How long does it take to write a book?

Six months to five years for a first book, and the variable is almost never talent — it is whether the structure was settled early and whether the writing happens on a schedule.

How many words is a book?

70,000–90,000 for most adult fiction and non-fiction. Memoir 60,000–90,000. Children's picture books 500–1,000. Poetry collections 40–70 poems.

Should I write in order?

Not necessarily, and for memoir usually not. Write the parts you can see most clearly first — they teach you what the book is about. Order them afterwards.

Do I need to plan first?

Some people can't plan and stall when made to; some can't start without one. What is not optional is that the structure gets settled at some point — either before the draft or in revision.

Can I write a book if I'm not a writer?

Most people who write books are not writers. What is required is having something to say and finishing, and finishing is a process problem rather than a talent one.

Every kind of book asks for something different. A memoir needs a question, not a chronology. A business book needs an argument, not nine chapters of anecdote. A picture book needs a page turn. Start with the guide for what you are actually writing, because generic advice about 'writing a book' is the reason so many stall.

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Whatever kind of book you're writing

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Ten minutes that will tell you what your book is

The Book Coach is free at yourbook.pro/book-coach, no account. We'll also email you the shaping worksheet, so you can do it on paper if you'd rather.

Or see how it works first

The three things every book needs, whatever kind it is

A question the book is answering. Not a subject — a question. What my mother's life was like is a subject. Why she never went back is a question, and it will tell you what to leave out, which is the harder half of writing.

A structure where each part changes something. Whether that is a plot, an argument or a life, the test is the same: take a chapter out, and do the ones after it still work? If yes, it was not doing anything.

A finished bad draft. Almost every unfinished book was being written correctly. The books that get finished were written badly first and fixed afterwards.

Everything else — voice, structure, chapter length, whether you type or speak — is genre-specific, and that is what the guides below are for.

However you write is fine

Most authors type. Some speak. Many do both, and use different modes for different chapters — typing for the routine ones, talking for the hard ones, because a difficult chapter is very often easier said aloud than typed at a blank screen.

And a great many people arrive with a book already partly written somewhere else: a folder of notes, half a draft in Word, eleven Google Docs, a Scrivener project, forty voice memos, a decade of blog posts.

All of it is a starting point. None of it is the wrong starting point, and none of it requires beginning again.

What it costs to finish

Done entirely with professionals, a full-length book runs roughly £2,500–£6,000 from finished draft to published: developmental edit, copy-edit, proofread, cover, blurb.

Each genre guide carries the specific breakdown for that kind of book, sourced to CIEP suggested minimum rates and Reedsy's published averages, dated and flagged.

We put the real numbers up because the alternative is discovering them at the end.

What Your Book Pro is

Your Book Pro is a British book-writing platform. You bring a book — an idea, a folder of notes, half a draft, or a finished manuscript written somewhere else — and it gives you the editorial process a publisher would run: a plan, structured feedback, a simulated beta read, a line edit, a proofread, a cover, a blurb and a print-ready file. You can type it, upload it or speak it. The tools sit in one place and work on the same manuscript, so the feedback compounds instead of arriving as twelve disconnected opinions.

Where to start depends on where you are.

No draft, and not sure what the book is: the Book Coach is free at yourbook.pro/book-coach, with no account. Ten minutes of the right questions gets most people to a premise they can say aloud.

A plan you're unsure about: Plan Feedback tests the structure before you write eighty thousand words into it.

Something already written, anywhere: upload it. Plus lets you bring a manuscript from Word, Google Docs, Scrivener or a stack of files, run whichever tools you need, and export it again. 1,000 non-expiring welcome credits on every account, and a plain export of your own words free forever.

By what you're writing

How to write a memoir — how to write a memoir
How to write a leadership book — how to write a leadership book
How to write a non-fiction book — how to write a non-fiction book
How to write a novel — how to write a novel
How to write a children's book — how to write a children's book
How to write a travel book — how to write a travel book
How to write poetry, and how to build a collection — how to write poetry
How to write a screenplay — how to write a screenplay
How to write a textbook — how to write a textbook
How to write a graphic novel — how to write a graphic novel
How to write a business book — how to write a business book
How to write a poetry collection — how to write a poetry collection
How to write a script — how to write a script

Going deeper — specific kinds of book

How to write a economics textbook — how to write a economics textbook
How to write a physics textbook — how to write a physics textbook
How to write a chemistry textbook — how to write a chemistry textbook
How to write a biology textbook — how to write a biology textbook
How to write a mathematics textbook — how to write a mathematics textbook
How to write a computing textbook — how to write a computing textbook
How to write a history textbook — how to write a history textbook
How to write a geography textbook — how to write a geography textbook
How to write a english textbook — how to write a english textbook
How to write a psychology textbook — how to write a psychology textbook
How to write a law textbook — how to write a law textbook
How to write a leadership textbook — how to write a leadership textbook
How to write a medicine textbook — how to write a medicine textbook
How to write a philosophy textbook — how to write a philosophy textbook
How to write a sociology textbook — how to write a sociology textbook
How to write a science fiction novel — how to write science fiction
How to write a fantasy novel — how to write fantasy
How to write a mystery crime novel — how to write mystery crime
How to write a romance novel — how to write romance
How to write a historical novel — how to write historical
How to write a horror novel — how to write horror
How to write a literary novel — how to write literary
How to write a young adult novel — how to write young adult
How to write a science non-fiction book — how to write a book about science
How to write a history non-fiction book — how to write a book about history
How to write a economics non-fiction book — how to write a book about economics
How to write a psychology non-fiction book — how to write a book about psychology
How to write a nature non-fiction book — how to write a book about nature
How to write a stage play — how to write a stage play
How to write a screenplay (film) — how to write a screenplay (film)
How to write a teleplay / tv pilot — how to write a teleplay / tv pilot
How to write a audio / radio drama — how to write a audio / radio drama
How to write a short film / short play — how to write a short film / short play
How to write a monologue / solo show — how to write a monologue / solo show
How to write a musical book / libretto — how to write a musical book / libretto
How to write a shakespearean / verse drama — how to write a shakespearean / verse drama

However you write

Writing a book by typing, with the editorial part done properly — best software for writing a book
Writing a book by talking — how to dictate a book
Type some chapters, speak the others — dictate and type a book
Writing a book on your phone — writing a book on your phone
Book writing software compared, honestly — book writing software comparison
Turning voice notes into a manuscript — voice notes to book

Try the Book Coach — free, no account

Upload what you've already written

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Questions people ask

How long does it take to write a book?: Six months to five years for a first book, and the variable is almost never talent — it is whether the structure was settled early and whether the writing happens on a schedule.
How many words is a book?: 70,000–90,000 for most adult fiction and non-fiction. Memoir 60,000–90,000. Children's picture books 500–1,000. Poetry collections 40–70 poems.
Should I write in order?: Not necessarily, and for memoir usually not. Write the parts you can see most clearly first — they teach you what the book is about. Order them afterwards.
Do I need to plan first?: Some people can't plan and stall when made to; some can't start without one. What is not optional is that the structure gets settled at some point — either before the draft or in revision.
Can I write a book if I'm not a writer?: Most people who write books are not writers. What is required is having something to say and finishing, and finishing is a process problem rather than a talent one.