6 Ways to Write a Novel in 6 Months

Today’s blog post comes to us from Author Accelerator CEO Jennie Nash. If you enjoy today’s content, you can sign up for Jennie's weekly newsletter here.

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I often refer to myself as an evangelist for book coaching.

I believe that working 1:1 with a professional coach who is dedicated to helping you bring your book to life is the best way to learn how to write a book. I think it’s better than struggling in the dark to figure out everything on your own. I think it’s better than investing in an MFA program, which is not designed to support book writers. I think it’s better than hopping from course to course to learn bits and pieces of what it takes. I also believe that book coaching gives you a huge advantage in the pursuit of excellence.

A book coach holds your feet to the fire to get the work done.

Then we hold a mirror up to the work so that you can see what is on the page and what needs to be done to refine, revise, and improve it.

I have recently been working with a book coach myself (Author Accelerator certified coach Barbara Boyd) to finish Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book: Plan and Pitch Your Big Idea, which is close to being finished. The process is so uplifting and clarifying and satisfying — even when it’s really hard. And this one has been really hard. Thank goodness for Barbara!

As I have been working through this process, I have been thinking about what it takes to draft a novel in six months. Here is my list:

1. Envision the outcome

   Imagine that your book is published. Picture the cover and what it feels like in your hands. Picture your book on the bookshelf in your favorite bookstore and a crowd of people who have come to hear you read from the pages and discuss the story. Let yourself feel those feelings and promise yourself you will make it happen. The only books that get published are the ones that get finished.

2. Decide what you will say no to

   You have to make time to do the work, which usually means giving something up like sleep, or a pristinely clean house, or time with your family and friends, or your favorite Netflix show, or cooking — or maybe all of the above at various times.

   The idea of setting aside blocks of time for deep work is appealing and scientifically proven to be the most effective, but in real life, most people don’t get blocks of time like that. You may have to beg, borrow, and steal the time you need to write. That means having to say no to some of the things you are currently doing. What are you willing to let go so that you can write this book?

3. Think before you write

   "If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe." —Abraham Lincoln

   If you have six months to draft a book, spend two of them thinking about what you will write. The kind of thinking you need to do is not dreaming, but strategically planning both the inside and the outside of the story.

   We have a process to help with this called Blueprint for a Book. 

   • You can buy a book about it HERE.

   • You can take a self-study course on the key component of the Blueprint, called the Inside Outline, HERE.

   • You can sign up to be matched with one of our certified book coaches to get feedback on your Blueprint HERE. The money you spend at this stage of the process will be an enormously effective investment.

4. Make a viable plan to get the writing done

   You might write like clockwork for 30 minutes every day at the same time, or you might write for an hour on Wednesday, two on Saturday, and 15 minutes on Monday when you are waiting in the carpool line. How you get there is not important; do what works for you. If you feel like nothing works for you, read Atomic Habits by James Clear.

   “You have the power to change your beliefs about yourself. Your identity is not set in stone. You have a choice in every moment. You can choose the identity you want to reinforce today with the habits you chose today. And this brings us to the deeper purpose of this book and the real reason habits matter.” —James Clear

5. Make yourself accountable to one person

   I heard novelist Nancy Johnson, whose debut novel The Kindest Lie got all kinds of crazy good attention, attribute her success to an accountability partner, whom she would call at the same time every night (after a full day at a full-time job) to declare the goal for the evening, and they’d hold each other in check. This is beautiful.

   I also recently spoke to my niece, who does scholarly writing, who swears by an app called FocusMate. You log in and declare to a stranger what your goal is for a 50-minute session and they declare their goal to you, and you do the work in silence. At first, I thought this was weird, but then I realized — no: this is just excellent accountability.

   Accountability is what a book coach provides. You owe us pages and you are paying us to receive them — and to give you feedback and support, and be in the creative process with you when the going gets tough. Paying someone is a great motivator.

6. Finish the book

   If you want to be in the bookstore, making an impact and being part of the conversation, you have to do the work. You have to persist. It is as simple and as hard as that.