I want to
Write a book
Everyone who finished one had a boring system underneath the romantic idea.
Whatever you're trying to become, someone has walked it
50 lived experiences in the library21
first-time authors
9
self-publishers
6
ghostwriters
14
newsletter writers
The patterns underneath
94%
wrote on a fixed schedule, not on inspiration
2.1
average number of abandoned drafts before the finished one
18 mo
median first draft to published
Common first steps
Sequenced the way they usually happened, not the way advice lists them.
- 01Write 500 words before the day starts
- 02Publish short pieces to find the voice
- 03Draft a one-page premise you can say out loud
- 04Finish an ugly complete draft before editing
- 05Find five readers who will be honest
- 06Decide traditional vs. self before revision two
Read exactly how they did it
Wrote and published a book while working full time
A nonfiction book about urban transit, written in 45-minute mornings before an 8am shift.
Turned a layoff into a 10,000-subscriber newsletter
Laid off from a metro desk after eleven years, she started emailing her old readers directly and rebuilt a living one issue at a time.
Left corporate marketing to open a ceramics studio
Started with a $2,000 wheel in her garage and now runs a 2,000 sq ft studio with classes, memberships, and a retail shop.
Turned a podcast into a small media company
Started recording voice notes about Black British history in her kitchen and now runs a team of five with a newsletter, events, and sponsorships.