By BookBaby author The Book Professor
With the right tools, even busy people can make time to write a book. So how long can you expect to be at the keyboard before your manuscript is complete?
Do you want to write a book but can’t wrap your head around the about the time investment you’ll need to make? How long does it take to become an author anyway?
The short answer is: it depends. It depends on whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, whether you’ll seek help or go it alone, and whether you’ll make use of useful strategies, like setting aside dedicated writing time.
The fact is, with the right tools, even busy people can make time to write a book. So how long can you expect to be at the keyboard before your manuscript is complete?
Fiction vs. nonfiction
It’s very difficult to answer this question for fiction manuscripts. Not only does the length of the average novel vary between genres, but fiction authors will attest that made-up stories and characters can take twists and turns the author never expected, leading to rewrites and periods of reflection as you wait for ideas to solidify. In general, you can expect the first draft of a novel to take about a year to write, but again, this varies hugely from author to author, and even from book to book.
Nonfiction manuscripts, however, tend to be more predictable, because you’re not inventing or fabricating anything — you’re just trying to figure out which facts and anecdotes to include in your book, and in what order. It’s easier to fit this type of writing process into a timeline, especially if you have help from a professional writing coach or critique group.
Timeline with professional help
With the help of a writing coach and/or critique group, it is possible to take a nonfiction manuscript from idea to completion in about a year, if you stay on task and devote regular time each week to the project.
A good writing coach will help you break the process into manageable chunks that you can complete week by week. A critique group will alert you quickly if you’re getting off-track or if anything is confusing or failing to keep the reader’s interest. Both of these resources help you move forward with an accountability partner who won’t allow the project to stall when you inevitably run into challenges.
Aspiring authors who worry about the time investment of writing will be pleased to note that you don’t have to quit your job and lock yourself in your office to meet the demands of this schedule.
Timeline with curriculum
Some writers want the guidance and structure of a writing curriculum without working with coaches or meeting deadlines. Flexibility and freedom from deadlines can be advantageous, but the more breaks you take, the longer it will take to complete your manuscript, and it can be harder to stay motivated when you’re not accountable to others.
One bonus with a self-directed writing curriculum is that you can calculate how much time you have left in the process. Even if you work sporadically on your book project, you can see how many months or weeks of material you have left to completion. Some authors find this preferable to an unknown endpoint.
Working on your own
If you don’t use a specific writing curriculum but pull together your own sources from Internet research and books about writing, there’s no way to give an accurate estimate of how long it might take you. Ask ten different authors how long it took to write their books and you’ll get ten different answers.
It is very likely, however, that it will take longer than if you used a program or curriculum. Here’s why:
- Organization. It can be hard to organize your ideas for a book. You’re so deep into your material that it’s hard to have an objective view of the finished product. Many an author has struggled to figure out a good structure and sequence for their book, only to realize they can’t see the forest for the trees and can’t sense what structure will “flow” from the perspective of an outside reader. A good writing curriculum or book coach should be able to help you organize well.
- Selecting the right idea. As a writer so close to your material, it can be difficult to see from the perspective of outside readers who may not know your topic well. How do you balance facts with anecdotes to keep a reader’s attention? How do you ensure you give enough information on your topic without giving readers more than they need? In the absence of external guidance, you may discover the answers to these questions only after you’ve written a messy manuscript — and it may force you to start over, or at least carry out serious rewrites.
- Writing schedule. Unless you set aside regular writing time and pace yourself, it’s unlikely you’ll finish your manuscript quickly. If you only write “when you feel like it,” your busy schedule will invariably reallocate your time for you.
Other considerations
Remember that the total time to “complete” a book includes more than just writing to the end of your ideas. After you’ve gotten everything on paper, you must polish your draft and seek professional editing. Then there’s the book production process, including cover design and interior formatting, which offers its own set of variables and potential schedule snafus. It’s another place where seeking professional assistance can really pay off and make your project as professional as it can be.
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This BookBaby blog article How Long Will It Take To Write My Book? appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .