by Elizabeth Spann Craig
At some point in 2024, I hit 60 books. That’s 60 original books that I’ve penned. The only reason I noticed this is because my family kept asking me how many mysteries I’d written until I sat down and actually counted them up.
I didn’t mark this milestone because I didn’t realize when I’d reached it, and I’m past it now. But it did make me take a moment to reflect.
Here are some things I’ve learned about having written 60+ books
As I mentioned, you probably won’t know how many books you’ve written. The point isn’t the volume, it’s the attempt to continue producing quality content. But the volume is often what sets you apart in readers’ minds.
You have to try harder to make sure you’re not repeating old ideas. You try to remember if you’ve used a character name before and whether it’s been recent.
You worry that you’re overloading your beta readers and editors when you’ve written a lot in a single year.
You rely heavily on series bibles. They’re key to helping you remember your character smoked as a young person or that they prefer driving minivans to sedans.
You’re watchful for burnout. Burnout can sneak up on you, and it’s ugly when it strikes.
You feel strange when you take a break from writing. Restless.
Writing becomes almost muscle memory. You sit down, open your document, and just hop right in. Your routine makes this easy.
It becomes harder to consider changing genres, if the bulk of your output has been in a single genre.
You have a very clear picture of what your upcoming writing year will consist of. You might already have covers and outlines.
You might like to think of yourself as prolific. Others will say you’re “churning out books.”
You don’t spend much or any time looking at reviews. Ditto for sales.
Readers will be surprised when you don’t remember details about the last book you wrote, much less a book you wrote 10 years earlier.
Writing gets easier and easier, but you still occasionally get hung up on a scene when you’re writing.
You still look forward to writing every day.
What have you learned during your writing journey?
When You've Written Lots of Books: Share on X
Image by Lubos Houska from Pixabay
Congratulations!
I've only written five and I would also find it difficult to change genres now. I've found my comfort zone.
A comfort zone is a great way of putting it! That’s exactly what I’m in.
Congratulations, Elizabeth! That's quite the milestone! And thanks for sharing some of the lessons you've learned. I'd guess you have to maintain series bibles and other ways to keep track of what you've written, so that you don't repeat yourself or or mess up a particular character. I'm interested in what you said about muscle memory, too. You've got a point that when you do something that frequently, it does become an automatic part of you.
The series bibles are definitely key! And having something like writing come automatically, without resistance, is a real help, too.
Congrats on writing 60 books. I can see how a series bible would be essential when writing long-term series.
It’s the best tool in the toolbox!
Congratulations on more than 60 books!
You are prolific and organized.
And, yes, I feel strange when I take a break from my writing.
Thanks, Rose!
It’s an odd feeling, not writing, isn’t it? I had the flu a few weeks ago and even wrote a bit during that…it just helped center me, even if I had to revise it all later, ha!
That's really cool, Elizabeth! Amazing really. Congrats on the milestone and love the tips. :O)
Thank you, Colleen!
I love your books (the ones I've read so far) and your writing style. When I speak of you, I tell others that your writing style is like butter. They are smooth reading that moves the reader forward so effortlessly. Congratulations! Because you work so hard you have become a great writer.
Thank you so much! You’ve given me a smile today, and it was needed!