24: Behind the Business: How Long Does it Take to Write a Book?

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What's Next? This is a question we're all having to ask and answer more frequently. I'm Jenny Blake, your host of the Pivot Podcast and author of the Only Move that Matters is yous Next One, which launches in September of 2016.

In this podcast, I talk with peak performers to reverse engineer their most successful career. Pivots interview experts on what it takes to be agile in a rapidly evolving economy and open the kimono on what happens behind the scenes of my book and business. You can learn to capitalize on risk, fear and uncertainty as the doorways of opportunity. My promise is that you will leave every episode with practical tips, tools and tactics. For show notes from this episode, visit JennyBlake Me podcast.

If change is the only constant, then let's get better at it. Here we go.

Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Pivot Podcast. It's been a while since I did a Behind the Books show, so today I'm going to share an exciting update. Some stats I've been tracking on the writing and editing process, fears and gremlins that come in at the stage that I'm at, and all the activities that are involved leading up to the launch, which is in about six months. So if you're not interested in the writing or editing or creative process tracking, then this episode may not be for you. But stay tuned. We have some really good ones coming up, including a podcast on Intuition, which I am so excited to share. All right, the big news before we go any further is I just turned in the final manuscript. I can't even believe I'm saying that. I don't have to edit that word file ever again. It's really a bizarre feeling. I felt this way with my first book, Life After College, and I feel this way again, which is this book has been at the very front of my mind and consciousness for three years. I started thinking about thinking pretty seriously about what I wanted to write in January of 2013 and so to have turned in the final book. Now here we are in February of 2016. I feel as though I've been running a marathon for the last three years with a 50 pound backpack on. And I just got to put down the backpack every day since I've turned in the manuscript, the day just feels easier somehow. And I realized it's because I've had this thing weighing on my mind for three years. When I'm walking down the street, when I'm in the shower, when I'm sleeping, certainly during the day, and definitely when I was on deadline. And I made a point throughout the writing process, especially this time around, not to complain about it or say writing a book is so hard. I really tried to focus on let it be easy, let it be fun, and that it's a privilege for somebody to pay me in advance, which Penguin Portfolio did, and pay me for my ideas. So it felt silly to sit around and complain about it being hard. But I would tell people, yes, it's a lot of work and during the winter months it's totally fine to be cooped up, but it gets harder in the summer to sit and work all day indoors. A lot of people recently have asked me on podcasts like, how did you do it? And so in preparing for this episode, I went into Rescue Time, which is the plugin that I use to track how much time I'm spending on various applications on the computer. And I got some interesting stats for you, so I'm going to share those in a minute. But first let me explain where we are in the process. What I just turned in, it was the copy edited manuscript. Basically, my editor Natalie and I for the last year and a half have been going back and forth on rounds, turning in where I'll turn in a draft. She gives feedback I revise that draft. We've been doing that for a year and a half.

For those of you organization geeks who want to know how, I kind of tracked that, I had different folders in Dropbox for each major draft round. And then I would keep all my notes and files that I needed for that round in that folder. So I have 10 of these. I went back and counted. I have 10 of these altogether, starting from when I got the book deal in October of 2014, and then all the way until the version I just turned in. I also had a corresponding note in Evernote that whatever month of the draft I was on. So let's call it this last edit February. I would in all caps in Evernote call it February. February Edit. And that's where I would track how long I was spending on the edit and all the odds and ends that I needed to fix. Because sometimes what would happen would be that I would turn in a draft, let's say July 2015. Then I would be waiting for Natalie to review it, but things would come up on my mind that I might need to fix. So that's where I would keep those loose items in an Evernote called July 2015. And that way I knew I didn't forget anything between drafts. So I, you know, and while Natalie would have it, I would print out the book, I would do a hand edit. My dad was so wonderful helping with a few really major edits. And then this last round, as we got more and more detailed with our feedback and as the manuscript really started to become final, Penguin send it off to a copy editor. And then she just returned the book. And it's amazing how much the copy editor finds. I mean, I was blown away. Just I had a quote from that I thought was from Charlie Munger. I'm smart in spots and I stay in those spots. And it turns out it's from Tom Watson, the founder of IBM. Well, thank goodness that the copy editor catches things like that because it saves me big headaches and being totally wrong. So things like that. I had even misspelled a few of my own friends names in the acknowledgments, you know, just because tired typos. So the copy edit is priceless. And that just came back. I just finished reviewing it and I sent it back to the team at portfolio.

Anyone who knows me knows, you know, I really do pay attention to detail and I can sometimes be a control freak. So I sent it back and I'm like, are you sure you don't want me to look at it just even one more time before it goes to production? And they said no, we'll review and we'll catch everything that we can. So that means I don't ever touch this word file ever again, which is so wild. And now it's going to production, which means it will be laid out as it's going to look in the book designed and everything. And the next time I'll see it will be printed 11 by 17 pages called first pass that I should get that in about two weeks. And then I'll have two weeks to hand edit any glitches or remaining typos that I can find. And from my understanding, that is really my last chance to edit the book at all. And then we print galleys which are paperback advance copies that go out to press and media and podcasters. And once the galleys come back, you know, if we catch any mistakes in the galleys, we'll fix those. And then the book officially launches September 6th.

That's where we are in the process. I'll share a little more in bits and pieces throughout the show, but let's go back to how much time does it take to write a book? When I wrote my first book, Life After College, I was working full time at Google. So I mostly wrote on weekends. Sometimes I say nights and weekends, but usually I was too tired after work and most of my big chunks of writing got done on things like winter holidays where I really had two weeks off or a big block of time off. That book really got written on weekends and that was intense for its own reasons because Google was very intense during the week, high intensity environment and I had a big workload and then to kind of not have a break over the weekend, that was tough. What was hard this time around, hard in a good way, is that I've been running my own business five years now. And so to have this project be top of mind for the last three years would have been nice to just write the book every day. But that wasn't the reality of my situation. And so in a way I had more weighing because I still really needed to earn a living. I didn't just have a paycheck coming in every two weeks while I worked on the book. So in saying that I really over the last year and a half, which is the biggest chunk of when the writing got done, I would say it was an average of an hour a day. And that's what I've been telling people who ask that for the most part this book got written and edited with an hour a day. Now there were definitely weekends where I would sun would rise and set and I would not move from my desk where I would have to read the whole book in a six hour window and try and catch any last things. And I've read this book so many times already, I'm really proud of it. But oh my goodness, once you've read the same book, even if it's your own 10 or 15 times, it starts to get a little tedious. So yeah, there were some days where I would put in 1012 hour days and some weeks that were really intense, but oftentimes the most that I could do was one or two hours before getting into email and calls. And sometimes I would be traveling for speaking engagements and I couldn't do anything for multiple days in a row. So when I logged into RescueTime to see what the actual count was, here are the stats. Now note that when I am tracking Word in Google Docs, it's not perfect because it doesn't count what I did in Evernote. Any hand edits from printing out the book, which I would get done through Kinko's and hand edit. And then it doesn't include interviews or what I call brain buzz. The amount of time thinking about the book while walking or in the shower or staring at a wall in my apartment. Okay, so in 2014, unfortunately I didn't use rescue time in 2013, but that's when I wrote the first proposal that my agent rejected. And it wasn't until 2014 that I even resubmitted another proposal to her. So in 2014 I spent 45 hours in Word. You can assume a lot of that, most of that was on the proposal because I don't use Word for anything else. Usually, you guys know me, I use Google Docs for everything. And I spent 251 hours in Google Docs and a lot of that time was spent doing NaNoWriMo, where I did it 15 to 30 minutes a day. And that's where I got a big chunk of the shitty first draft of the book done. I say shitty because what I turned into my editor In December of 2014, we ended up since cutting 2/3, if not 3/4 of that material. So I had to do a big rewrite in the beginning of the year. The bulk of the writing happened in 2015, and I spent 240 hours in Word and 122 hours in Google Docs. And again, that doesn't include the interviews and some of that time that went into it. And then in 2016, as I reviewed the copy edit, that was my main activity so far this year, 16 hours. So the total when I added everything up is 673 hours. And if we look at the bulk happening over a year and a half period, the bulk of the actual writing and editing.

If you divide 673 by 16 months, you get about 42 hours a month. So it actually does average out to a little over an hour a day, plus or minus. If you want the true time of working on the project, I would say either double or triple it, just because by doubling it you would get all the hand edits and research. For example, the 16 hours tracked in Word for the copy edit was more like 30 hours, because when I tracked in Evernote, it was about 30 hours, because a lot of it had to be researching and finding new sources for things, figuring out how I wanted to say something. So there was a lot that would happen, even on the side of what got tracked with rescue time. And then when I say triple that number, that would be for all the research. So how many books have I read in the last three years that counted as part of the research that went into the book? That's also a significant chunk of time, but at least the 42 hours a month stat gives you an approximation for how much time was at the computer in Microsoft Word writing and editing and finessing copy. I thought that was interesting, and I think hopefully it's encouraging for those of you who have creative projects, that it's encouraging to me. I mean, to think about. And I will say it does require a lot of focus and a lot of discipline. And while I had some periods of an hour a day, there were other windows where it was just super intense. Like 30 hours on the book in one week or one weekend. I spent 20 hours working on it over three days. But they balance out. And I think it's encouraging to know that with an hour a day, we can get big things done.

One thing I noticed when I turned in this round was just the fears that come in at this stage, because I was turning in this final version. The last time that I would get to edit the word file. I realized when only in hindsight, that, you know, when I was writing the book, I kept saying, like, don't worry about other people, what other people will think. And I really tried to just focus on doing the best that I could to convey my ideas. And if there were things I were unsure about or parts that I was wondering or worried if they were cheesy, I just said, I'll worry about that later. And that was very helpful to get the book written. But as I turned in this last round, I. I started getting these gremlins. Like, are you sure you want to say that? Are you sure this isn't cheesy? This whole book is a pile of cliches. You know, that's my usual gremlin that came in with my first book. And.

Part of the reason that this comes in so strongly at the end is that I'm done. I can't fix much anymore. So that was just an interesting observation. And I think it's only natural to have those fears come in at this stage of the process because it's this vulnerable place of finishing the ideas to the best of my ability. And pretty soon what's been only in my head and in my computer and then shared with my editor and my early, very early readers, pretty soon these ideas are going to go out and be exposed and be up for judgment. And I totally get that that's part of the process. It's just still nerve wracking. Even the idea of sending galley cop, you know, I have an idea in my head that I hope this book is helpful and I hope that people get a lot of value out of it and really see some new creative ideas in here, new ways to talk about what's already happening in our economy or when going through a career change. But I don't know for sure and there are no guarantees. And so it is nerve wracking to think about the work getting out there and being exposed. And then certainly when the book comes out and you know, one star reviews rolled in for life after college and I realized they don't kill you the way I thought, like, oh my God, I'll die if anyone says this. Nobody can really say anything. That's meaner than my own gremlins kind of came up with during the process. And in a way that helps me do the best job that I possibly can. But.

That'S the whole point. I mean, when the one star reviews roll in, it's like some of these people, I was wondering, well, what does this person do? You know, at least I wrote the book and put it out there and they were saying things like, Jenny probably goes and cries. She's gonna go away and cry after reading this review. She sounds like a. I don't remember what he said. Like a hormonal teenager. I don't know. People can be really mean. But knowing I did the best I could and that this is important to me, I mean, that really overrides any fear of one star reviews. And I think it was my brother who told me that at least low reviews give some legitimacy to the book page. You know, if it's all five stars, then it doesn't even look real. So those are some of the fears that come in at this point. But mostly the feeling is really excited. And again, this wild feeling of every day being easy. Somehow in comparison to running the marathon with the 50 pound backpack, I just feel light and doing normal work tasks feels manageable. Whereas when I was working on the book, things like, you know, even this year when I was working on the copy edit, I hadn't even opened my mail in three weeks or done laundry. These really simple things that now that the book is turned in I just feel like I have access to a whole new or part that had gotten full part of my brain.

So what's coming up? We're working on the galleys, as I said, and now that we're about six months out, I am trying to get a jump and think about book marketing. My words of the year, as you know, if you listen to this podcast are serendipity and magic. So one of my goals is to get curious and allow for some of that while I think about marketing that. Yes, I will work hard in quotes, but I also, I don't want to just run myself into the ground as I talk about on my website. I love helping people move beyond burnout and think about systems at the intersection of mind, body and business. So it's on my mind. How can I launch this book in a big way while staying open to serendipity and magic and not feeling like I need to push the river or force it somehow? So that's going to be an interesting thing to juggle of what work feels authentic versus what feels, as Martha Beck would call it, shackles on. And so but I'm, you know, getting the book website ready. I'm thinking about a book trailer video and what that might look like. I'm starting to plan a book tour right now. It's mostly around the coastal cities, San Francisco, New York and la. But I will probably send out a survey soon to know where everybody is and where would be most beneficial for me to go. And the book tour is something typically that's not something that the publisher pays for. But for me, as I joked with my first book, it's kind of like why I would have a wedding for a marriage. It's the celebration. It's fun. Yes. It's kind of expensive. No, it's probably not the most expensive, efficient way to promote the book by doing bookstore events. But it's important to me and it's part of the fun. And I've been working behind my computer for so long that it will feel really nice to just get out there again. And usually I try and combine. If I'm going to do a bookstore, I'll try and also combine it with a paid speaking event in that city and use the paid events to anchor where I go. And the book tour will probably be from. I'll probably launch the book in New York in September and then start traveling October, November, and then wrap up before the holidays and maybe do some more virtual touring in the new year. I'm probably gonna do most podcast interviews in July and August, and then ideally have those launch in September. So, hey, I apologize in advance if you start listening to podcasts in September and more than you would like are about Pivot, but.

Hopefully they'll all be interesting. I don't know, it's just funny. It's a funny feeling because, you know, promoting a book, I don't ask for many favors, but this is one where I will need to put myself out there and see how I can partner with people in interesting ways. So I'm open to ideas as I'm starting to think about this, if you have any.

Then finally, really exciting. We just signed audio rights for Pivot, so I'm going to be recording the audiobook version. That happens once the manuscript is final. Final. So I think we're close to sending that their way. But probably later in the summer is when I will go into a studio. And I've heard that it's really intense. A lot of authors have said they lose their voice. It's like four or five days of recording. I'm actually really excited to do this, and I've been adamant with my agent and the publisher that I have to be the one to record it. There's no way I'm gonna let some stranger read my book. That just feels crazy to me and terrible. So I just got audio rights for Life After College as well and sent in audition clips to be able to read for it. So I think I'm gonna be able to read for both books. But it's kind of interesting that it's not a guarantee just because you're the author. It's not a guarantee in the contract that you get to read it. So that'll be really fun and I'm really excited. Who knows, maybe I'll learn some really good tips for recording audio. And all of a sudden, the Pivot podcast will go even more pro. Once I come back to my makeshift studio in my apartment, there's one more element I want to talk about here, and that's the critique that traditional publishing is too small, slow. That's what you hear a lot of people say, and I disagree. I think that to get the highest quality product that we did, it was absolutely right on time, if not really fast. My editor, Natalie, rolled up her sleeves and completely treated the book as if it was her own. And it is a far more high quality book because of it. These are ideas that can't be rushed and that the quality of the writing is so much stronger for having two brains. And really a year and a half together. That there's no way we could have done it any faster and still gotten the level of quality output that we did. You know, I never felt like, oh, I have too long to work on this. It was always a crunch to work on the book and make the edits and keep doing my business and turn it back into her. And I feel the process has been very fast. Some of you may remember if you subscribe to my behind the Business newsletter that originally the book was supposed to come out in March of 2016, so it would be coming out right about now. When Natalie first told me that we were behind schedule and we would have to delay the launch and then told me that they were slating it for September, I cried. I was really upset for about a day because for a couple years I had been pinning my hopes and dreams on the book launching March 8th and this kicking off the next wave of my speaking and coaching business.

So I was upset for a day. And I remember thinking, oh my gosh, that's so far away. You know, this is what everyone talks about when they say you don't have as much control of the process. But pretty quickly I realized two things. One, I was treating my book like it was entering some child beauty pageant, like, okay, book, you need to win this beauty pageant in March or else we're not going to survive that. I was putting so much pressure on it rather than getting my business right first, building my business up with or without the book, and then being in such a stronger position to launch the book in September as a nice to have add on to the business, not the crutch. The other funny thing about that was that it was a pivot for pivot here. It was testing me. I had to take my own medicine, take my own advice and think, okay, great. Well, an unexpected change just happened. What am I going to do? It was this opportunity to apply the principles I'd been thinking and writing about. And I have to say, it worked. It completely shifted my perspective. I doubled down on what was working already in my business and it took so much of the fear and anxiety out about making this change, even though I didn't yet have an exact plan for how I would earn income in that March to September window where I had previously planned on the book coming out. Secondly, there is no flipping way I would have been ready to launch this book right now. I needed the month of December, actually, and January and most of February to just rest. I don't know. There's no way I could have been launching in March. Writing the book was so intense and took a lot out of me and having this time now to slowly transition from turning the book in. And in Q4 October through December of 2015, I also did a huge Pivot brand project with ABC Design Lab and launched the Pivot Podcast as some of you know. So there was a lot going on that if I was also trying to build up the marketing window and be doing all these podcasts and starting to travel right now, there's just no way now I have six months to think about those things. And so once again, while from the outside someone could say that it's slow, I am so grateful for every minute that I have to just take tackle one thing at a time and do it with the utmost quality to the very best of my ability. And that's what I really appreciate about traditional publishing. And I feel very confident that we're creating the best possible product and that it would be nowhere near what it's going to come out to be without having spent this much time. And I think for me, big ideas are really important to me and they can't be rushed. I hope when you read the book that you'll agree and that you'll see the difference. It's a lot different than a blog post and so many of the ideas and even tracking people's Pivot stories are much richer because of this three year incubation period.

All right, that wraps up everything I wanted to share for today's behind the Book podcast. There are a couple ways to keep in touch, especially if you want to learn more. One, I got permission to send every Momentum member a copy, a galley copy of the book. So if you want to be on the Inside street team, get an advanced copy of the book and help with launch activities as well as help us help you with whatever you need in your business monthly workshops. Private office hours with me. Join us that's@MomentumCrew.com you can also follow my behind the Business newsletter that I send every two to three weeks where I share a lot of what's going on behind the scenes on an ongoing basis, as well as the latest links from around the web of what I'm reading and listening to and watching and my favorite tools of the week. A lot of people subscribe just for the tools, so that's at Jennyblake Me updates and if you have questions that you want me to answer for a future behind the Book podcast, go ahead and leave them as a review in itunes and I will review that and record another episode coming up soon. Thank you all. So much for listening. I am really grateful to have you all here and I'm really excited to see what the next six months will bring. Have a wonderful rest of your day.

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Pivot Podcast. To learn more and get in touch, visit JennyBlake me where I blog about systems at the intersection of mind, body and business. Or find me on Twitter ennyblake. And remember, build first, then your courage will follow. Hasn't it always.