A leader's book takes twelve to fourteen weeks from the first planning conversation to a finished book on sale worldwide, and about thirty hours of the author's own time. That is the typical schedule at Stardom Books, and the reason it is possible is that the author does not sit at a keyboard.
Where the thirty hours go
Most people picture writing a book as a year of evenings. For a chief executive, a surgeon or a founder that year never arrives, which is why the book never does. The Stardom Method replaces the keyboard with recorded interviews. The author talks; writers ask, listen, research and draft. The author's time is spent in five kinds of moments: the planning conversations with a senior publishing advisor, the interviews, reading and approving each chapter, approving the final manuscript and cover, and approving the listing and launch date. Everything between those moments is the publisher's work.
The five stages, and how long each takes
Planning comes first and nothing is written until it is settled: the goal of the book, the reader it is for, the topic, the structure of the chapters and the publishing pathway. This is where a book is most often saved from being the wrong book.
Writing is the longest stage. Structured, recorded conversations are drafted chapter by chapter in the author's voice, with research around the author's material. The author approves each chapter as it is written.
Finishing takes the manuscript through editing for argument and flow, line editing, copy editing, formatting and proofreading. The cover is designed with unlimited revisions, and the author sees mockups of the finished book before anything is printed.
Publishing registers the book, with an international ISBN, a Library of Congress Control Number and US copyright in the author's name, produces paperback, hardcover, digital and audiobook editions, and lists the book with a worldwide distribution network.
Leveraging is what the book is for: the launch, the media kit, the author platform, and the speaking and consulting opportunities a published book opens.
What makes it slower
Three things stretch a schedule. Starting to write before the reader and the purpose are settled, which leads to rewriting. Waiting weeks for approvals, since each stage ends with something the author must approve. And changing the book's purpose halfway through. A leader who protects a few hours a fortnight for interviews and reviews will see the book finished on schedule.
What makes it faster is not what people expect
Having a finished manuscript does not make the project shorter, and Stardom Books does not usually take one on. The method works from the idea stage, where publishing experience is worth the most. A leader who arrives with nothing but expertise and a diary is in the right place.
The first step is not a commitment to write. It is a planning conversation, and before that, a thirty-minute evaluation of where the leader's authority stands today.
Founder, Chief Editor and Publisher of Stardom Books, and creator of The Authority Forum. He has directed 260+ leaders to become internationally published authors. About the house · raamanand.com