I recently came across a woman on YouTube claiming she writes 10,000 words a day. Maybe it was just clickbait, maybe she was exaggerating—or maybe she really does write that much. Who knows? It’s social media—you never really know if people do in real life what they claim online.

But let’s take that number seriously for a moment. What would actually happen if someone wrote 10,000 words every day?

• 10,000 words a day equals 3.65 million words per year
• The average novel is around 60,000 to 80,000 words
• That means at least 45 books a year

Have you ever heard of anyone publishing at that pace?

L. Ron Hubbard is often cited as one of the most prolific writers in history, with around 300 published stories and books (some sources even claim it’s up to 500). If you wrote 10,000 words a day, you’d surpass him within a single decade.

Frankly, that doesn’t sound believable.

I write 1,000 words a day. That’s about an hour of focused writing. Sometimes I write more, but I always make sure to hit at least that minimum.

This habit allows me to finish about four books per year. It also gives me time to write short stories, blog posts, tweets, and scripts for my YouTube channels.

By investing just one hour a day, I’m more productive than most writers I know. And I don’t burn myself out trying to chase 10,000 words. Writing for an hour is enjoyable, energizing—and most days, I can’t wait to return to my story.

Best of all, this schedule leaves me with plenty of time to work on my author platform, manage my tutorial YouTube channel, handle my day job, stay in shape, read, and even enjoy a movie in the evening.

For perspective: Ian Fleming’s Bond novels were typically between 55,000 and 75,000 words. At 1,000 words a day, you could finish a Bond-length novel in about three months—easily.

So why push yourself to write 10,000 words a day? It’s a recipe for burnout. You’ll probably end up hating writing. You’re not going to edit all that content anyway. And you’re definitely not going to publish 45 books a year. Even if you could, who’s going to read them all? Releasing a book every week would overwhelm even your most loyal fans.

Selling four books a year is already a challenge, as most readers have dozens of authors that they follow.

Of course, do what works for you. But writing 1,000 words a day—if you actually do it consistently—can put you on the same productivity level as someone like Stephen King. Doesn’t that already sound impressive enough?