How long does it take to publish a book?

If you don’t know what you are doing mixed with having a job, raising two rambunctious boys, and periodically coping with mental breakdowns, I’d say 2 years….

Well, that is if you were me. It took me two years to figure out how to publish a book. 

There was so much information I wasn’t sure what piece of information was right or which option was best for my book. 

Does it have to take that long? Nope. It doesn’t. After I learned what I was doing, I worked out the kinks to make the process smooth, free and easy. With this experience I was able to create a journal in just a matter of hours. 

Yes, hours. Just a few hours to publish. 

However for most people and regular books, it will take a couple of months. 

My first member of the Self-Publish Program was able to publish her book in less than 6 months while staying on budget. Read her experience here.

I am so proud of her! 

I would say, the lowest average amount of time it takes to publish a book is 1 month.

There are a couple of things that take the most time in the self-publishing process. Let me list them out for you:

Writing the Book 

Doing the actual writing can take a really long time. Between waiting for the ideas, fixing plot holes, coming up with the right writing “voice”, and doing all this with a busy schedule, can take the longest time to accomplish. 

I also think it’s ok to take your time writing. Readers can tell when a book is rushed. If you want your book to do well, make sure you write your story thoroughly.

If you don’t know how to set up your story professionally, sign up for my FREE Writing Program. You’ll get instant access to researching, planning, scheduling and writing your book so you get it done the right way. 

Waiting for Editing, Illustrations or Cover Designs

When you hire outside services like editing, illustrating, formatting, cover designing, etc… you’ll be waiting for them to deliver your order. I don’t think any of these services should take longer than 2 weeks to a month to complete. 

If they say the order will take longer than 1.5 months, I’d say find someone else. There are plenty of qualified people who can complete your order in a reasonable timeframe. 

Launching

I highly recommend my members in the Self-Publish Program to wait 3 months after finishing the book to launch their book. If you think writing and publishing your book is hard, let me introduce you to: Book Marketing. 

Book Marketing is a beast! And for us creatives, we might not have the business brain to figure out how to sell our book. It can be stressful and VERY time-consuming!

This takes time to test and get a handle on. So once you set your launching date and your book is ready to go, take a big, deep breath, and turn your attention to marketing your book. 

In the Self-Publish Program I provide a Social Media Launch Kit which I think is the best and cheapest way to market your book. But, it definitely takes time to develop an audience and build a following. 

Building your audience for 3 months is a good place to start. 

Everything else to publish your book can be done in one sitting each time, unless you don’t know what you are doing and need to research what to do next. (Learn from me and hire a coach or join my Self-Publish Program so you’re not wasting so much time). 

So many nights I would stay up searching the web, I’d lose track of what I learned and where I learned it from. I would think, is this information even right? How do I know these are the best options for me? It was frustrating and very discouraging. 

If you have a book you want to publish, do it. I think there are many readers out there that are waiting for your story! 

Good luck future author! I hope we can chat soon!

You are the author of your life story. How will you write your next chapter of life?