The 12 Week Year for Writers

CHAPTER 15HOW I USED THE 12 WEEK YEAR TO WRITE THIS BOOK

A savvy reader will see at least three rationales for my inclusion of this chapter in the book. The most obvious reason is to show that the system works. I hatched the idea for this book in collaboration with my friend Michael Lennington, the coauthor of the original, The 12 Week Year. Together, we made 12 Week Plans, executed them, and managed the execution of our plans using the 12 Week Year toolset. As a result, I went from having the idea to having a revised draft of the completed manuscript in 11 months across four 12 Week Plans.

A second reason has more to do with my own frustration with some other books about writing and productivity. A lot of them sound great in theory, but they leave you wondering how it actually works in the real world. If that sounds familiar, then this chapter is for you. This is what it looks like to put the system into practice.

The most important reason for this chapter, however, is to give you inspiration and reassurance. I am a distractible, busy person trying to stay on track and get stuff done, just like everyone else. Even after decades of working this process, I still missed deadlines, fell behind on various tactics, and didn't always apply the tools in as disciplined a fashion as I wanted. But I managed to finish the book in relatively short order anyway despite a busy schedule. That's the awesome thing about this system: you don't have to be perfect, or anywhere near it. You just ...