So a bunch of my coworkers know I write and some times you chat with people who want to write, or who have been writing something for a while, and they’re not sure what to do with it as it’s always sort of a work in progress. An occurring question I get is, “How long does it take to write a book?”

The reason I say “it’s complicated” isn’t that I’m doing experimental work and having to relearn every time. Even if you have bad days, if you’re consistent, generally speaking you’ll eventually get so...