How to Write Three-fourths of a Book in Three Days

Finding the time to write isn’t hard if you can’t sleep.

I wrote three-fourths of a book in nine hours over three days. Really.

Well, to be clear, the writing process actually started two years ago.

My business partner and I had been discussing writing a process book for our publishing clients for some time. We wanted to expand on a short chapbook I had developed years ago that was now badly out of date. Our main goal with the book was to explain our process for getting a submission from raw manuscript to published book or ebook so that the potential client would understand how everything works.

A book project is complicated. Walking a client down the publishing path, pointing out what needs to be considered at various stages and explaining what happens when, is invaluable to managing expectations and keeping the project on track. We wanted to include how we select manuscripts to work on, identify areas where mishaps might occur, and explain how long the publishing process takes. We also wanted the book itself to reflect our design aesthetic, typography, and the high quality of our product.

Since it wasn’t top priority, the process book was delayed, forgotten, remembered, forgotten, remembered, and delayed again. Then I read Justin Jackson’s story on Medium, “Keep Making Stuff,” and found out about the 2016 Maker Challenge.

The challenge was just the thing we needed to put that process book back on the front burner. I reviewed some old writing and the materials we had developed and decided that what we really needed was a replication of the conversation we have with new clients. But better. Better because (1) we don’t always remember everything we need to tell them and (2) we know too much, which sometimes makes explaining difficult if you aren’t sure — and can’t assume — where the other person is at on the learning curve. Since each client’s situation is unique, the nuances we should address at the beginning sometimes get left out until later in the publishing process, which is not ideal. With this process book, we could answer questions the client probably hadn’t even thought of yet.

Now that we had a new direction for the book, I was excited about starting the writing during our anticipated downtime between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Before that could happen, I put my back out — badly — while shoveling.

A funny thing happens when your physical movement is limited and you are on serious pain meds. You think a lot, and if you’re like me, your reaction to the meds is you can’t sleep.

Over the course of three days, I not only wrote the outline, I fleshed out three-quarters of the book. It took about nine hours. I know because I tracked my time in Toggl. Most of my writing occurred between 5:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. I usually got to sleep around 4:00 or 5:00 and woke up five hours later. Netflix and Fallout 4 were my friends in the dark hours (and the light hours) when I wasn’t writing or thinking too much about my back.

I’ve put in more time since then, figuring out where a chapter needed to be added, fine-tuning details, checking the spelling and grammar, and generally wrapping things up. It’s a good start on my first draft.

After I finish the last chapter—this month, if all goes well—and do a review of the book in its entirety, I’ll have several people, including clients, read through it and provide feedback. Given that this book is for clients, it’s especially important that I get their perspective. Then it will be back to making revisions and moving into the first stages of designing the book.

Get Inspired to Write

I don’t recommend putting your back out or going on pain meds just to write your book. But you do need to get inspired. You need to find that one reason that gets you to sit down and begin writing. Without the Maker Challenge and the nudge it gave me, I’m not sure, pain meds or no, I’d be this close to finishing.

If you’re stuck, consider repurposing writing you’ve already done for a blog or publication or your personal journal—or Medium. Even your company’s marketing materials can be good for brainstorming, like white papers, case studies, media kits. Do some keyword searching on Google and see what other people are writing about that you’re interested in. Look at Digg and Reddit and Quora for ideas. There are innumerable writing/writer blogs, forums, and online/off-line groups that you can read and join. See what’s on the shelf at Barnes & Noble or sift through keyword results in books on Amazon.

If that doesn’t do it for you, read more books. (You’re doing this already, right?) Notice how other writers handle their arguments and logic, chapter organization, voice, character development, etc. And remember there are no hard-and-fast rules in writing a book: Your chapters don’t have to be a certain length. Your writing doesn’t have to be formal. Your book doesn’t have to be long, it just has to be long enough.

If you’ve been thinking about writing a book, whether a novel or one based on your expertise, make this the year you write it. Trust me, if I can do it, you can too — and probably without the meds.

Check out Justin Jackson and the 2016 Maker Challenge when you get a chance. Maybe this year you’d rather develop a better messaging app or 3D print Chthulu. Do what makes you happy and productive. (The Maker Challenge is now on Product Hunt, if you’d like to check it out there.)

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