Write Your Book in Under 30 Days: Perspectives and Priorities

You know what a good book is?

A done book.

That’s something all good books have in common. And unless you actually write and complete your book, you have nothing.

Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

So, your number one priority when writing a book is to finish the darn thing.

People in grad school say the same thing about Ph.D. dissertations and Master’s theses: A good one is a done one. The reason academics and students make this joke is the same reason it’s true when writing a book: These are all significant undertakings that many people start but not all complete. And at some point, you have to just push and get it done. It may not be perfect and you may no longer love your book, but you need it to be over.

Don’t get me wrong — every time I write a book, I am completely jazzed about the topic.

I am excited to share my analysis, the content, and my visions. But at some point, it’s a lot of work and you get tired.

This happens in grad school too.

One woman I went to grad school with took over a decade to complete her dissertation. The reason? She kept changing the subject when she got bored with it.

And she was not alone. I’ve seen countless men and women cut their degrees short because they got sick and tired of a subject that was their heart and soul. It was their passion, and they loved it deeply. But then the details and the grueling research and editorial process just killed the fun.

So, here’s a critical rule to remember:

When the fun in writing your book dies, the book dies too.

This is a key reason why it’s important to try and push to get a book done as quickly as possible. You want to be fun and exciting. The first few chapters will be adrenaline filled, and if you keep focused on your goal — a done book rather than a perfect book — you will have a greater chance of success.

Another key rule to remember:

Perfect is the enemy of done.

Your book doesn’t need to be Tolstoy or even Dan Brown.

But it does need to be yours. And most importantly, it needs to be done. I just can’t drive this home enough.

One of the ways I ensure that I get a book done before I get bored with it or end up hating it is by setting the page length of my books before I start.

This leads me to another critical rule:

Begin with the end in mind.

I’ll talk more about this in coming chapters. But the truth is that if you don’t have a vision for your book, you won’t get there. And you need a digestible, completable, reasonable goal when writing a book. Out of 25 books, there have only been five that I did not set the length of in advance. And those were my first five. 

Not coincidentally, some of those are also my three least favorite books.

In the first two, I honestly didn’t really know what I was doing. In the third one, I followed the lead of another publishing firm and team that set the cadence and influenced the format of the final product. It was perfectly respectable. But it’s not my favorite.

And in the fourth and fifth books, I was still cracking the code that I’ve shared in this book.

To make sure that I am happy with the outcome and that the book gets done, I target 180 pages for most of my books — including this one. It’s a number I can psychologically talk myself into.

And it’s a number of pages that I know more people are willing to read.

Think about it: How does reading a 400-page book sound? 

Let alone, how does writing a 400-page book sound?

I have read a gazillion (it’s a real number!) books. And let me tell you, if you hand me a 400-page book and it has small fonts, limited white space, and very few or no pictures, I am not going to read it.

Or at least I won’t read it enthusiastically.

And I would most certainly not have been interested in writing such a beast. After all, I only want to write books that have value and that people are going to read. But if I write some monster tome, it might be bought and go on people’s coffee tables, but they are unlikely to actually crack the spine and give it a read.

Yet this needs to be one of the critical goals you have in mind before you begin writing.

You need to write a book people will read.

As for all of the formatting content I’ve shared in this chapter, these nuggets of wisdom were harvested at no small cost. And out of all of the things I’ve learned in writing 25 books, the most important is:

There is a formula to getting a book done.

I discuss these topics in more details in the coming pages, but these should be your guiding perspectives and priorities as you write your book. And I’ll say it again here once more, that your most important priority should be to complete your book.

For this reason, allow me to offer one final caveat about how to overcome writer’s block. This is the nasty phenomenon that afflicts almost all writers at one time or another.

It’s what happens to me if I use the wrong software that makes the task of writing a book seem insurmountable.

I’m looking at you, Microsoft Word!

The truth is that writing a book is not that tough if you can stave off writer’s block. It’s all about the inner game behind the process. And I’ll share a lot more about this in the chapters ahead.

And one of the best ways to stave off writer’s block is to just write. I don’t mean write perfect prose. I mean just start writing anything at all.

If you get stuck, just type for five minutes nonstop. Don’t edit and don’t stop.

I know this may sound like crazy advice, but I read this decades ago in a book titled Writing Without Teachers. And it’s always served me well.

If you type nonstop for five minutes, you’ll have a lot of text. And while much of it may be useless, there could be some very useful nuggets in there. And if not? Well, try writing again nonstop for another five minutes.

Pushing through will help you get some content of value. It might not all be useful, but some of it will be. This is why my last piece of advice is:

If you get stuck writing, just write.

You need to maintain momentum to make sure your book gets done. Because your perspective should always be:

A good book is a done book.

Write the Future Course is Online Now

If you should feel you need more information and guidance on writing your book, I am excited to announce that The Futurist Institute has released a course titled Write the Future to help leaders write their books about the future to share their vision and build their brand.

Write the Future — Previous Articles

In case you are writing along this month with me, here are the articles I've shared so far to help you write your book in under 30 days:

• Writing Schedule on Day 1 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-write-your-book-under-30-days-writing-schedule-day-jason-schenker/
• Publication Schedule on Days 2 to 5 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-publication-schedule-2-5-jason-schenker/
• Identifying Your Audience — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-identifying-audience-jason-schenker/
• The Audience of One — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-audience-one-jason-schenker/
• The Secret Formula — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-write-your-book-under-30-days-secret-formula-jason-schenker/
• Picking a Book Cover and Title — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-picking-cover-title-jason-schenker/
• How Can a 30 Day Book Not be Junk? — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-how-can-day-junk-jason-schenker/
• Building a Team with a Hype Man — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-building-team-hype-man-jason-schenker/
• Outlining Your Book — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-outlining-jason-schenker/
• A Sample Book Outline — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-sample-outline-jason-schenker/
• Publication Schedule on Days 6 to 10 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-publication-schedule-6-10-schenker/
• You Will be Wrong — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-you-wrong-jason-schenker/
• Fonts, Font Size, and White Space — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-fonts-font-size-white-space-schenker

This article draws on content from Jason Schenker's book Write the Future, which was released on 24 June 2020.

Write the Future is online here: www.WriteTheFutureBook.com

Jason Schenker is one of the world's leading futurists. He is the Chairman of The Futurist Institute and the President of Prestige Economics.

He is also an instructor for LinkedIn Learning.

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