I'd appreciate any feedback on writing a guidebook. I'm not sure how many pages it needs to be. How long did it take you to write a guidebook? When did you find the time to write one? I guess I could create a schedule. Any suggestions? Thanks.
How long does it take to write a guidebook?
(4 posts) (4 voices)
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Hi Angela
I've seen quite a few guidebooks that range from only a couple of dozen pages to those that are hundreds of pages long, so I guess the answer depends on what the topic is - a city guidebook can be quite smaller than a country guidebook, and even that depends on the size of the city or the size of the country.
You might find it helpful to go to a bookstore and see what's on the shelf for other guidebooks that are either similar in structure to what you want to do, or cover the same destination - see how many pages they average, and how they're organized.
I know we have a couple of members who have published their own guidebooks, so hopefully one or two of them will chime in with some better advice!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I heard someone say if you write a page a day, your book will be completed within one year. Of course, if you are bitten by the "writing bug," you could finish earlier than that. It's up to you. Do you have a deadline? If you have a publisher, they definitely have a deadline for you. It's up to you. How fast do you want you want readers to have your book? If you're self-publishing, how fast can you come up with the money? Do you already have the money? You may want to consider these questions while you write your guidebook.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I think that the question how long it takes to write a book totally depends on the individual writing it. It's different for everyone.
I guess the best thing to do would be to simply start writing and see how it goes.Making a schedule could be a good idea, but if you're not normallly someone who makes schedules or is very structured, this might actually take more time to do and might put you off.
I wrote an architectural book about 19th century churches in York UK and while I was doing the research a sort of structured outlay of the book presented itself in my mind.Writing the above I now realise that the schedule you mention, Angela, is probably more about a daily schedule and not a outlay of the book...
My experience with that is that if you really want this book to be written, you have to devote all your time to it. Put all other things on hold if this book is your number one priority. If you don't do that, the book will never get there. At least, this is what I always do and it works for me.Posted 1 year ago #
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