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How can writers turn an ambitious deadline into a realistic writing plan? Matty Dalrymple talks with novelist, book coach, and publishing strategist Gala Russ about book math: estimating a project from genre word count, personal writing speed, available time, and the writer’s real-life constraints.
Gala explains how to estimate drafting time, allow a 25 percent buffer, and plan for “orange days” instead of an idealized fantasy schedule. She discusses the two questions book math can answer: what a fixed deadline requires, and when a draft will be finished at a comfortable pace.
The conversation also explores how deadlines, accountability, co-working, body doubling, Pomodoro timers, and habit stacking work differently for different writers; why editing needs its own estimate; and how realistic planning can replace self-blame with useful evidence. Book math is a tool, not a rule—the goal is to choose the tools that fit your brain and your life.
Gala Russ is a novelist, book coach, and publishing strategist who helps adult and teen long-form fiction writers identify what’s missing in their stories. She teaches how to turn knowledge about writing into the on-the-page skill through live one-on-one and small-group sessions that work for plotters, pantsers, and everyone in between.
Episode Links
https://www.instagram.com/galarussauthor
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