One of the most common questions I get about my book, The Insider Edge of Real Estate Investing, is, “How long did it take?” If you're interested in publishing a book about commercial real estate, you may already know that producing a book can be a lot of work. There are many steps to cover, from choosing a topic to finding a way to publish it to marketing your book. The actual text can also be long.
To find out how long the process will take, it may be helpful to review the estimated timeline. As you read below, keep in mind that the exact number of hours required will vary. It depends on your writing experience, who you're working with, and what dates the publisher wants to use. If you partner with a traditional publisher, your timeline can be much longer than if you self-publish.
In the next section, I will share my book timeline. This may help you understand what to expect from your own job.
1. Idea phase
Before you start writing, you need to understand the purpose of your book. Think about what topics you'll cover, what themes you'll portray, and how you'll benefit your readers. This stage may take an afternoon or so, but it may take longer. In my case, for years I've been asking others for recommended books and resources to help me learn about investing in commercial real estate. I couldn't find anything that fit what I had in mind, so I decided to assemble it myself.
2. Plan and overview
Writing down your thoughts and brainstorming what to include in your book can take hours, days, or even weeks. During the pandemic, my routine changed and I found myself with extra time to work on other projects. I started a podcast, which led to the beginning of a book. I have gathered initial material and a rough outline of what will be discussed in each chapter.
3. Book sales
It can take months to put together a book proposal and inquiry letter to send to agents and publishers. It may take several weeks before you receive an answer. For my book, I connected with an agent in the summer of 2021 and was able to get in touch with writing partners and editors who could help me with book proposals and inquiry letters. We connected with a publisher in the fall of that year and signed a publishing deal a few months later.
If you self-publish, you can skip this step since you will be managing your publishing agreement. That being said, you may want to promote this book to others in your circle and gain readers. If you are interested, it might be a good idea to buy it after it is released.
4. Manuscript preparation
If you are familiar with your topic and have time to write every day, you can probably complete your manuscript in less than a year. In some cases, the necessary research can prolong this step, and it is not uncommon for a book to take him a year or more to develop. In the case of my book, the first draft was written in six months. My writing partner Rachel Hartman interviewed me on the podcast to gather material so listeners could gain insight and learn about the book before it was published.
5. Editing stage
Manuscripts typically go through several rounds of editing, and depending on the number of revisions needed, this stage can take several months or more. You may have heard of developmental editing, which focuses on the overall organization and structure of a book. There are also line editing tasks to improve flow and clarity. Copy editing and proofreading can help you remove spelling and punctuation mistakes. For my book, the editing process took nearly five months. If you self-publish, you will need to hire an editor, which can take several months.
6. After the date of issue
When you work with a publisher, they often set a publication date for your book. The writing and editing process is managed around the publication date. Because printing and distributing books takes time, publishers often work far in advance. It may be more than a year before he signs a book contract and sees his first book. In my case, the book was released about three months after I finished editing. Again, if you're self-publishing, this step may be faster and you may have copies made within just a few weeks.
7. Book Marketing
You can start this step at any point in the process, but you'll probably continue it after your book is published. You can take this book to speak at conferences or give it to clients at networking events. It can become part of your overall brand, especially if it covers a topic that is useful to the people you connect with.
As you can see, book timelines vary from less than a year to more than two years. From the initial proposal to the actual publication date of my book, the process took about 18 months. You may need more time depending on the research you want to do or other commitments you have. Most of the time, the key is to keep moving forward. Each step brings your book closer to hitting retail shelves and reaching readers.
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