It’s a simple question. Seems like it should come with a simple answer. But of course it depends. Some books take six months to write and some take six years and some take longer. (Just ask Robert Caro. Or George R.R. Martin.) I published my own book last year, I’m ghostwriting and book coaching for others, and I have edited and copy edited books as a freelancer.

Something about me that I don’t usually lead with: I had an eating disorder for years, and that included a complementary obsession with over-exercising. (An obsession that, by the way, our society normalizes, encourages, and lauds. “Go hard or go home” and all that.)

Childcare has gone from something that was pretty accessible, if incredibly expensive, for middle-class Americans like me, to a thing that is still expensive, but also uncertain, and inaccessible for days and sometimes weeks. And I continue to work within my ghostwriting and editing business.

Before I started ghostwriting books, I thought that ghostwriters were just for celebrities, or at least corporate executives who didn’t have time to write their own book. Then, I had a ghostwriting mentor who told me that she turned down a contract like that once.

You probably think you know what I’m going to say, but it’s worth repeating regularly. As women in business, we take on so much personal responsibilty for every success and failure. And it’s true, we are responsible. But there’s a fascinating lager context to it all. In our society, the man’s role is to create, build, produce, trailblaze.

A couple of people have said to me recently that when they know what they want to write about, then they’ll start to dedicate more time to writing. You know how I feel about that. I know you know (especially if you’re a long-time reader) that you have to sit down and write first! Do the thing and blah blah blah.

I’m speeding through the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz after I had avoided coming anywhere near this book for the past three years. Despite the fact that no less than 12 small business owners recommended it to me over that time.

She asks: “How do you deal with negative feedback that requests improvement, but perhaps isn't specific on how to improve?”

A couple of posts ago, I wrote: I’m always going on about the things you need for a book project—mindset, good ideas, structure—but I’m realizing I never mention the elephant in the room: You need time.

Why do people decide to work with a ghostwriter instead of writing their book on their own? I gave a talk last week where I answered this question. I get it a lot and I’ve answered it in print before, too. There’s one glaringly obvious reason I didn’t explore in that article: People hire us because they don’t have time to write their book.