How Long Will It Take You to Write Your Book?

On average, it takes the authors I work with six to nine months to write their book. For others who are working on their own, the timeline can be shorter or longer based on how much time you’re investing, how fast you type, how quickly the ideas come, and more variables I won’t get into.

But here’s the catch: writing the book is just one small step in the greater publishing process. For those of you who want a traditional book deal, I actually advise you to stop writing your book (but not stop writing altogether).

There are two reasons for this.

1. For prescriptive how-to nonfiction, books are sold on proposal — not a full manuscript. When a client comes to us with their book written, my team and I use it as source material — not as what we present to agents and publishers.
2. After working with hundreds of authors, I’ve seen that 99% of the time it is more productive — and profitable! — to focus on building your audience and testing your material first before sitting down to write 200+ pages.

My client Melody Wilding is a great example of this advice in action.

When I met her way back in 2017, she had a great idea for a book and a lot written. We worked together on her proposal, and . . . . it went nowhere. She had a ton of great advice but her…