Some people will promise you that you can write and publish a book in a weekend or a week or something else crazy like that. Really? A decent book in anything less than a month, not counting children’s books, is outlandish.
If you want anyone other than your mom and your BFF to read your book, why in the world would you rush it? Just because you can write a book in just a few days, doesn’t make it a good idea. You can do a lot of things quickly, but that doesn’t mean you should. (I recall the time I tried to quickly wash the dishes and ended up smacking a wine glass into the faucet. Grrrr!)
I get it. You’re busy. So am I! So is everyone else! But maybe cranking out a book, slapping your name on it, and sending it to the printer isn’t the best way to make you stand out as an author or expert.
Let’s think critically about why you don’t want to write a book in a weekend. In fact, here are five good reasons to take your time.
(Trust me, you have the time to read a blog post.)
Enjoy the Writing Process
I hope that no one sets out to write a book begrudgingly. It really is fun! Being creative is one of the best things about being human. It’s an amazing escape. It’s a wonderful way to express yourself. It’s relaxing. I could go on. Consider all of this when you decide that you want to write a book.
Don’t push away all the rewards that writing has to offer just to get that book out. Certainly set goals and deadlines, but be reasonable. Consider what you are actually capable of putting thought into and typing for a week. Set a word count goal or a page goal. Get it done, but don’t be sloppy.
Forcing the creativity doesn’t work for everyone either. Don’t just write anything. Plan your chapters. Determine what information you want to include. Do the research on the parts you need to.
Remind yourself that this is something you should enjoy, and relax. The ideas will come easier this way.
Ensure that You Wrote What You Intended
Have you ever sent a drunk text? Yeah, me either.
Now think about this is the book-writing context. If you’re mood one evening out of that weekend writing session was crumby, then you might come across as aggravated. Now you’ve ruined your book about mediation by grouching at your reader. Not good.
But if you write it and then come back later and discover that your mood changed your tone, you can fix it. Hooray! Drunk text-book writing averted!
This applies to more than just tone though. You might come back to a passage a week after you wrote it and discover that it doesn’t make sense. It’s ambiguous. You have no idea what you were talking about. I’ve been writing for years, and I still do this all the time!
When we write, we are in our own heads. Coming back to a project later with fresh eyes catches a lot of mistakes like ambiguity. Don’t miss out on this opportunity with premature publication!
Be Thorough when Editing
Speaking of reviewing your manuscript, ahem, review your manuscript more than once. I recommend editing from the outside in, and you certainly can’t do that within the same week that you wrote the book.
Thorough editing takes time, and you must leave space between when you wrote and when you edit to forget what you wrote, otherwise your mind will fill in missing words or information. Your readers can’t do that. They will just wonder what you’re talking about and write a bad review on Amazon.
Thorough editing means making sure that your story flows well and makes sense, making sure you use transitions between ideas and characters, checking grammar and punctuation, and so much more.
Take the Proper Steps
Should your book have a well-planned cover, an audience that you built through social media, or some sort of marketing plan? Probably, but you’re busy, right? Just slap anything around the outside of that puppy, and put it up on Amazon. Someone has to buy it.
A big nope. No they don’t. They will pick a book they have heard of or a book with a nice cover and proper back matter. They will pick a book that someone recommended or one whose author sounds interesting from their website or their Amazon author page (you have one of those, don’t you?).
Have you ever heard that a goal without a plan is a dream? Let’s make your dream to sell books a reality and take all the proper steps toward publishing success. You can’t do that in a weekend.
Confidence in Your Work
Remember the drunk texting example. Imagine waking up knowing that you drunk texted, but you can’t remember what you said. You have to scroll back through the conversation to see. And you can’t delete it. The person on the other end already read it. The damage is done. “What I meant was . . .” Sure you did, Einstein.
Could that happen with a book? If you write and publish it too fast, it sure can!
“Did I remember to explain this?” “Did I go back and change that?” “Will anyone know what I was talking about?”
Do you really need to add nerves to your busy day? Probably not. If you want to be confident in your writing, take your time. You might remember to make the changes or do a more thorough explanation during the oh-so-important editing stage, instead of as a note on your blog or your Facebook page.
Let me recap! If you want to look professional, then you must take your time with writing. Enjoy the process, thoroughly edit your manuscript, have someone else read it (please!), and plan what to do when you’re done pounding on your keyboard.
What’s in it for you, slow and steady writers? Everything: if you want readers, if you want attention, if you want to move forward in your business, then you absolutely must take your time. You’ll thank me for this information later!