How many words a day to write a book: a plan by deadline, and 25 goals

How many words a day to write a book in a year

A year is a lot of days, so the daily number is small. Divide your book's length by 365.

• A 50,000 word book: 137 words a day for a year.
• A 60,000 word book: about 165 words a day.
• An 80,000 word book: about 220 words a day.
• A 100,000 word book: 274 words a day.
• A 120,000 word book: about 330 words a day.

How many words a day to write a novel in a month, 3 months or 6 months

A closer deadline means a bigger daily number. Here is the same 80,000 word book on different clocks.

• 80,000 words in a month: 2,667 words a day for 30 days.
• 80,000 words in 3 months: 889 words a day for 90 days.
• 80,000 words in 6 months: 440 words a day for 182 days.
• 80,000 words in a year, writing only on weekdays: 308 words a day for 260 days.
• A shorter 50,000 word draft in a month: 1,667 words a day for 30 days.

How long to write a book at 250, 500 or 1,000 words a day

Turn it around: pick a daily number you can keep, and see when the 80,000 word book is done.

• 100 words a day: 800 days, about 2 years and 2 months.
• 250 words a day: 320 days.
• 500 words a day: 160 days, a little over 5 months.
• 1,000 words a day: 80 days.
• 2,000 words a day: 40 days.

How many words is a book? How to find your number

Books come in many lengths, so measure the kind you want to write. These goals give you a number to aim for.

• Count the words on 3 full pages of a book like yours and take the average. At 280 words a page, a 300 page book is about 84,000 words.
• Read the length rules of the publisher or contest you want to send it to. Most say how long a book they take.
• Split the target into chapters: 80,000 words in 25 chapters is 3,200 words a chapter.
• Writing something shorter? A 30,000 word book at 100 words a day takes 300 days.
• Set a first target, like 80,000 words, and change it once the story shows you its size.

Goals to finish the draft and fix it

Words are not the only thing to count. These goals help you finish the draft and then make it better. For more ideas, see these writing goals.

• Finish one chapter a week: 25 chapters in 25 weeks.
• Write on 5 days a week for 12 weeks, whatever the word count.
• Write for 1 hour a day for 100 days.
• Edit 10 pages a day: a 300 page draft in 30 days.
• Read one chapter out loud each day until you reach the end.

How many words should you write a day?

There is no one right number. The right number is the one that finishes your book by the date you picked, and that you can still write on a tired day. For most people, that is smaller than they think: 274 words a day is 100,000 words in a year.

A clear number helps. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Work on my book" has no finish line. "500 words a day until 80,000" does.

If a daily number feels like too much, count days instead. A 100 day challenge of writing something each day is a gentle way to start, and breaking the book into chapters makes it feel smaller.

How long does it take to write a book?

It comes down to two numbers: how long the book is, and how many words you write on a normal day. Divide the first by the second and you get the number of writing days.

That is only the first draft. Reading it again, fixing it and getting feedback take time too, so leave room for them in your plan. A goal like 10 pages of editing a day gives that part a number as well.

How to track your word count

Write down your words on the day you write them, and keep a running total. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and the effect was larger when the progress was written down.

A total also forgives a slow day. If you write 100 words today and 600 tomorrow, the book is still 700 words longer.

A picture that fills with every word shows the book adding up. In Chaltra, make a challenge with Words as the unit, set a target like 80,000, and log each day's words. A challenge of up to 30 days is free. A full year needs Premium.

Frequently asked questions

How many words a day to write a novel in a month?

50,000 words in 30 days is 1,667 words a day. 80,000 words in 30 days is 2,667 words a day.

How many words a day to write a book in a year?

Divide the length by 365. A 50,000 word book is 137 words a day, an 80,000 word book about 220, and a 100,000 word book 274.

How long does it take to write 80,000 words?

At 500 words a day, 160 days. At 1,000 words a day, 80 days. At 250 words a day, 320 days.

How many words is a 300 page book?

It depends on the page. If a page holds 250 to 300 words, a 300 page book is 75,000 to 90,000 words. Count 3 pages of a book like yours to check.

How many pages is 100,000 words?

If a page holds 250 to 300 words, about 333 to 400 pages.

Is 500 words a day good?

It is enough to write an 80,000 word draft in 160 days. In a full year, 500 words a day adds up to 182,500 words.