Author Dilemmas: How Long Does It Take to Publish a Book?

Some people spend their whole lives writing one masterpiece, while others pump out book after book in rapid succession. Fiction or non-fiction, print or e-book—the time it takes to write is incredibly subjective, so that’s something that can’t be standardized. What you can do is build an estimate from analyzing these publishing world’s stats. So how long does it take to publish a book? To understand that, here’s how to structure your timeline.

Traditional Publishing

Everyone knows how hard it is to publish traditionally. Perseverance is the name of the game. For those rejected, try again next time. As for those who make it? Wait 2 years! Getting your work read by publishers is a struggle, especially if you don’t go through a literary agent. It’s not unusual for 6 months to pass and you’re still waiting for a response. If the publisher replies with interest on your first few chapters, you send the rest of your manuscript. This official reading phase, along with the legal preliminaries like contracts soon after, will each take a minimum of 2 months. Then, there’s the editing and designing of your book. With the back-and-forth nature of revisions, expect this to last at least 6 months. Then, your copy-edited manuscript is slated for the printers and will soon be stocked in bookstores!

For a general view of the publishing process from making your first draft to marketing your book, read this brief guide.

Self-Publishing

If you’re tired of publishing gate-keepers getting in the way of your book, self-publishing is your best bet. It’s not only easier, but it’s also quicker. Self-publishing takes time, but not as much as traditional. How long does it take to publish a book? Assuming you’ve already written your story, you might have to wait just 3 months or less for the finished product. Here’s what goes down before you print a book: developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading services offered by self-publishing companies, along with design, formatting and marketing. Having specific needs like an index can be accommodated, but it will prolong the process. Because of the Print on Demand model most self-publishers follow, your readers can purchase a copy of your book as soon as it’s available.

E-Books

E-books still fall under the self-publishing category, except the output is digital. You no longer have to account for the printing, but the same steps such as copy editing, designing, formatting, and proofreading still apply. 30 days is a manageable time frame if you do some of the work yourself, so get those spreadsheets ready! You can self-publish an e-book on sites like Amazon, Nook, Kobo and Scribd.

Scientific Research Papers

For scientists who work in laboratories and the academe, they face publishing challenges of their own. The average time from first submission to publication? We’re talking a 100-day waiting list on average! Research journals are notoriously stringent in accepting papers. The ones that do make it to print have gone through numerous revisions at the behest of editorial staff. In a way, it’s understandable for research papers to take this much time to materialize— breakthroughs in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology shouldn’t be taken lightly, after all! Science publications have to sift through so many submissions as more and more people are obtaining postgraduate degrees.

Zine

Nothing embodies the DIY ethos quite like the low cost and easy to assemble zine. Compared to the other formats mentioned above, it’s quaint to the point of almost being primitive. Any run-of-the-mill printer and copying machine can crank out the pages to your zine, spine bound by staples. You could even finish a zine in a day with your kid. As you would be working with only one copy, it’s going to be irreproducible and therefore unfit for selling. Despite that, a zine is a wonderful way to publish a children’s book. Bond over a handmade, tangible piece of family history that you will treasure forever.

Whether you choose to self-publish a book or do it the traditional way, be patient. Instead of worrying and asking, “How long does it take to publish a book?” Enjoy every second of your literary journey—you’re likely going on repeat trips!