What’s the Time Commitment for Writing My Book?

I got more than a dozen responses to the “how does it cost” post…with a follow-up question:

How much time does it take to professionally produce my book?

I thought you might be wondering, too, so here’s the skinny.

Following are the estimated time commitments for producing your book:

Writing. If you can plan to write 500 words a day (less than an hour), it will take just sixty (60) days, or 12 weeks of writing on work days (Monday-Friday). Double your word count, and you’ll have a rough first draft in about a month.Editing. A great editor (read: one who has “Editor” in the profession box on their tax return) will give you an estimate. My editors usually take between 2-4 weeks for a manuscript of 30,000-75,000 words in length. Plan on four weeks and you’ll be golden. You will want to plan a week to go through and review (accept or reject) the edits and make any suggested changes. I usually go through my edits in 3-4 hours, then schedule another writing 2-4 hour block of time to make corrections or do any additional writing.Proofreading. The proofreading process takes less time, and it is the last step before formatting. Plan 1-2 weeks for this step. Plan to take 2-3 days/3-4 hours to go through the proofreader’s marks to make any last corrections. Formatting. Plan ten business days for your custom formatting. The time you’ll spend will be coordinating the formatting and reviewing the final products (ebook and print versions) for any needed corrections. Plan 2-3 hours tops.Cover design. Getting just the right cover takes time, so the minute you break ground on your book project, engage a designer to start working on your cover. It could take two weeks or four months–it depends on the designer, their level of skill, and how well you describe your project to them.Copywriting. A great copywriter can get your copy done in about a week (or less). They’ll need a few things from you to write it (table of contents, etc.), I usually do this step in conjunction with the editing process. Coordinating with the copywriter and reviewing: 1-2 hours.

I cover each of these steps and everything you need to know in my 1-1 coaching and Course. Reply to this email or click here to schedule a discovery session with me if you’re interested. I would be happy to help you.