth | Jun 1, 2020 | Writing Insights | 2 |

Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day? (1)

Some writers are worried that they aren’t turning out as many pages as they should, or that they may be writing too fast.

So, let’s look at a reasonable daily output for a typical author. This is how I have answered similar questions on Quora.com.

Let’s do some simple math.

A good goal for many professional writers is to turn out five to ten pages a day during a four or five day work week. On average, a page equals 250 words set in 12 point Times New Roman.

Assume you write 1250 words a week or 5,000 words a month. You would produce about 60,000 words in a year. Novels range between 80,000 to 120,000 words. So it usually takes a pro one to two years to finish the first draft, not including time to refine and edit.

Hemingway was said to have written about 500 words a day; Stephen King reportedly produces 2000 words daily.

I suppose some writers can turn out a novel in six months but the quality of such a hastily written work might be highly suspect. If one is writing in a genre that is largely produced by formula, it may be easier to shorten development time.

Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day? (2)Personally, I don’t think good novels should be rushed. Professional writing requires patience and perseverance. Each story will require a different length of time to unfold. Scenes should be carefully thought through, even before you put them on the page. Writing is more about thinking than typing. Give your story the time it needs to unfold with depth and meaning.

Doris Booth is Editor-in-Chief and founder of Authorlink.com.

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Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day? (2024)

FAQs

Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day? ›

A good goal for many professional writers is to turn out five to ten pages a day during a four or five day work week. On average, a page equals 250 words set in 12 point Times New Roman. Assume you write 1250 words a week or 5,000 words a month. You would produce about 60,000 words in a year.

How many words does the average writer write in a day? ›

Many lesser known or unpublished writers who blog claim word counts anywhere in the range of 500 to 3000 words a day with 1000 being the average. A few writers claim to produce between 4000 and 10,000 words per day.

How much should I be writing every day? ›

If possible, it's a good idea to write every day, even if you can't write very much each day. You can set a target, which isn't a hard goal, but which is something to aim for. Some writers are happy with 500 words a day, others with 1,000 words, and some, who write full time, may even strive to write 2,000 words a day.

How much of a novel should you write a day? ›

Don't expect anastronomical dailyword count

And that doesn't mean you have to ramp up to an untenable writing speed! In fact, we suggest you aim for a thousand words each day – after we have agreed your story plan and made sure you're well prepared.

How long does it take to write 500 pages? ›

Writing 500 pages will take about 104.2 hours for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 208.3 hours for handwriting. However, if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay, the length can grow to 833.3 hours.

How many pages does Stephen King write a day? ›

4) Stephen King – 2000 Words

In it, King discusses his writing routine and how he writes around 2000 words (or six full pages) every workday. He claims that you must stay on it and move the story forward because otherwise, you'll lose the grip on your fictional world.

How many pages can I write in a day? ›

A good goal for many professional writers is to turn out five to ten pages a day during a four or five day work week. On average, a page equals 250 words set in 12 point Times New Roman. Assume you write 1250 words a week or 5,000 words a month. You would produce about 60,000 words in a year.

How much is reasonable to write in a day? ›

Your writing ability is a bit like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it'll become. Right now, a realistic goal for you could be writing 500 words each day. In six months time, those 500 words might have become 1,000. In a few years, you could be producing 2,000 words that you're happy with, every single day.

What is a reasonable daily writing goal? ›

Here are some goals that many writers will set for themselves: Write 1,500 words every day. Write for three hours every day at a scheduled time. Finish one chapter each week.

How long should I practice writing a day? ›

If you can set aside 30 minutes to an hour every day for writing practice (and set yourself a word or page limit to meet), you can become a better writer.

How long does it take JK Rowling to write a book? ›

F. Scott Fitzgerald took nearly 3 years to write The Great Gatsby. J.K. Rowling also famously took nearly 6 years to finish Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. J.R.R Tolkien took 16 years the finish the epic Lord Of The Rings.

How to write per day? ›

How to Write Daily
  1. Most important: Have a great reason. The rest of this doesn't matter if you skip this step. ...
  2. Block off undistracted time. ...
  3. Don't let yourself forget. ...
  4. Do it in a sprint. ...
  5. Practice mindfulness. ...
  6. Practice gratitude. ...
  7. Embrace imperfection. ...
  8. Don't let your mind run (for a little while).

How long does it take Stephen King to write a book? ›

King says he doesn't plot or prepare his books at all. He simply starts with a situation, eg: “two children lost in the woods find something sticking out of the ground”. He then writes on, letting the story develop. The lack of advance preparation means he can write quickly, producing a novel in around three months.

How many words does a professional writer write in a day? ›

500-1000 words a day is perfectly reasonable. I do on average 2,500–and that is after twenty years of practice, not to mention being able to do this full time. If you can do 500 words a day five days a week, that's a novel every year. Don't feel this is a bad rate.

How much do authors make? ›

The average salary of an author (as of 2024) is $84,670. This does not account for all authors, though since many “write part-time” or make much of their income through other means. To account for this gap, the Authors Guild conducted a massive survey to get detailed financial information from more than 5,000 authors.

Is 100 pages enough for a book? ›

Publishing houses may have a different count for the number of pages that make a book, a novella, a novel, or an epic. Some figures overlap and a consensus is that, on average, a book is about 60,000 -90,000 words long. That is approximately 200-350 pages.

How many words does the average content writer write a day? ›

Most copywriters typically max out at a 3,000-5,000 word range on a normal day. However, some writers may find themselves producing more or less depending on the amount of work they have and other variables. But generally speaking, this accurately estimates what an experienced full time writer can produce in one day.

Is it possible to write 1000 words a day? ›

If you're starting over again or from not writing at all, work up to 1,000 words a day. I write well over 1,000 a day, a lot of it is lost in the rewriting process, which is equally as important. Most new writers struggle more with the writing part and less with the editing and rewriting part.

Can you write 3,000 words in a day? ›

You can bet Cole and Denning type fast. Likely much faster than the average speed of 40 words per minute (WPM). At 40 WPM, 3,000 words will take you a minimum of 75 minutes. That's not counting the time to think about what you're going to write.

Can you write 100 words in a day? ›

Yes, I write more than 100 words a day. But it all starts with – and all started with – my 100-word writing habit. When I decided to become a writer five years ago, my 100-word writing habit was what transformed me into a writer. Now that I am a writer, I still keep my 100-word habit.

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