David Allen, king of the Getting Things Done movement said this:
“What you’ll tend to avoid doing is probably the most important thing you need to do, because it’ll probably be the most daunting and the most potentially successful thing you could be doing.”
It’s easy to view yourself as an ‘expert’ once everyone else does. You get asked to speak on certain topics, requested for input into articles, and invited to sit on panels – for me that’s being a copywriter, a content coach, a marketing coach. You could be forgiven for thinking to yourself: I’ve got this. I reckon I know my stuff – (finally!).
And then suddenly you realise a couple years have gone by and you haven’t really done much ‘professional development’ or learnt anything super new in your specific field of expertise. Or along the way you’ve diversified, and the thing you’re known for is only one small string to your now blossoming bow.
Book writing is a big deal. It’s no simple undertaking. The first question I get asked when someone is considering using my help for their book writing project is ‘how many words should my book contain?’
My answer is always: ‘How long is a piece of string…?’
No, really…how long is it?
I know that doesn’t help you AT ALL, and sounds like the kind of smartypants answer that would have gotten me in trouble at the dinner table, but it’s true. Your book needs to contain as many words as it takes to cover off your topic properly, without repetition and without gaping holes in the knowledge.
I get asked the ‘how many words’ question almost immediately people engage with me about writing their book. And it’s normal to wonder. I get it. Because a book writing project is a big thing. There are a LOT more words in a book than in anything else you’ve probably ever written (unless you were one of those crazy smart people who sat down and wrote a PhD.!) And the prospect of writing a whole heap of words can be daunting. It’s time-consuming, you’re wondering whether you actually know ‘enough’ and you’re hoping like heck that I’m not going to charge you for editing ‘by the word count’!
It’s just as frustrating for me as it is for you that there is no perfect answer to this million dollar book writing question.