Once you edit your last sentence on the last page of your book, you look up and wonder, how long does it take to publish a book? Writing a book was a massive undertaking in itself.
You spent so long on the writing and editing process and did your best to write a book that will sell. How long does it take to publish a book?
To answer this question, it’s crucial to remember that just as writing is subjective, so is the publishing process. There are almost always exceptions to the norm, but this overview can give you a better understanding of what it may look like for you and your book.
How long does it take to publish a book: what’s covered
- How long does the average author take to write a book?
- Is it hard to get my book published?
- Why does publishing a book take so long?
How long does the average author take to write a book?
According to Selfpublishing.com, “The average time to write a book for most authors is 180 days, or 6 months, more or less.” With this in mind, you can project that it could take you 4 to 8 months to complete a book. You will need to take this time on to effectively answer, how long does it take to publish a book?
But that said, this timeline can fluctuate based on a variety of factors:
- Your typing speed
- If you use speak to text
- If you plotted your book
- How much time you devote to writing
Timelines vary from author to author. Once you write and edit your draft, you can start with a fresh timeline and ask, how long does it take to publish a book?
Is it hard to get my book published?
How you choose to publish your book, and what you bring to the table when choosing to publish, determines how hard it is to get published.
Overall, it’s the time aspect that can really get to authors. That said, length of time is subjective, as publishing a book in three months may feel fast to some authors and slow to others.
However, the duration of time it will take from deciding to publish your book to holding it in your hands is largely dependent on the which publishing option you choose.
Once again, how long does it take to publish a book? Self-publishing will be a shorter route to publication, while traditional publishing will take longer.
Let’s look at each one so you can answer for yourself, how long does it take to publish a book, and have a better idea which route will work best for you.
Self-publishing timeline
If you have some form of a large platform already (you already speak to large audiences, have thousands of social media followers, or you are connected with well-known people), self-publishing can be an excellent fit for you.
If not, you’ll need to think like a literary agent to understand where you book fits in the marketplace. This is because in self-publishing, you are both the writer and the publisher.
You have full control over your marketing plan, editing, and any other type of promotional material you want to create and put into the world. You choose how much you want to invest, and reap the profits from your book royalties from Amazon.
You also get to decide the release date for your book, if you want a book launch team (as well as who is on your team), and are responsible for working as your own public relations manager. This means if you want an interview with a certain radio or television station, you set it up.
Self-publishing brings a lot of freedom to publishing. With freedom comes the full responsibility for your book, and every part of publishing. If this excites you and you feel confident to move forward, self-publishing may be the right fit for you!
You may have to do a bit more work than someone with an established audience, but it is doable with a little perseverance and a desire to learn. When we take our authors through our publishing process, it can take as little as 90 days. So, how long does it take to publish a book when you self-publish? The process can be as short as three months.
We also have new, advanced courses for authors that tackle topics like:
- How to gain promotion for your book through public relations and speaking gigs
- How to sell more books on Amazon through advanced marketing tactics
- How to build and launch an online course that’s connected to your book and mission
If you are on the fast track to publishing your book and have time to book a call today, you could start your publishing journey and have a complete book in your hands in less than three months.
Traditional publishing timeline
How long does it take to publish a book via traditional, or trad, publishing? Trad publishing is a way for you to get your book out into the world without taking any financial risk but instead, swapping that for a time risk.
When you traditionally publish, a publisher offers you a contract, usually pays you an advance, pays for a professional editor to edit your manuscript and formatted it, a graphic designer to design a book cover, and usually works on some of the marketing.
You don’t pay a cent, but get to be part of the journey. Because of this, how long does it take to publish a book with a trad publisher?
Well, most trad publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. This means that unless you are signed with a literary agent, you will not be able to pitch your manuscript to an acquisitions editor unless you meet one at a writing conference.
While signing with a literary agent is an extra step in your publishing journey, agents are a big help when it comes to reviewing book contracts, pitching to big publishing houses, and efficiently getting your work in front of industry professionals.
In traditional publishing, because the publisher takes all the risk, usually the publisher makes the last call on choices like your book cover, title, and the marketing plan. Of course, as the writer, you are an essential part of the process.
As the writer, your sweet spot is writing. The publisher hires professionals in marketing, graphic design, and editing to help you with the rest of the process.
How long does it take to publish a book? As long as it takes for your book to make it through the entirety of the traditional publisher’s team.
In traditional publishing you get to mostly focus on the writing, some marketing and promotion, while the publisher focuses on and finances the rest.
Why does publishing a book take so long?
There are three key steps to publishing a book, and the time you take with each step impacts the answer to the question, how long does it take to publish a book. Let’s take a look at each step so you can answer for yourself, how long does it take to publish a book?
Book editing
Self-publishing a book is a process in which you, the writer, are in complete control. You get the idea for your book, choose to create it into a book format, and edit as you see fit.
However, if you want to hire a professional editor to find those mistakes you missed, help you with characterization, plot, or for nonfiction, overall storytelling, you will need to add time to your process.
Self-publishing is different from traditional publishing in that the publishing house will hire a professional editor for you and the professional editor will edit your book. Often they format it so it is ready to be typeset as well.
Of course, these steps take time and add length to answering, how long does it take to publish a book.
Cover design
Once your manuscript is edited, it’s time to create a book. This is where cover design comes in. Again, in self-publishing, you are in complete control. You decide whether to design your own cover (Canva can be a helpful place to start) or if you hire a professional designer.
Traditional publishing is different in that the publisher hires a professional designer for you. In traditional publishing, the publisher, not you, will have the final say on the cover design.
How long does it take to publish a book? Part of this depends on how long it takes to settle on a book cover, which is a crucial part of marketing. Speaking of…
Book marketing
In self-publishing, if you feel your manuscript is already edited well and don’t plan to do much marketing or promotion before your release date, your process will be much quicker. You can put your book out into the world, and then start marketing on platforms such as Amazon.
The freedom with self-publishing is you can decide when you want to market, how you want to market, and who you want to market to. However, you will be at risk of making marketing mistakes.
If you want to start marketing as you’re writing your book, you can do so. If you want to wait to market until potential readers can purchase your book, you can wait. If you want to do something in between, that’s up to you as well!
When it comes to traditional publishing, the process follows a particular format.
In traditional publishing, acquisitions editors are the gatekeepers. If an acquisitions editor likes your book proposal and sample chapters, he or she will ask your agent for your full manuscript.
They will read it until they either 1) don’t think it’s a good fit for their publishing house or 2) love it and read to the end. Then it’s time for them to research you, the writer, and how your book will bring in a good return on their investment.
Once they do this research (this may include researching aspects from your current platform to finding comparable books that have done well in the past), they will then organize a publishing board (pub board) meeting.
At this point, the acquisitions editor may contact your agent and tell them they’re taking your manuscript to the pub board.
In this meeting, the acquisitions editor presents their research to all the big heads in the publishing house: head of marketing, editing, sales, etc., and it comes to a vote. Some pub boards need all yeses for a book to go on to publication, some only need a majority vote.
If your book makes it past the pub board, then it’s time to start the publishing process! Because of this structure, how long does it take to publish a book traditionally? The Steve Laube Literary Agency says it can take about two years.
How long does it take to publish a book? Take your next step today
As you can see, both processes take a manuscript and end with that manuscript in book form. Self-publishing has much more freedom and risk, but also the guarantee of earning much higher profits and maintaining creative control.
Traditional publishing has more steps, and little to zero financial risk, but you split royalties with the publisher, and allow them to have the final say on aspects such as cover design and title.
If you’re ready to take the lead in publishing your book, sign up for this free online class and learn how to publish your book in half the time!