How to Write a Business Book (and Get it Published!) in 2024
Want to know how to write a business book and get it published? Read on for a 12-month plan to go from aspiring writer to published author.
Let me start by saying, there are a million ways to write a book. And every single (published) author that I’ve worked with had their own way of getting their book written. The key thing that took them from aspiring author to published author was simply that they actually got it done.
So if you want to know how to write a business book and get it published in 2024 the real answer is to find the way that works best for you and do it.
Of course it’s not always that simple – particularly if you’re tackling your first book, or it’s a tricky subject, or you’re not sure how to go from written to published. And that’s where this schedule might work really well for you.
How to Write a Book (and Get it Published) in 2024
This schedule is designed to help you get your book published in a 12 month period. It’s focused on people writing a business book – one that is a piece of collateral for their business or practice.
Of course, you can do it much more quickly if you have the time to commit to it – even 60 days is doable, and I’ve had clients do it in that time frame and even less on a couple of notable occasions. But this year-long schedule allows you to keep doing everything else you have to do in your life and work while still getting your book written and meeting your 2024 goal!
So, let’s get started.
January
Goal: Concept development
Tasks:
- Brainstorm ideas. Your goal this month is to develop your book concept. If you already know what you want to write about then skip straight to task 3. If not, you might want to start by brainstorming. You could do this via free writing, mind mapping, reading or networking in your industry or area of speciality, joining mastermind groups or even working with a coach or mentor.
- Choose a theme. Once you’ve found your ideas, you need to winnow it down to a single theme for your book. Maybe it’s around leadership, or team building. Or maybe it’s designed to help you sell a course or to share your thought leadership on a subject. This theme should be clear and succinct and should guide your entire book.
- Develop an outline of your book. Even the best writers need an outline. This is the step-by-step structure that ensures that each chapter intentionally contributes to your overall message. Once you’ve created a chapter-by-chapter outline you’ll want to fill in the main points of each chapter. What will you discuss in each section? What stories will you tell? Anecdotes? And how will this drive your central theme?
- Complete initial research (if necessary). If you need to research anything in order to flesh out your outline, now is the time.
- NOTE: If you are considering going down the traditional publishing route, you’ll need to start this process earlier rather than later. Read my article on traditional versus self-publishing to get some insight.
Outcome: A workable outline to guide your initial draft.
For more in depth information about January’s tasks, read ‘How to Write a Business Book – Concept Development’
February
Goal: Market and audience analysis
Tasks:
- Identify your target audience and analyse applicable market trends. This will help you understand the needs and preferences of your potential readers. It’s important to go deep here to understand who your readers are because this allows you to really focus what you’re ‘giving them’ in your book. Unless they’re getting something of value from your book, they’re not going to pick it up. With a business book you must be solving a problem, or giving them some valuable insight, that will adjust their perspective and thinking.
- Expand your outline. Once you’ve completed your target audience analysis, you should review your outline. Make sure that it’s answering the problem that your readers have or providing the unique and valuable insight that your reader needs.
Outcome: You should now have an expanded outline that incorporates an angle for your work. It should now ensure you’re reaching your target audience and providing them with something of value.
For more in depth information about February’s tasks, read ‘How to Write a Book – Understanding Your Target Audience’.
March
Goal: Begin writing your initial draft
Tasks:
- Set your writing schedule. You will have about five months to complete this draft. So take the amount of words you want to aim for, and divide them by the number of days that you’ll be writing. Let’s assume you decide that you’ll write only on Fridays and Saturdays. That will give you about 34 days of writing. If you are aiming for a 50,000 word book, you’ll need to aim for around 1500 words per day. If you want to write only on Fridays (totally doable!), that will be about 3000 words per day.
- Begin writing the first few chapters. Aim for a specific word count each day or week.
Outcome: By the end of this month you’ll have the first couple of chapters drafted. But more importantly you’ll have set your writing schedule and started consistently working on your book!
For more in-depth information about March’s tasks, read ‘How to Write a Business Book – Begin Writing Your Initial Draft‘.
April and May
Goal: Continue writing your initial draft
Tasks: Maintain writing momentum. Over these two months there is really only one task. And that’s to maintain your writing momentum. To be honest, this is where most authors fall down. It’s not the idea, or even the outlining, that causes an author to stall in their book writing. It’s the momentum and the consistency. But it’s only by being consistent that you can get your book done. If you need some initial feedback to keep your momentum going you can start sharing early chapters with trusted readers for feedback.
Outcome: Your initial draft should be growing in proportion to your time spent on the book.
For more in depth information about May and June’s tasks, read ‘How to Write a Book – Continue Writing Your Initial Draft’.
June
Goal: Mid-book review and research
Tasks:
- Keep writing. Though you have additional tasks this month, your first goal is to keep to your writing schedule. Keep writing and producing.
- Review your progress and adjust your content as needed. You might need to complete some additional research to support your arguments and insights. Consider where you might need some fleshing out now that you’re well into your initial draft.
- Share your initial draft. If you haven’t already, this is the stage where you might want to start sharing your draft for some initial feedback. Choose who you share with carefully. You want to ensure you’re giving it to someone that can provide you with good feedback.
Outcome: Improved focus as you continue moving forward with your initial draft.
July
Goal: Continue writing your initial draft
Tasks: Keep up the writing pace. Maintain your writing schedule and if you find that things are getting easier (and they often are at this stage), you could consider stepping up the pace and writing more words per writing session.
Outcome: Your book will be heading towards the finish!
August
Goal: Complete the first draft
Tasks:
- Finish the first draft. Congrats, you’ve finished your first draft this month. That’s a huge accomplishment.
- Take a short break. Your second task this month is just to take a break. This will let you have a clear head before you start the editing process.
Outcome: Congratulations. You have a finished manuscript!
September
Goal: First round of edits
Tasks: Begin self-editing. In this round, it’s a good idea to take a stab at editing yourself. As the book represents your own thought leadership, you’re the best person to do this. You’ll be able to focus on the big picture and ensure that your messaging is on point.
Overall you’ll want to focus on structural and content changes to bring the book in line. Don’t worry about proofreading edits (this will be for another round of edits).
Of course, if you find that you’re too deep in the trees to see the forest, it’s a good idea to bring an editor in at this stage as well. They can help you get your book into better shape from here.
Outcome: You’ll have a second draft of your book ready for secondary editing
October
Goal: Second and third rounds of edits and revisions
Tasks:
- Complete a second round of edits. With this round you might want to consider getting an outside editor to complete the work. Even as a professional writer and editor, I would choose another editor to review my book at this stage. They’re able to see things from an outside perspective and really address holes in your arguments or messaging, enchancing clarity and ensuring your book is both engaging and informative.
- Complete a third round of edits (as needed). Sometimes a third round of edits is needed, and sometimes it’s not. When you work with an outside editor, they’ll be able to advise you. You might also work collaboratively (this is my preferred method) which really combines this round of edits into a single collaborative round that let’s your work shine.
Outcome: Once these rounds of edits are done, you will be in a position to finalise your manuscript and start the publishing process.
November
Goal: Proofreading and manuscript finalisation
Tasks:
- Proofreading. At this stage you will want to have your book proofread so you can finalise the manuscript. This is another time that I would suggest hiring a professional proofreader. They’ll be exceptionally skilled at picking up the typos and other proofreading errors that can make your book look amateurish and detract from your messaging.
- Finalisation. Once you’ve made revisions based off the proofread, your manuscript is ready for reaching out to a publisher.
Outcome: A finalised manuscript ready for delivery to your publisher.
December
Goal: Prepare for publication
Tasks:
- Research publishing options (traditional versus self-publishing). The trick here is that if you have decided on the traditional publishing route you need to have started this process much earlier in the piece in order to have time to prepare your query letter or publisher proposal and other submission materials. You can read my article on traditional versus self-publishing to get some more insight on this issue.
- Choose your publishing option. If you choose self-publishing, choose your publisher – I often suggest BookPOD as their team are excellent at their jobs and very helpful to new authors. With self-publishing you’ll need to be prepared to write your author bio, your back cover blurb and your online retailer write up as well.
- Consider your marketing approach. You’ll also want to start considering your marketing approach. You’ll certainly need a website to sell your book, or at least a landing page on your current website. You might also want to consider how to set up socials (as an author perhaps) in order to spruik your book, as well as PR and other editorials that could help you get your book known and purchased. An expert can certainly help you here as well.
Outcome: A published and marketable book!
Getting Help
With this schedule you should be able to get your first draft written, the editing done and the book ready for publication. But if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, or you simply don’t want to write it yourself, a ghostwriter could be just what you need.
As a ghostwriter I can step in to help you get your thought leadership and expertise out of your head and onto the page. Just shout out, I’m happy to help!
And if you’re worried that your message isn’t worth sharing, remember that your story is valuable and your insights are sought after. You are the only one who has your unique perspective to share. So if you don’t do it, who will? Let’s get started!
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