How Long Does it Take to Write a Book?

 

Recently when I’ve spoken to people about being an author, one of the first questions that comes up is “So how long does it actually take to write a book?”

This question sounds simple, but it seems to imply that an author will one day think “I’ll write a book about x topic” and then sit down at their computer and write it out, from start to finish, until (theoretically) a few months later they will type ‘the end’ and that’s that.

Ha! If ONLY!!

While every author is different, and will have a different writing process, here I’m going to break down some of the actual challenges and processes that it takes to turn an idea into a manuscript worthy of publishing.