Does it Really Take Five Years to Write a Book?

Yes.

Friends,

This post is about why humans can and should do things even when they take a long time—and what is a more perfect example of that than Cory Booker defeating Strom Thurmand’s racist record for longest filibuster in the Senate. At hour 23.5 he started lecturing about his favorite Federalist paper (51) and my kids were gathered around C-SPAN cheering him on like it was a Mets playoff game.

Here’s to relegating confederate monuments to the dustbins of history.

Other worthwhile things that take a long time: books! I’d been drafting it for a while, and then what shows up in my inbox this morning but a newsletter from Mirya saying “So, I struggled from 2019 until literally yesterday to write this fucking book.” The universe clearly wanted you to know you’re not alone in your book ennui today!

But why? What takes so freaking long? I have some ideas.

Just give me the math

Fine. Here’s how long shit takes:

Stage one (research, writing): 2-5 years

Stage two (feedback, revising): .5-1 year

Stage three (submission, reviews): .5-1 year

Stage four (revision, resubmission): .5-1 year

Stage five (final approval, possible additional review): .25-1 year

Stage six (production): .75-1 year

So even the most optimistic of these estimates gets the book out the door in 4.5 years (and least optimistic gets you close to 10 years—which isn’t unheard of!)

It takes longer to write a book than it does to have a baby! I gave birth twice while I was still wrestling with my second book. It takes a long time. Here’s how that time breaks down.

Photo by Elimende Inagella on Unsplash

Stage One: Ideas and outlining and drafting and writing

What: So the first part is on you. I’m sorry to tell you this. At some point you decide “I’m going to write a book,” and then you need to get from there to 80,000 words you’re excited about sharing with a publisher.

First, take stock of where things are. You have an argument or idea or puzzle or vision, and then need to start filling in the bones. I usually suggest to people that they think of it as three buckets: your ideas/expertise, “the literature”/conversations you’re joining, and the data/evidence you need to collect or research you need to do. And you start doing textual analysis, or go into the field for a while, or start interviewing school board members, or launch a survey, and you analyze the results and eventually you either start writing or you start outlining.

How long: Unfortunately, I have no idea. Maybe two years? Maybe five? Even when people convert their dissertations into books, that very often takes at least two years. Coming up with an idea to hang an entire book on, substantiating the claims that back up that idea, and then writing about it—the whole thing is hard.

What can help? Writing groups, either for accountability or to walk you through the book writing process. Therapy. Having a fun passion project on the side.

Stage Two: Getting feedback/redrafting

As I wrote about here, I would be very weary of when to ask for feedback, and very weary of how you give feedback. I can name ten books without thinking about it that had manuscript workshops too early, the writer got stuck in their heads and lost the book’s through line, and it cost them a year (or more) of time when they could have been writing and working with an editor or coach instead. Getting feedback too early kills projects. Getting feedback too late—or not at all—also kills projects (yes, some projects deserve to die, or be reincarnated as a better project. But here we’re assuming this is a book that deserves to be in the world!)

How long: My sense is that most people spend about six months to a year moving their manuscripts from seventy percent done (or a completed rough draft) to being able to submit it to publishers.

What can help? Friends. Advisors. Developmental editors. Stylistic editors. Manuscript workshops once a manuscript is complete.

Stage Three: Submission to Reviews

Hey! You’re probably about halfway done! Now, you find a publisher for your book. My sense—and this may vary by field and publisher—is that it’s very useful to have conversations with publishers about the book early to gauge who is excited about it, and it’s not super useful for writers to get advanced contracts for books (most of the time). In any case, I don’t think there’s much of a time difference between the review process for people who do get advanced contracts and people who don’t.

So you find a publisher, you send it their way, they send it to some reviewers, and you wait.

How long: I would bet on this taking at least six months, even if publishers tell you otherwise. People get sick, go on vacation, get flaky…it’s not easy to find a reliable reviewer pool. I was talking to someone today whose manuscript got sent out for review in October and is still waiting for reviews back. Patience.

What can help? Very often, people who like their writing but would like it to be polished up will engage stylistic editor at this time to do the line edits while waiting for reviews to come back. Otherwise, this is your moment to get critical distance from the book.

Stage Four: Reviews to Resubmission

So you’re bopping along, minding your business, and one Thursday you check your email and there is a message from your acquisitions editor with reviews. Maybe she’s curated them for you, maybe she’s asked to set up a call, maybe she just forwarded them to you with no context. In any event, you get home, read the reviewer comments with curiosity, have a good cry, and then forward them to your friend or editor to help you come up with a revision plan.

And then…you get to work, creating an iterative strategy for tackling big picture and smaller picture revisions.

How long: Depending on how extensive the revisions are and how busy your life is, these might take six months to a year.

What can help? A detailed revision plan drawn from the reviewer comments. Talking with the acquisitions editor to find out exactly what’s required/expected for the manuscript to move forward. Working with a developmental editor if the reviewer’s comments feel opaque/too daunting (LOTS of people hire developmental editors at this point. It’s not too late!).

Stage Five: Resubmission to Under Contract

So you finish the draft, and you send it back to the acquisitions editor at the press. They will almost always send it back to a reviewer to check to make sure all is well, and then sometimes they are satisfied! Other times they decide to send it out to another reviewer, and that starts stage four over again. Once the editor is satisfied that the book is where it needs to be, it goes in front of a board for approval.

How long: two months (doesn’t need another reviewer) to a year (needs another reviewer/review cycle).

What can help: Writing your next book. Trying to keep your mind off of things.

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

Stage Six: Under Contract to into the World

Opa! The book has a contract! You’re told you can’t make any edits any more! Now the publisher does all of the stuff on their end: book jacket design, getting blurbs/ endorsements for the book, copyediting, page design, proofreading, sending off to be bound into a beautiful book. Some of these you’ll be asked for feedback on (cover design, to approve page proofs, who you think would be a good endorsement) others will happen blissfully behind the scenes.

How long: This most commonly takes nine months to a year.

What can help: Beginning to market/build hype around the book! Throwing yourself a party for the book.

Why Does this Matter?

Well, it matters to folks in book fields who need books for jobs/tenure/promotion. It matters so you don’t feel quite as alone with the process of writing a book feels hard and unrelenting. And it matters because writing a book is a real commitment: asking yourself “what do I need to do for this book to be in the world in 2030” is a terrifying question, but the first step in getting to hold the book in your hands.

Write good things, and let me know if I can help!

Kelly

What’s Going on Around Here

Hey! Need a community? I have so many options for you!

So You Want to Write A Book?: Two spots left! A unique hybrid workshop dedicated to supporting writers throughout their book writing journey. Come join us in May! More info here, Register here

So You Want to Finish (or Make a Lot of Progress) Your Book? An Advanced Book Writing Workshop. I’m so excited about this— a year-long, monthly workshop for folks with more advanced book manuscripts. One part troubleshooting/ accountability, one part advanced topics in book writing. We’ll start in May. Details here, register here.

A (very rare) summer Writers’ Circle. I almost always just host two writers’ circles a year—in the spring and the fall, but my sense is that people are in need of some community this year, so I’m going to host a very rare summer workshop in May and June. AND, by popular demand, there will be space for writing built into our meetings: so we’ll talk about writing, and then actually do it. Details here, register here.

We’re also open for new coaching clients, editing assignments, and marketing relationships—get in touch!

You can see all of what we’re doing in 2025 here.