Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
When you want to start your writing career, you probably want to get books published as quickly as possible. But how realistic is it to write a book and publish it within 60 days? Today, I’ll go over some of the important elements you’ll need to consider.
Because it’s not enough to just write a book and get it published. Well, at least write a good book that people will want to read.
That’s the gist of it, really. Can you publish a book that engages your target audience within a two-month window?
What’s Involved to Write and Publish a Book in 60 Days?
I was prompted to write this post and make the video because I saw someone psyching up his audience with a 60-day publishing plan. And it kind of sat wrong with me a bit.
A lot of things go into getting your book published. Then again, it really depends on how you’re going about publishing the book. For example, the steps are significantly different if you self-publish as opposed to a more traditional path.
Not to mention if you’re going the route of publishing low-content books instead. Those can be published in an extremely short amount of time. But that’s a tale for another day.
Today, I’m focusing more on the self-publishing aspect of writing an actual book.
Having an Idea
First, you need an idea for your book. But it has to be one that is relevant for the target audience. In other words, you need to write something someone wants to read.
Literally, anyone can slap words on a hundred pages or so and publish it on Amazon. The company makes it quite simple to get your book online for an audience.
But if you don’t have a good storyline or are able to write in a way that engages the readers, your book is going to perform poorly.
It takes more than keyword research and identifying popular niches to write a good book.
The Length and Purpose of the Book
The type of story you plan to tell and the length of your book are going to be vital factors to write a book in 60 days. Shorter stories such as novellas are surely going to be easier to write and edit.
But if you plan on writing a 90,000-word horror novel, you also need to plan how long it’s going to take for editors and beta readers to go over your manuscript.
The longer your book is, the more time it will take to polish it up. And you don’t want to self-publish something that isn’t ready for the general audience. Because it is exceptionally difficult to dig yourself out of a hole when your reputation as a good author gets tanked.
Finding Quality Beta Readers
Beta readers can help you fine-tune the manuscript by identifying areas that are confusing or perhaps bringing attention to a section that has continuity issues. They perform much like how the movie industry brings in a test audience for films.
Some may help with grammar problems while others will simply give you their opinion of the storyline and character arcs.
If you plan to use beta readers, you will need to take them into consideration when trying to push a 60-day publishing window. Some may read the book wicked fast, while others take their time to enjoy the story.
The Editing Process
Aside from writing, the editing process is one of the most time-consuming elements of self-publishing a book. The time it takes a good editor to go over your manuscript also depends on its length.
Even if you plan do to this part yourself, which I did with A Freelancer’s Tale, it’s still going to take you a great deal of effort. Even if you have a friend editing while feeding it through something like Grammarly, it’s still going to take time.
Especially if you want to produce a good book.
In reality, though, no writer should edit his or her own manuscript. But when you don’t have the cash to hire someone, you gotta make do with what you’ve got.
Where Is the Book Being Published?
Knowing where you’re publishing the book is something else you need to consider. Take Amazon, for example. Technically, it can take up to 72 hours before your submitted manuscript is ready for purchase.
That’s three days maximum taken away from the 60 days you plan to use to write and publish the book.
Now, if you plan on just selling the eBook version on your website, you can get it up on the Internet in the time it takes to upload the file. But it’s a good idea to use as many publishing sources as you can find.
What about printed copies? How long with it take print-on-demand services to have your paperback and hardcovers ready?
Formatting the Book for Distribution
Once the book is edited, you’ll need some time to format it for distribution. The file you’re reading from your favorite word processor isn’t the layout you’ll want for a published novel.
Book formatting tools help you align chapter headers, fix font sizes, adjust sentence spacing, add book numbers, and a slew of other features you’ll find in most novels.
Getting everything just right for the eBook and printed versions can be time-consuming. But if you don’t format the file, it could look horrible on eReaders or in print.
The Book’s Cover
Plan on making the cover of your book yourself, or do you plan to hire a designer? Either way, it could take several days to get exactly what you want.
People do and will judge a book by its cover. And if you don’t have something that is pleasing to the eyes while being relevant to the story, the book has a reduced chance of succeeding.
Even using tools like Canva to create the cover, it could still take a bit of time to get the visual appeal to attract an audience.
Can I Write and Publish a Book in 60 Days?
The main factor for writing and publishing a good book is time. As I said, anyone can whip out a story and get it published in relatively short order. But there’s no guarantee that the book will be any good.
Creating a quality novel requires a great deal of effort. Everything from scrutinizing your rough draft to choosing an amazing cover isn’t something that just happens overnight.
Given my time constraints and the sheer amount of stuff I do on any given day, I would have to say that I don’t think I can write and publish a book in 60 days.
This is because I am quite meticulous when it comes to my manuscripts. I can’t just whip something out and cross my fingers. I would rather spend the time to make sure it’s a quality read before publishing.
Now, this doesn’t mean I’ll spend a year editing my story. There comes a time when you just have to put it out there. But I’m not going to do it for the sake of getting as many books on Amazon as possible to make that “mad Amazon money.”
I prefer quality over quantity.
However, I do love challenges. Perhaps after I finish my next book and rewrite VII, I’ll do a case study to see if I can produce something of quality within 60 days.
It’s Possible to Write and Publish a Book in 60 Days, But…
Rushing a book doesn’t mean it’s going to be any good. And that’s the key factor if you really want to make a career out of being an author. Trying to cram all you can in two months greatly affects the outcome.
Especially if you’re writing a fairly long and intricate storyline.
While it is certainly possible to write a good book and publish it in 60 days, a lot of things would have to align perfectly. And it all starts with how long your manuscript is in the first place.
- An Evening with Gary Kidney on After Hours - April 7, 2025
- Fixing a Dead Blog: March 2025 – A Bit More Growth - April 5, 2025
- Master the Art of Writing: 19 Expert Tips to Help New Authors - March 31, 2025