A non-fiction author’s sustainable writing practice looks quite a bit different from a fiction author’s.
Both authors must build concepts, research their books, outline them and write them.
However, non-fiction is usually quite short while novels frequently wend their way toward the 100K word mark. That puts pressure on any production schedule.
While non-fiction authors know exactly how useful their book will be, and how big their audience is (or they should if they did their homework before starting to write), fiction authors have to deal with doubt concerning the reception of their story, which can hamper productivity.
The doubts and worries and fears that fiction authors bring to their desks are of a different shade to a non-fiction author’s concerns. Worry and fear are Resistance’s tools. They strengthen Resistance, and derail your best intentions.
I have written a small amount of non-fiction in my career, compared to my fiction output. I am very familiar with the challenges facing a fiction author.
For that reason, I narrowed the scope of this site to focus only upon fiction authors.
The number of published, currently active indie fiction authors increases every year. Every author must figure out for themselves how to maximise their time and produce books.
It isn’t a one-time process, either. Every year, every quarter, every month, the indie publishing changes — often in only small ways, but sometimes in seismic shifts that send everyone staggering (eg: The closure of Pronoun, Amazon algorithm changes and more).
You have to be nimble and learn how to pivot regularly, to keep up. These changes impact the indie fiction writer, their processes and productivity.
The challenges of remaining productive and effective are many and ongoing for indie fiction writers.