What Is Prolific?

Got That Question a Number of Times…

Mostly because of my Pulp Speed post and then the post about systems slowing a writer down.

My answer the question “What is prolific?” is always “It depends.”

Pulp Speed of any level if you are turning the words into books and stories and getting them out on the market would be prolific. Especially if done every year.

If your goal is to just write a few books before you move on, 50,000 words a year would be fast enough for you, but no one would ever call you prolific.

Writers who tend to be called prolific after a few years are writers who put out four to six books a year for a bunch of years in a row. Especially if they are writing some short stories as well and getting them out.

If you want a word count on that, from 400,000 to 500,000 words a year published. Done over a number of years and that is prolific.

The math is brutal and humbling on that, by the way. To hit that half million words you have to write about 1,350 words a day, or about one hour and thirty minutes per day. That is to be called “prolific” and more than likely make decent money on your books given time and a ton of other factors.

Oh, no, the pain of sitting alone in a room and making stuff up for just over an hour a day to be a prolific writer. (Sarcasm alert!!)

Of course, those looking for excuses will come back with “there are so many other things to do in this modern world to get the books out.” Yup, there are.

But it has to always start with the writing. Without the flow of new and original fiction words, all the rest is just make work. And excuses.