The Secret To Productivity

By Ruby Dixon

Inevitably, the first thing an author who publishes several times a year is asked is how they do it. How do they manage to put out ‘so many books’? How are they so prolific? Are they three ghostwriters in a trench coat? Are they faking it with dozens of books filled with Lorem Ipsum repeating ad-nauseum?

I’m here to tell you that the biggest secret to productivity is…wait for it…consistency.

I know. It’s not glamorous. It’s not sexy. It’s not even a secret. But it’s always my answer when people ask how it’s possible. I’ve written a book a month, easily, for years. This last year or two I’ve slowed down a bit, but I’ve still managed 6+ releases a year. To me, it doesn’t feel like a lot. To people on the outside who are just now getting down that first book, it might seem daunting.

Think of writing like a muscle — the more you utilize it, the more you train it, the stronger it gets. My first book took me two years to write. The next one took six months. The next one after that, three months. You get faster as you practice what you’re doing. Just keep going.

Consistency is the key to big word counts, though. Let’s break down how long it might take to write a 100,000 word novel. Sounds daunting, right? It can be. If you write 2 pages (500 words) every weekend, it will take you 200 weeks to finish it, or 3.8 years. If you write 2 pages a day, it will take you a little over six months. Big difference, right? If you write 1000 words a day, you’ll have it done in 100 days. So how do you manage so many words a day without spending all day at the keyboard? Well, consistency and practice is a huge part. There are ways to speed things up – outlining ahead of time, setting timers, removing distractions, etc. But sitting at the keyboard with established writing time on a regular, reoccurring schedule will be your greatest tool.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, how do you eat the elephant? One bite at a time.

Ruby Dixon is the NYT Bestselling Author of Ice Planet Barbarians.