Hey Reader!

My first book took me 10 years to finish, so this next part sounds very familiar to me.

Earlier this year, I interviewed 19 business owners about writing their books. One of them had been thinking about a book idea for about 5 years, and told me:

"I just literally don't know that I have the time to commit."

And they weren't the only one:

• "I vastly underestimate the amount of time that things take."
• "Is this going to take me, like, five years to write it?"
• "How much time do I have to block out to get it done?"
• "I'm busy doing so many things."
• "I don't have tons of time."

That's how a book ends up at the bottom of the to-do list.

Client work has deadlines. Your family has color-coded shared Google Calendars. Your book has... you. (And your future readers, who'll grab whatever book is on the shelf now.)

So it moves to next week, and next week brings its own deadlines.

Then a free hour finally shows up, and you spend it rereading your last 3 pages to remember what this chapter was even for. No wonder a book feels like it takes forrrreverrrrr.

Done that way, it does.

Holly Haynes (another Holly!) asked me about this on her podcast, Crush the Rush.

She said a lot of people never start a book because "I don't have time to write," so she asked what my schedule looks like.

My answer involves a 5:30 alarm (NOT for writing), a laptop that closes at 2 or 3pm, and a Mother's Day worksheet from my kid that I'd like to formally dispute.

Click the video below to watch on YouTube.

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​Or click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.​

Your book bestie,

Holly

PS — If any of those lines sound like you, hit reply and tell me what things + projects get worked on before your book.

PPS — Short writing time goes a lot further when you already know what your book is for. We work that out live in Open the Right Doors on November 11 (12 pm ET, $27). Save your seat →​