Vampires, Success, and Word Counts
I wish this was more exaggerated, but I have a really bad fear of windows. Thank you, Sephen King!
I read Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot when I was eleven years old. It made me afraid of creepy dark windows. It was also my first exposure to a very novel concept for young me: writing is work.
The plot of the novel revolves around a small Maine town being invaded by an old school vampire straight out of Dracula. The town, 'Salem's Lot, is almost entirely depleted of living residents within a week and most of the characters die horribly, though before that happens we’re introduced to Ben Mears, the protagonist, who like many King leads is a writer. Unlike so many characters who call themselves writers, he actually spends a deal of the first half of the novel writing. The man treats his writing as a job, not just as a hobby or get-rich-scheme: in Chapter 3, he writes from 9am to 4pm, only stopping to take a lunch and a walk. He takes another break to visit the family of his love interest and even turns down a second beer to keep himself sober enough to write the rest of the night. He's writing so much that he misses most of the initial invasion and the reader wouldn't be blamed if they forgot all about him. This dynamic actually works out great for the plot, as it keeps him busy and distracted while the town’s population is turned one by one. That sounds silly, doesn't it? But how many of us would also be oblivious to a vampire invasion because of a deadline or a 12-hour shift?
I may not be a novelist like Ben Mears or his creator Stephen King, but I do share many of their concerns: writing everyday, editing, conveying my themes without too many run-on sentences, the threat of the undead at my window and not being able to find the appropriate religious icon. But there are a few key differences between updating your professional blog and writing the next great American novel: According to Buffer, the idea blog length is between 1,000 and 1,600 words. But this was in that faraway year 2014, and according to a report from web design firm Snap Agency, the ideal length in 2016 would be closer to over 2,000 words due in part to consumers (the consumers here being my lovely readers) wanting articles of substance to share with friends and followers for their social media accounts. Substance here means length, accurate research, and an interesting style/voice that keeps readers/consumers coming back week after week. This is quite similar to what most newspaper writers and journalists have been doing since the beginning of time. The difference now is that article syndication has never before been on the scale of hundreds of millions of different articles being published every single day.
But let's also think about the number of words per blog post for a minute. If the ideal blog length is somewhere between 1,000 to over 2,000 words, then that means writing that many words a week. That doesn't sound too bad, but keeping your blog fresh and in the news means updating more than just once a week. While there are some people who update everyday -which means over 1,000 words a day at least- a more sane approach for those of us with outside jobs is probably twice a week, which would mean probably between 2,000 to over 4,000 words a week. Still doesn't sound so bad, does it? Well, this doesn't even take into account the cruel act of editing; even with the proper planning, you're probably going to be writing at least a third more words than what will actually end up in your post. There's also the constant push for more content, thinking up new ideas, reading, updating your social media pages, and just trying to come up new ways to attract readers/consumers. Plus I have to create at least two images to go along with this post because I can't afford stock images. All of this for one single post.
Stephen King, is notorious for his output: Over 50 novels in a forty-two year period. This doesn’t even count his short story collections, his works under other names, his screenplays, or workshops. Not everyone likes his work, not all of his work is even good, but it’s equal parts inspiring and scary that someone can churn out so much of anything. How does he do this? Well, he does this by writing about 2,000 words a day when working on a novel. That means one healthy blog post a day. Yikes! But if he didn't write that much, then he wouldn't be the Stephen King, the Master of Horror and the man with over 50 novels to his name.
Me, pictured being productive
So, how can I achieve such success?
Over the course of the next few weeks I plan to write about different ways to do just that. Different work methods, schedules, inspiring words, maybe even a self-help book. Maybe a post about how I've never read a self-help books in my life, who knows? All of this to find the best way for me to achieve success as a blogger/designer/professional. This isn't about finding a way for the general population or deciding which one of these methods is really the Champion of Self Employment Methods, but which one works best for me and my personal journey to finding that perfect way to work. Suggestions and feedback from your own similar journeys would be appreciated. What worked? What didn't? What method made you want to push it out a window?
