Comments on: PLEASE DON’T Write a Book in 30 Days

By: Justin King

Justin King — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:29:31 +0000

18 months to write 90 minutes of comedy. It makes me rethink how much time I spend on 1 minute of anything.

How long did this podcast take you?

By: Patrick Lefler

Patrick Lefler — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:22:57 +0000

Steve,

Refreshing to hear the counter-argument to a common theme we hear daily that aspirations (and the latest 3-step process being hawked by today’s TV motivational guru) thump hard work. The difference between good and great is hard work…and in writing, part of that hard work is known as the editing process. Additionally, I suspect in your case, not only was it hard work, but it also probably wasn’t inherently enjoyable either.

I’m signed up for your speech workshop in March – can’t wait to meet you and the other attendees. I hope you bring the same passion to the workshop that you showed here…and I look forward to the hard work that will follow.

By: David

David — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:55:31 +0000

Hi, I live in Australia and I am just starting out towards my dream to become a professional speaker. Having searched the internet high and low for information, I have found it practically a full-time job to sift out the quality from the rubbish. Also I have gone back to study to further my knowledge in my area of interest and it takes me about a month to properly research, write, and review a university essay so I can’t imagine being able to write an entire book in that time.

By: Jay Herring

Jay Herring — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:45:32 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. It took me 4.5 years to write mine and it was a lot of work. A tremendous amount of work.

You know those projects around the house where it takes five times as long as you thought it would? That’s what writing a book was like for me. It took way longer than I thought it would.

Great post and again, I couldn’t agree more.

By: Wilmer

Wilmer — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:29:09 +0000

This is a very true blog post. I’m friends with the owner of a publishing company in PA. We also have several friends who work for the same company including the person in charge of acquisitions who happens to be the god-mother of my children. If you are going to publish a real book with solid information, the whole process is at least a year, probably two. From the time you write it until you’re holding it in your hand is two years. My wife is a published children’s author and it was still a year for her. What’s the quality of these books being written and published so fast? Makes me wonder. Good info Steve.

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:06:12 +0000

Steve, Thanks for the incredibly direct, no-holds barred post. So many people are going into these deals knowing it can’t be real, but hoping the magic dust actually works. As one of my senior enlisted men once told me “Sir, if you put out your hands and wish in one and s*&t in the other, which one fills up first?” Blunt and direct and I’ve never forgotten that advice. Unfortunately, I haven’t always heeded that advice. Thanks for saying the things that others in the industry won’t say. Regards, Peter