How long did it take to write my books?
That’s hard to say. The first one took at least a few years. It was an on-again-off-again process. The second book took a little less than two years. That’s from start to turning in the manuscript, with idle time in between.
I’m always interested in the writing processes of other writers and authors. An infographic by printerinks titled “How Long Did It Take to Write the World’s Most Famous Books?” caught my attention.
In some cases, classic literature and bestsellers were written in very little time. All I can do is bow to these master storytellers.
Here are many of the books listed:
2.5 days: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
6 days: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
3 weeks: A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
3 weeks: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
6 weeks: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
2 months: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
3 months: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8 months: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
9 months: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
1 year: 1984 by George Orwell
1 year: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
1 year: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
1.5 years: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
1.5 years: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
2 years: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2.5 years: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2.5 years: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3 years: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4 years: The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5 years: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
5 years: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
6 years: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
10 years: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
10 years: A Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
12 years: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
16 years: Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tokien
That was fun. Now we better get back to work.
Neil Sagebiel 