How I wrote a book in a year while working full-time as a journalist

I wrote my book, Life Between Moments: New York Stories, in eleven months while working full-time as a journalist. I did this by keeping a consistent schedule with my fiction writing at nights and on weekends, while making sure not to burn myself out from writing.

During the day, I covered markets and economics as a reporter. The daily reps of quick-hit news stories helped me improve as a writer, and bolstered my stamina and speed.

The metabolism of a markets desk is extremely high — some days I write as many as six stories a day, with each ranging from 200 to 400 words. But the sparse quality of business news taught me to trim down my prose and be more specific in my language.

Usually I’d finish work around 3:45 p.m., leaving me ample time afterwards for relaxing, exercising, and more writing in the evenings.

I usually go workout immediately after work, then have a meal, then sit down to write for about 30 minutes before hanging out with friends or going out.

That’s it. Thirty minutes, five days a week, as I explained in my slideshow story for Insider.

Being consistently good beats occasionally great

The lesson here is not that you need outrageous bursts of writing, but rather consistent, small bites. Even on days I was tired or busier than usual, I would sit and write for 15 minutes. That kept me constantly chipping away at my writings, and allowed me to always have the project front of mind.

And, after almost a year of following that schedule, I had a complete book, ready to publish after dedicating very small moments of my day for a year.

Naturally, I had many weekends of all-day writing sessions, but I know that if I had aimed for those, rather than the small bursts in the evenings, it would not have been a sustainable output.

Scheduling smaller sessions is far more effective than longer ones, because there’s less mental friction to tackling them in the same way it is easier to convince yourself to run two miles than ten.

As I’ve written about before, consistency is the key to any goal. Consistency can make up for lapses of effort or a lack of talent. I do not consider myself particularly talented but I have learned not to miss any days of writing.

Action begets action. The more you do, the more you will have done and the more you will have to show for it. That sentiment couldn’t be more true when it comes to writing a book.

Here’s the takeaway: Set a schedule, and don’t negotiate with yourself. Respect your own commitments, and they will take care of you. The things you can accomplish when you do not miss days are limitless.

Now, I have a book I’m proud of that I worked on entirely outside of working hours.

Life Between Moments: New York Stories is available on Amazon and it’s my second book in two years (you can add it to your Goodreads profile too).

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I used these ideas to write a bestselling book in a year while working full-time as a journalist. Learn more on Amazon.