by Kel Bruem

So far I’ve queried until my eyes bled while also paving the road entirely solo as an indie author. I was curious how working with a publisher directly could shake out.

But that meant I needed a full draft written on spec for the submission. And I needed it in the single open week I had before my next client project kicked off.

I documented the entire process on TikTok and mentioned the project briefly in the Mel Gets Published newsletter, but I figured it’s helpful to lay everything out in one place. 

The Structure:

• Set quantifiable goals: Mine was to write 50k words across 7 days. Initially, I tried to do the same number of words every day, but found I needed more flexibility to write less one day and more another. It didn’t matter so long as I got to 50K by the deadline. 
• Write until reaching the daily goal every day: Some days my daily goal was 7k, some days it was 8k, and some days I managed 6k. But I wrote all day, every day to reach these goals. 
• Get up and take breaks: I can’t just strap myself into my computer for 8 hours. If I don’t get up and walk around, my motivation and inspiration dries up. I took a lot of walks to my nearby coffee shop and made time for dance breaks in the kitchen during lunch. 

It was a brutal process, but effective. I completed the week of sprints and now I have a full manuscript awaiting revisions — the bulk of the thing is complete. 

But writing in this way was hard. Here’s what I learned, what I’d do again, and what I have no interest in repeating: 

1) It is absolutely possible to write 8,000 words in a day. Caveats to that brash statement include: 

• You tell every member of your household to leave you alone for 8 hours every day 
• You don’t have a 9-5
• You’re not in school
• You have no children
• Your fridge is well-stocked
• You understand what you’re writing is word vomit only and will only be worth reading after intense editing. 

Basically, you can write 8,000 words in a day if it is literally the only thing you do and you don’t stop to think about anything other than your next sentence. 

2) Thorough outlines increase the pace at which a work is created. You don’t have to spend an hour sorting through what happens next if you’ve already done this work upfront. This project turned me, a devoted “on the fly” writer, into a dedicated planner. 

3) Your brain will melt out of your ears. And it will absolutely take you a few weeks to recover. Sitting down to write freelance drafts on a deadline two days after I hit my 50k goal was a bad idea. 

Basically, you can write 8,000 words in a day if it is literally the only thing you do and you don’t stop to think about anything other than your next sentence. 

4) This is a really good way to improve your writing practice if you find yourself struggling to write every day. It’s brutal. You might cry. But after I was done, sitting down to write email copy for a client or put together a newsletter for the week felt easier than it had before. I found myself incorporating things I used to get through a hefty word count for smaller projects too, such as the imaginary director telling me to “just get it done, we’ll fix it post.” 

Overall, not an experience I’ll repeat, but also not one I regret — I’ll report back on that sentiment once I start the editing process. 

Kel Bruem writes kissing books set in fantasy and science fiction worlds. Her debut fantasy romance, What’s Luck Got to Do With It, is available now and you can find her two sci-fi adventures on Vella. Find her online everywhere @kelbruem.

If you’re an indie author and you’re interested in guest posting on this blog, email here.