How long does it take to write a book?
‘I’m about to start writing a book. How long will it take?’
This was the question posed in a Facebook group for business authors, which I came across the other day.
It’s a fair request. Who wouldn’t want to know the length of time a significant new project was likely to eat up?
Given my experience of working with many authors as a business book coach my first thought was, ‘How long’s a piece of string?’ Because I know that people write at varying paces depending on their circumstances and personality.
Some love to keep the momentum going and whizz through the book at speed, while others prefer a slow and steady pace. Also, some have to deal with unexpected interruptions to their plans whereas others are lucky enough to live less complicated lives.
However, I realised that an ‘it depends’ response was not the most helpful for a budding author keen to eliminate as many uncertainties as possible.
A more considered scrutiny into the vexed question of ‘how long does it take to write a business book?’ was needed. Which is how this post was born.
The facts: how long it takes to write a business book
The short answer, assuming your book is about 50-60,000 words, it that it will probably take anywhere from six months to a year.
The more accurate answer is that it can take anywhere from a few weeks to two years.
And if you were to hire a ghostwriter? As a business book ghostwriter myself, the average amount of time I take to plan, write, and edit a book is usually around six months. It would sometimes be possible to complete it more quickly but my clients need time to review what I’ve written and feed back to me, as well as to talk to me about what they want to say.
These are the factual answers, but – as ever with facts – they don’t tell the whole story.
What’s your prize?
To me, the real question the prospective author in the group was asking was: ‘How much of my precious life am I going to sacrifice to give birth to this thing?’
It’s a cry from the heart, and I get it.
But what if the length of time wasn’t the point?
What if the end result was?
Because the truth is that there are plenty of entrepreneurs who brag about how quickly they’ve written their books.
‘I finished it by the end of my two week retreat.’
‘I wrote it on the sun lounger while my kids played in the pool.’
‘I stayed up until 4:00am every day and it was done in three weeks.’
But let me tell you a secret.
There are no prizes for writing a book in a sprint. There are no podiums for gold, silver, and bronze, with the national anthem playing while you wipe a tear from your eye. No-one is standing at the finish line with a medal for you because you’re the first to type ‘the end’.
What there are accolades for, however, are the results you gain from your business book. The enhanced profile, the client waiting list, and the paid speaking opportunities.
These are what you’ll win if your book shares your knowledge in an insightful, easy to understand way, and is an entertaining read.
It’s far, far better to take whatever time you need to make your book a good one than it is to write it quickly. Because your business book is your contribution to the world – it’s what showcases your expertise and helps people to understand what you do.
It has your name on the cover, so you want to feel proud of it.
Why do you want to know?
Another way of looking at this is to ask yourself why it’s so important to know how long your book might take.
At first glance it seems obvious: you want to reduce the uncertainty so you can plan around it and feel emotionally ready for the time you’re going to dedicate.
But will trying to predict the time scales mean you’ll keep to them? If you don’t, would you feel as if you’ve let yourself down? And if you do keep to time, so what? Does it really matter?
The writing of my own book, Your Business Your Book, started off at pace and then dwindled to a saggy lull for several months. I remember feeling self-critical and disheartened, until I reminded myself that it would simply take as long as it would take.
In the end it was two years before I crossed the finish line, but the book was all the better for it because I’d allowed my thinking to mature.
Of course, if you find it helpful to have a time target then by all means make one up. As long as you remember two things:
- a target is all it is, and
- if you fail to meet it, all you’ve done is to underestimate how long your book would take to write in the first place. That’s all.
Now you can get on with writing your book. What are you waiting for?
