"I wrote a book in nine months while working full time. Here's how."

In late 2019, I decided to write a book. It was the hardest bloody year of my life.

Well. Without getting too woo-woo about it, a book decided that it would be written, and in a way I felt like I had no choice in the matter. 

I had a compulsion more than anything, and so I went to a publisher with an idea, and it turns out they liked it. And then came the contract. And then came the deadline.

Listen to Jessie speak about her book Heartsick on Mamamia Out Loud. Post continues below.

Nine months. 80,000 words. That’s roughly 300-ish pages.

I’d never attempted a project of this scale before in my life. While I write everyday as part of my job at Mamamia, I write in a tone specific to digital media. This would be very different. I knew what I wanted this project to look and feel like, but had absolutely no roadmap of how I might get there. 

I am going to butcher this analogy, but I’ve heard creativity described as seeing an idea very clearly in your head, and then your job is to nail it to a wall. As it tries to fly away. And when you nail it down, it never looks quite how you imagined it. But at least it’s there - something tangible to show for your creative pursuit. 

So how would I nail it down? I’ve always struggled with self-discipline. I am very, very good at relaxing. I procrastinate and never stick to a timetable and live with dreadful anxiety that can make me avoid things I find uncomfortable. At any moment, I would much prefer to watch Netflix or scroll through Instagram than write a bloody book. 

But in 2020, I had no choice. This book was being delivered on September 1, whether it was any good or not. And so, alongside writing a book, I embarked on a journey called How The Hell Do I Even Write A Book, which involved reading a lot, trying different strategies and crying myself to sleep. More than once. The last part wasn’t especially helpful. 

Anyway. Here’s the advice I wish I stumbled upon a year ago.

1. Nothing happens without a plan. (Make deadlines. Stick to them.)

I hate plans. They’re boring and predictable and in the back of my mind I always thought: Maybe I’ll just have a super productive weekend where I accidentally pump out a book. That weekend, unsurprisingly, never happened. 

So I opened up an excel spreadsheet, which I still don’t fully understand how to use. I worked out how many words I needed to write every week, and then every month. 

I divided the book up into three main parts and gave myself two months to work on each of them. And then there was a prologue, and an epilogue, and I wanted to give myself time to edit at the end. 

Did I stick to every deadline? No. Sometimes, my plan needed some reshuffling. New problems emerged, I got the flu… things you can’t predict. But I had a picture in my head of how I needed to approach this task in order to get it done, and it never would have been completed without that ugly spreadsheet. 

2. Learn as you write. (How do I do X? What does this place look like? Is this tense right? Accept that as part of the process and don’t call yourself an idiot.)

No matter the project, anyone can get stuck in the planning process. It’s in that blissful period you get the luxury of imagining that your work might be perfect, and it’s only when you start the ‘doing’ you realise it most definitely won’t be. 

Don’t forget that once you start, you’ll keep learning. Whether that’s researching more about a particular subject, asking more questions, reading books about how to write, reading great books through the lens of how do I do this or getting feedback. 

Don’t let yourself feel like an idiot. I’d panic that I didn’t know how to write dialogue or formulate a sentence properly. But you learn. And then keep going. 

3. Measure productivity in terms of minutes spent in front of a computer. Not word count.

This might be a controversial point, but it worked for me. 

Word count can be misleading. Sometimes you might want to get as many words on a page as possible and that can be a great thing. But progress is really measured in hours spent solving problems. Not just words.

Some days I’d spend hours in front of a computer and end up with less words. But that was enormously productive, because they were words that needed to go. 

4. Productivity doesn’t just look like typing madly. Thinking is also productive.

One of the biggest mistakes we can make with writing is not doing enough thinking as we go. Staring off into the distance is where the best work is often done. 

If I got stuck (I got stuck… a lot) standing up and getting a glass of water, or making lunch, or having a shower, or wandering around the block, almost always got me out of it. 

5. All a book is, is a series of scenes. 

I read this somewhere. Maybe Stephen King. Or Sally Hepworth. But I found it very calming. 

A book is just a word, followed by another word, which makes up a scene. And then you write another scene. And another. 

When you’re planning, set out your scenes. That’s it. 

Listen: Sally Hepworth talks to Mia Freedman in Lady Startup Stories. Post continues below.

6. Oh. And thousands of problems. All that need to be solved.

I read a tweet today that said: “Writing a novel is just spending years of your life trying to solve a series of problems that you created for yourself.” 

So. Accurate. 

My book wasn’t a novel, it was narrative non-fiction, but every sentence posed a new problem. For example: ‘This subject is coming across quite confident. But they’re not confident. How do I fix that?’ Or: ‘I need to convey that the relationship is going well, but that’s boring. How do I make the development of a relationship interesting?’

In other words, a book is just a series of questions that need answering.  

7. No one is in love with what they’re writing. If they are, they’re a narcissist. 

If you hate what you’re writing, congratulations. You’re in touch with reality. 

I’m not sure there was ever a moment as I was writing that I thought, “brilliant”. The experience was so laced with self-loathing that at times I found it unbearable. Speaking to other writers, this is very normal. 

Just remember that in order to finish a book, you don’t have to love it. Just… do it. 

It’s not as simple as “you’re your own worst critic”. Sometimes you’re seeing or feeling things that actually aren’t there. You’re too close to it. Make the work as technically good as you can, and then trust your editors. Readers will find things in your work you didn’t even intend on putting in there, and appreciate lines you hated. 

8. The worst part about writing a book is when you’re not actually writing the book.

This line of advice came courtesy of Mia Freedman and it’s the truest thing I’ve ever heard. 

The worst part are the dinners out with friends where you’re plagued with guilt, or the days at work where your internal monologue is shouting at you that you should be writing. There was not one moment in those nine months - not even when I was sleeping - that I wasn’t convinced I ought to be writing. 

9. You can’t write and edit at once. 

This is my worst habit as a writer and one that leads to serious writer’s block. Your hands start moving on the keyboard, but your editor chimes in and yells YOU JUST USED THAT WORD and THAT’S A CLICHE and IT’S TIME FOR A SHORT SENTENCE BECAUSE YOUR SENTENCES ARE ALL BECOMING TOO LONG. 

You cannot ever get into a state of flow if you’re constantly editing. It’s a different skill for a different time. 

So some days, make it your focus to write. If that’s not coming easily, then maybe move on to editing. Don’t confuse the two.

10. I read two good books about writing. On Writing by Stephen King, and The Art of Creative Non Fiction by Lee Gutkind. 

If you’re interested, read lots of books about writing. I found them helpful, in terms of both process and technical skill. 

I learned that virtually no writer spends eight hours in front of their computer, writing all day. It’s impossible. Most write for a while in the morning, take regular breaks, and maybe edit later on. 

The other recommendation I have is a Ted Talk by Jane Harper called ‘Creativity in Your Control’, all about how she writes her bestselling books. 

I wish there was a secret to writing a book in nine months, but really it was just a lot of time, with my fingers on the keys, writing one word and then another. Most of them weren’t any good, and would be edited or rearranged in the editing process. But, as Mia Freedman always says, you can’t edit a blank page. 

So you write, and write, and write.

And one day you wake up and there’s a bound book sitting on your desk, and you can’t quite believe you did it.

Feature image: Instagram - @jessiestephens90