Whether you just started writing a book or have been slaving away at it for a while, you can be easily overwhelmed when considering all of the work that remains. If you keep the perspective that writing and publishing a book is a single, enormous project, your goal will be hard to achieve. But if you establish the correct thinking that a book is simply a compilation of several smaller goals, then it will be much less overwhelming and much more fun to complete your book. This is why I highly recommend making short goals with specific time frames to complete larger projects.
Many people ask, "How long does it take to write a book?" That depends on many factors, so I won't try to answer it directly, but I will say this: "It will take as long as you make it take." The amount of time required is completely up to you. Here at Authorize, my coaching plan is based on helping you bring a foggy idea to a completed, self-published book in six months. If you try to get published by a traditional publisher, the total process will last longer, but the point is, writing a book doesn't have to take years.
How do I help leaders become authors in such a short time? I coach them through short, simple goals with a timeline for each step. If you want to take it slow (or if your busy schedule requires you to), and you don't mind your book taking years, it can. There is nothing wrong with that! You get to decide when you want your book done, and then you break apart each of the steps accordingly so the last step is finished when you want it to be done. The important thing is that you put timelines to each step. How long each step takes is based off of when you want the entire project finished.
If I want to write and publish a 45,000-word, 15-chapter book in six months (26 weeks), I can set up my goals to have my rough draft finished in 10 weeks and that leaves 16 weeks to complete the editing, proofing, and self-publishing steps. One way to set up your goals can look like this:
Week 1: Table of Contents & Introductory Content
Week 2: Chapters 1-2 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 3: Chapters 3-4 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 4: Chapters 5-6 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 5: Chapters 7-8 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 6: Chapters 9-10 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 7: Chapter 11-12 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 8: Chapter 13-14 Rough Draft (750 words/day)
Week 9: Chapter 15 Rough Draft & Review Endnotes or Footnotes (750 words/day first 4 days – endnotes the last 3 days)
Week 10: Overview Rough Draft & Send to Editor (Review 2-3 chapters a day)
As you look at each daily and weekly goal as its own project, it won't be as overwhelming, and it satisfies your need for some "wins." I also encourage dividing your daily goals into even smaller goals. The smaller the goals, the better because you will establish more wins. With each win, make sure to reward yourself so you will develop a habit of hitting your small goals. What kind of rewards? You can reward yourself with things you like to do, such as go on a walk, watch a Youtube video, and scroll for 15 minutes on Facebook. Anything that would typically distract you from writing can instead be used as a motivation to write your next 200 words.
There is so much I can mention about the topic of goals, but I simply want to tell you to establish specific times to complete specific goals and have specific rewards for completing your goals. Then stick to it!
Joel Collison is the founder of Now Written Christian Books and an editor and coach for aspiring authors through Authorize.
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