How I Wrote My First Book in Only 30 Minutes a Day

Writing a book is an incredible dream — and it can feel ridiculously overwhelming. You have a story to tell, but how do you get it out of your head and into a manuscript? Thousands of words don't happen overnight, and the actual writing is where most people give up.

Eating an elephant happens one bite at a time. I wrote my first book in 24 days, writing only 30 minutes a day — about 12 focused hours, total. Here is exactly how.

1. Give yourself a definite deadline

Without a deadline there is no reason to ever finish. With one, you can work backward: take your target word count, divide it by the number of writing sessions you'll have, and you've got your words-per-session number. Everything starts with the end date.

2. Make a clear, defined outline

Now that you know how much you need to write per session, you need to know what you'll write. Outline every chapter in detail. Print it. Post it where you'll see it constantly, so the next session's material is always turning over in the back of your mind before you sit down.

3. Set and protect focused writing times

Put the exact days and times on the calendar and make yourself genuinely unavailable. Find a babysitter if you need to. Go somewhere that inspires you. I woke up early and wrote for 30 minutes before anyone else in the house was awake, Monday through Friday, for about a month — and the manuscript was done. This is where the book gets written or doesn't.

4. Set a goal for every session

Every single session needs a target. If one session is longer than the others, give it a proportionally bigger word-count goal. Hitting a small, concrete number day after day is how an impossible project becomes inevitable.

5. Decide how you'll reward yourself

You're about to cross off a bucket-list item — plan the celebration before you start. Dinner out, a trip, whatever genuinely pulls you forward. Writing a book is no small feat; give yourself a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Writing a book isn't rocket science. It's telling the story that is in your heart, in scheduled, protected, goal-driven sessions, until it's done. In moments of overwhelm, come back to these five steps and figure out which one has slipped.

And when the manuscript is finished? The next step is getting it into readers' hands — from your own store, on your own terms. Read the complete guide to selling your book on Shopify, and join the Bookworthy launch list.