The first draft of my business book began in September 2024. It’s now March 2025, and I’m just about to hand it to my editor.

Six months. Not the timeline I’d planned. Not the timeline I’d wanted. And certainly not the timeline I’d publicly committed to when I started writing this business book.

But here we are—and you know what? I’m rather glad it took this long.

When Business Authors Need to Slow Down

After nine months of creative drought from my novel — a period marked by burnout, stress, and a complete absence of writing joy—I made what felt like a drastic pivot. I returned to business non-fiction, hoping to rekindle my relationship with writing.

I thought drafting a business book would be simple this time. After all, I’d written my previous book Dare to Write in thirty days. One single, productive month of ideas transferring seamlessly from brain to page. It flowed because it was linear, logical, and had lived in my head for years.

This business book? Not remotely the same experience.

Business Book Structures Can’t Be Rushed

This new project on productivity, writing habits, and 30-minute sprints refused to conform to a convenient timeline. The structure wasn’t obvious, and the chapters rebelled against my desire for neat categories.

I spent weeks tinkering with my Trello board, shifting chapters like a chess player. The perfect structure remained frustratingly elusive, though, hovering just beyond my reach. And then, mid-reorganisation number 747, the penny dropped.

What are you doing, woman? You’re trying to fall back in love with the business book writing process and what you’re doing is forcing it!

First Drafts: Where Business Authors Get Stuck

I’m an impatient Annie. I always have been. I like ticking boxes, hitting goals, and swiftly moving on to the next thing. But this business book demanded a different approach.

The irony isn’t lost on me – writing a business book about productivity while being forced to slow down. But slowing down taught me something vital: many business authors I work with need six months, not 90 days, to produce their best work. 

The space to be creative, to think, to sit with their expertise. It’s not inefficiency; it’s essential to let the work marinade over time for a powerful business book.

The Business Book First Draft Process: Step by Step

My process, once I stopped trying to sprint a marathon:

1. The brain dump first draft: Complete with notes to “second draft Steph” about research needed, quotes to verify, and statistics to double-check. (First draft Steph doesn’t do research rabbit holes—the death of many business book projects.)
2. The structural assessment: Is the business book working on a macro level? Does it flow? Does it take readers from where they are to where they want to be?
3. The word-count trim: Some chapters hit 6,000 words (absolute madness for a business book). Like a satisfying haircut, I trimmed them back to 3,000-4,000.
4. The polish: Tightening introductions, crafting memorable summaries, and making sure each story serves the business lessons within.

Only then does it go to my editor, Jess—where the real magic happens.

Business Book First Drafts: Trust the Process

If you’re stuck in first draft mode, feeling frustrated by your own waffle and wondering if your business book will ever be finished—keep going.

There were days when my writing wasn’t particularly sparky. I can spot those chapters a mile off in the edit—they’re where I was tired or rushing or just ticking the box of “words done today.”

But here’s the thing: you can’t edit a business book that doesn’t exist.

The first draft is your lump of clay. It might look nothing like the business book you envisioned. It might be too technical in some places, too vague in others, and have mysterious tangents that seem to lead nowhere.

But that’s precisely as it should be. The edits are where the magic happens!

Accept that your business book will unfold the way it’s meant to. If you can make peace with that, your writing—and the expertise you share with your readers—will be all the better for it.

If you’re in the weeds of your first draft, take a look at my Strategy Hour – designed to help you get unblocked and find a way forward. Alternatively, get in touch and let’s chat about how I can help you.

You can also listen to this blog topic as a podcast – you’ll find the episode here.