How to write a bestseller in under 4 months
"How long does it take to write a book?"
This is one of the most common questions I hear from clients and aspiring writers. The true and honest answer is that it depends. In general, the average first-time writer doing it alone can take about 12 months to write their first book, while an experienced writer can write a complete book in just a few days.
A better question to ask would be, “How much time should I allocate for myself to write a book?” In my experience, you should plan for 8-12 weeks, tops.
THE TIME IT TAKES TO WRITE A BOOK FROM START TO FINISH IS BASED ON TWO MAIN FACTORS:
How long your book is going to be
How efficient your writing system is
Writing a mediocre book and writing a bestseller are two very different things, and how you approach these two factors is what determines which your book will be. So, let’s talk about the right way to approach the writing process.
How long should your book be?
Most nonfiction books in the self-help genre fall between 20,000 to 50,000 words in length. Fiction books tend to be a little longer, averaging around 80,000 words in length.
Depending on page and font size, you’ll get about 40-50 pages for every 10,000 words.
After you identify your word count goal, remember that the page size, font, spacing, and formatting you choose will impact the final page count of your book.
Next, let’s address your writing system.
The difference between writing an average book and writing a bestselling book can often be traced back to how efficient your writing system is. People often misinterpret greatness to mean a lot of time is required. Not true. Becoming a bestselling author does not mean that you have to take years to finish your book. In fact, with a superior writing system, significantly less time is required to create bestseller after bestseller.
A complete writing system is made up of 3 main stages:
STAGE 1: PLANNING (1–2 WEEKS MAX)
The planning stage is where you decide what and how you are going to write. You come up with your big idea. You brainstorm titles and subtitles, and think about characters and what’s going to happen in your book. In fiction, during this stage, you will map out your setting, plot, characters, conflict, and resolution. In nonfiction, you’ll decide how you are going to convey the information. What topics do you need to write about in order to cover your main idea fully? What order should you put your chapters in? Will you include exercises or worksheets? All of these should be answered during this stage.
The planning stage also includes creating a detailed outline. One of the biggest contributors to writer’s block (and taking months and months to finish your book) is feeling uncertain about what you should write next or doubting what you have already written. A complete, well crafted outline helps you stay the course and can make the difference between a project you finish in 8 weeks versus one that gets abandoned for months.
Feeling confident about your idea and outline is crucial for sticking with it. If you speed through the planning process, you are much more likely to second guess yourself later on when you start writing, which can stall your progress.
STAGE 2: WRITING (4–6 WEEKS MAX)
This is the stage where you put actual words on the page. Ideally, this should be the easiest part. You already have your outline. All you have to do is sit down and write what you’re supposed to write that day. However, this is also the part where people tend to have the most trouble. Showing up, every day, to churn out the words is an act of self-discipline that many people struggle to accomplish.
To reduce your stress, create a planned writing schedule, join writing groups, and perhaps find a coach to see you through to the end.
If you write 1,000 words per day (approximately 4 pages), you can finish a 30,000-word book in 30 days. If you write 1,000 words per week, it will take you 30 weeks. I cannot stress to you how important it is to stick to the writing schedule. Books only remain incomplete or require months of extra time when you second-guess yourself, or change your mind about your topic/outline. So, stay the course.
STAGE 3: FINALIZING (4 WEEKS MAX)
The last stage happens after your book has been written. This final part of the publishing process is what can propel your book out of obscurity and straight to the top of the bestseller list.
After you finish writing, you will need to have your book edited. Even the best writers in the world have their books edited, usually multiple times. I recommend at least two rounds of edits for everyone. The first round should be a developmental/structural edit which includes feedback on your book as a whole: are the chapters organized well, does the content make sense, is there information missing, which parts are boring, etc. The second round of editing will be a check for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax.
Once your book has been edited, it will need to be formatted for publication. Depending on where you are submitting your book (or if you are self-publishing), there will be varying requirements for how the file should be formatted. These guidelines include things such as page size, margins, fonts, chapter titles, quotations, images, and so on.
Then it’s time to click ‘Submit’ and start marketing. These last few pieces of the publication puzzle can be very expensive and take months if you don’t know how to do them yourself (or how to hire people to help you). Well-written content, beautiful formatting, and successful marketing are absolutely make-or-break factors when it comes to being a #1 bestseller.
Using these tips, you can become a bestselling author in under 4 months. It can seem daunting when you are first starting out. Remember:
Create and stick to your plan
Get the writing done
Make it look beautiful
If you keep those three things at the top of your priority list, your book can be a bestseller by next season!
