Free tool: How long would your book take, how big is it, and should you hire a ghostwriter or write it yourself? The Book Planner answers all three.
The fastest book I’ve written was an 80,000-word communications book, finished in three months.
It was also the largest project of my career. The client wanted it fast, and I quoted a higher rate and a larger down payment, because for those three months he was my only client, or one of two, and that’s a risk. He accepted without argument.
Many of my books are written to a hard date. Right now I’m writing one for a birthday. Past books have landed for conferences, industry events and a startup’s soft launch. Every one of those projects taught the same lesson: the writing is rarely the bottleneck. The calendar is, and most of the calendar belongs to the author.
Can a ghostwriter write a book in three months?
Yes, under the right conditions. Three months is fast, and it’s doable for a focused book of moderate length when the author is available every week, answers questions quickly and already has most of the material in their head or in documents.
It stops being realistic when the book needs heavy research, when the author travels constantly or disappears for weeks at a time, when there are several decision-makers who all want to review every chapter, or when the author hasn’t settled what the book is about. Any one of those can double the timeline. My article on how long ghostwriting takes covers the normal range in detail, and six to twelve months is common for a full book.
What does a 90-day ghostwritten book take from me?
More than most authors expect. A fast book runs on the author’s availability, and any ghostwriter who promises you ninety days without asking about your calendar is telling you what you want to hear.
Expect interviews every week, and twice a week in the first month. That adds up to several hours of your time each week. Drafts need a read within a few days, with clear feedback the first time, and decisions about the title, the stories and the cuts need to come fast. Protect that time on your calendar the way you’d protect a board meeting, because the moment it slips, the schedule slips with it.
You’ll also need to hand over material early. Speeches, articles, slide decks, podcast recordings, case studies and anything else that already captures your thinking can shorten the interview phase considerably.
What does a three-month ghostwriting schedule look like?
Every book is different, but a realistic ninety-day plan for a focused business book runs roughly like this:
- ► Weeks one and two: a strategy session to settle the audience, the promise and the outline, plus the first interviews and a handoff of every speech, article, deck and recording you already have.
- ► Weeks three through six: two interviews a week, with the ghostwriter drafting chapters as the material comes in and sending the first one early so voice problems surface right away.
- ► Weeks seven through ten: the remaining interviews, the rest of the draft, and your review of each chapter within a few days of receiving it.
- ► Weeks eleven and twelve: revisions on the full manuscript, a final read-through by you, and handoff to editing.
Editing, proofreading, design and printing come after that, so the calendar for a physical book runs longer than ninety days even when the writing doesn’t. If your date is fixed, add those weeks to the front of the plan.
| Weeks | What happens | Your part |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks one and two | Strategy session on audience, promise and outline; first interviews | Hand over every speech, article, deck and recording you have |
| Weeks three to six | Two interviews a week; chapters drafted as material comes in | Read the first chapter, sent early so voice problems surface |
| Weeks seven to ten | Remaining interviews and the rest of the draft | Review each chapter within a few days of receiving it |
| Weeks eleven and twelve | Revisions on the full manuscript, then handoff to editing | Do a final read-through of the manuscript |
| After the writing | Editing, proofreading, design and printing | Add these weeks to the front of a fixed-date plan |
Why do ghostwriting deadlines slip?
Almost never because the ghostwriter can’t type fast enough. Deadlines slip because of the author’s calendar, and I’ve watched it happen enough times to say so without meaning it as criticism. Executives and founders are busy, and a book is easy to push back one more week when a customer is on the phone.
The usual culprits are canceled interviews, drafts that sit unread for two or three weeks, new people brought into the review process halfway through, and a scope that grows every time the author remembers another story. Each one feels small in the moment. Together they turn a three-month book into a nine-month book.
A good ghostwriter will tell you when the schedule is at risk, early and without drama.
Put the interviews back on the calendar, set a firm turnaround for reviews, and hold the line on scope. If you know your calendar is unpredictable, say so before you set a deadline. A ghostwriter can plan around a busy author, but not around a surprise.
Does a faster ghostwritten book cost more?
It can. A compressed schedule means the ghostwriter sets aside other work to give your book priority, and some ghostwriters charge a rush premium for that.
A ghostwriter can plan around a busy author, but not around a surprise.
Others build it into a higher project fee, or decline rush projects entirely when their calendar is already full. I respect the ones who decline. A writer who squeezes your rush job onto a full calendar is going to shortchange somebody, and it may be you.
I charge a rush rate, for the reason I gave at the top: a rush book takes over the calendar, and the rate and down payment reflect that risk.
Ask about it directly before you sign, and get the schedule in the contract along with what happens if the author side causes delays. A rush fee paid to a ghostwriter who then waits two weeks for your feedback buys you nothing.
Can a ghostwriter finish my book before a conference, launch or retirement?
Yes, if you plan backward from the date and start early enough. Start with the date the finished books need to be in your hands, then work backward through every step: printing and shipping, proofreading and corrections, formatting and cover design, editing, and finally the writing and interviews. A book needed at a September conference needs its manuscript finished by midsummer. For most authors, the interviews have to start in the spring.
Work backward from the date books must be in hand, through printing, proofing, design and editing, to the interviews.
Be honest about the date. A hard, public deadline like a keynote or a launch event is worth building the whole plan around. A soft one like “I’d like it by the end of the year” gives everyone room to do better work.
What gets cut when a ghostwritten book is rushed?
Length, first. The fastest way to meet a deadline is a shorter book. (See the free Book Planner) A tight, focused forty-thousand-word book written in three months serves most business authors better than a sprawling eighty-thousand-word book rushed to the same date.
After length, scope. A rushed book skips the side topics, the extra research and the chapters that were nice to have. I think most books improve from that cut, because a deadline forces the author to say what the book is for, and plenty of slow books never get there.
What shouldn’t be cut is editing and proofreading. Skipping them to save two weeks is how books go to print with embarrassing errors that live on every copy. Build that time into the plan from the start.
Is a rushed ghostwritten book worse?
It doesn’t have to be. Rushed books go wrong when the plan is unrealistic, the author is unavailable or the scope keeps growing. A fast book with a tight scope, a committed author and a clear deadline can be every bit as good as a slow one, and sometimes better, because nobody has time to overthink it.
The warning sign is a timeline that assumes everything will go perfectly. Illness, travel, a business crisis or a family emergency will happen to someone involved. A plan with no slack in it was built to win the sale, and I’d walk away from any writer who hands you one.
Can I publish my ghostwritten book in three months too?
Writing in three months and publishing in three months are different promises.
Once the manuscript is done, publishing adds its own steps: editing, proofreading, cover design, interior formatting, printing, and setting up distribution. Self-publishing can move within weeks once the manuscript is final. Traditional publishing takes a year or more after a publisher accepts the book.
If your deadline is a physical book in hand, count the publishing steps in your plan. My article on what happens after the manuscript walks through them.
My take
Three months is possible if you show up every week and make decisions fast. Most books take six to twelve, and the author’s calendar sets the pace. Plan backward from the deadline, keep the book shorter, and leave room for illness and travel. Don’t let anyone cut editing and proofreading to save two weeks. And walk away from a writer whose schedule has no slack in it. That plan was built to win the sale.
What should you do the day you set a book deadline?
Count backward from the date the books must be in your hands, through printing, proofreading, formatting, design and editing, and see how much time is left for writing.
Block the interviews on your calendar that day, the way you’d block a board meeting. Gather every speech, article and deck you already have. Then decide how short the book can be and still do its job.
If the numbers don’t work, move the date or shrink the book, and don’t let anyone talk you into cutting the editing to make up the difference. I’d much prefer to deliver a shorter book on time than a long one that embarrasses you in front of the audience you wrote it for. The Book Discovery Intensive is a fast way to settle scope and schedule, and my ghostwriting services cover rush projects, with the rate and down payment set to match.
Speed depends on scope, material and how fast you decide. The Ghostwriting Advantage explains how to get your book written for you, so you can set a schedule that holds.
