Why Does it Take So Long to Write a Book?
Writing books is not for the faint of heart. There is no magic formula.
Why does it take so long to write a book?
As a ghostwriter, I get asked this question a lot. After all, can’t you just write a book in 30 days? Or 7 days? Or 24-hours? You could, and plenty of people do. But it’s what comes next that gets short shrift - editing, revising, rewriting on repeat until your project is ready for proofreading and polishing at which point it might be ready for publication.
My own project is coming to a close and even as I’m writing the ending, I’m editing the beginning, making tweaks here and there in an effort to make it better. To make it the book I imagined it could be. And you know what? Once it’s…out there, I’ll still think about things I could have changed, story points I could have added, characters who could have been fleshed out more, and a whole host of other little nuances readers know but may not realize. Ok, maybe not Substack readers, who are also writers, but you get my point.
In the last call with my Developmental Editor, she shared that she and another editor had talked about reading books that could have used another editing pass, and that to get a great book, it could take three or four passes. She looked me and asked, “Can you imagine doing this again? Two or three more times?”
“No,” was out of my mouth before she’d finished her sentence, but we laughed. My book that I’ve been working on has been on my mind on some level for the better part of ten years, and the initial draft I finally crafted 2 years ago has changed so much in the last - wow - has it been almost a year?
The outline and the very rough, throwaway draft were written in a couple of months. But you know what? If I’d thrown it up available online (thankfully, my old website only), which I did, in an effort to spur me to finish it faster (didn’t work), it would have sat there gathering digital dust. It wasn’t ready for the world, and I knew it.
But it wasn’t until I realized a book is not really something you write on your own that it began to take the shape I imagined. All my ghostwriting packages include professional editing, why not my own project. After all, as someone told me, it takes a village to raise a book - editors, beta readers, copyeditors, line editors, formatters, book designers, and I’ve probably missed someone or something, and when all that is done - marketing efforts that take a front seat when all you want to do is get to the next book.
So, why does it take so long to write a book? It’s not the writing. It’s the rewriting, revising, revisiting, editing, reviewing, thinking, creating, getting it down on paper and going back through it again with a fine-tooth, finer-tooth? comb. It won’t be perfect, but it will be better than if you rushed through it and slapped it online too soon.
Rough drafts are quick. Manuscripts you’re proud to publish after editing, revising, reading, and writing; that’s what takes the time. Getting it right. That’s what takes time. Ensuring you’ve put the reader first and written something readers want to read. That’s what takes time. So, why does it take so long to write a book?
Because writing a book takes time, energy, creativity, blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of people around you to help you get that sucker to the finish line. After all, you’re not writing a book for you (ok, maybe you are. Of course, you are) but ultimately, you want your book to be read by people who will love it and want to read more. That’s what takes time.
But what do I know? I’m just a writer looking for a reader… Notting Hill fans, fill in the blank. :)
As the author of several self-published novels (as well as some traditionally-published ones), I'm familiar with these phases and the time they take. And then, when all that is done, there's the marketing, the launch, and—oh yeah—the marketing again. So it angers me nearly to the point of rage to know that there are readers out there who expect to be given books for free. I know of many authors who will offer a free book in return for the recipient's email address, which I realize is one way to build one's list. I've even done this myself and have garnered quite a few email addresses. But I will not do it again; it takes me roughly a year to get a book ready for release, and much of that time is spent on tasks I loathe. I don't ask my doctor or my house painter to work for free. Neither will I.