Researching and writing a book, as any previously published author can testify, takes a significant amount of time. But the entire book publishing process extends beyond simply the research and writing. There’s preliminary planning, the drafting of a proposal, and then the production and reviewing stages after acceptance. So, how long does it take to publish a book?

Well, the answer to that question is different for authors of different kinds of books. For example, the book publishing process for commercial or self-published books varies significantly depending on factors such as publishing schedule obligations or costs that need to be upfronted by the author for printing materials and typesetting software.

For academic books such as monographs and edited books, the publishing process is largely dictated by specific quality-control stages, such as plagiarism checks, formatting, and peer review, each with varying time frames.

There is no universal timeframe for the entire book publishing process, but general timelines indicate anywhere between 12 to 24 months. However, stage-by-stage variation has a big part to play in how long this process may take for you.

The stages in book publishing

The stages in the book publishing process involve author revisions before book manuscript delivery and the interaction of several departments, and can be significantly delayed by unforeseen circumstances. However, these are the typical stages and approximate timelines for each.

Production timelines will vary from publisher to publisher. To see examples of how long each individual step takes in the production process, see MDPI Books’ production FAQ.

What slows publication down

Naturally, the publication process for books tends to be significantly longer than it is for journal articles. This is because creating a book publication requires many more resources, given the larger scale of the research, writing, reviewing, and production stages.

There are many different scenarios that can slow book publication down. These include:

• Multiple revision rounds during the peer review process.
• Permissions for third-party material.
• Late manuscripts.
• Contributor delays in edited books.

How to speed things up

Wondering how long it takes to publish a book is understandable, but it does nothing to get you there faster. As a book author, there are several things you can do to speed up the publication process.

For peer review, responding promptly (and carefully) to reviewer comments avoids further delays to an already lengthy process. Peer review for books can vary significantly from the process used for scholarly articles. It typically takes longer and is more demanding for reviewers compared to journal article review. This is due to the length and complexity of book manuscripts, which require thorough evaluation and detailed feedback from reviewers. Consequently, multiple revision rounds might be needed, so its best to be quick but thorough when addressing comments.

You should also look to clear any permissions early. As soon as you determine the third-party material you’ll be using in your book, seek permission from the rights holder. Creating a spreadsheet detailing the material used and permission status is a good way to keep on top of this task.

Finally, being behind in your writing process or experiencing late submissions from other contributors as a book editor can further delay publication. Produce a comprehensive week-to-week writing schedule to reduce the risk of late submissions on your own behalf. If you’re editing a book, follow up with authors in advance of submission deadlines to avoid unexpected delays. Always ensure that the publisher’s template and reference styles are used during the preparation of your book manuscript, as this can also cause further bottlenecks.

How open access changes the picture

Open access is a movement primarily focusing on increasing global accessibility to knowledge. Because of this emphasis on accessibility rather than commercial considerations, authors are not restricted by release delays due to alignment of a book with optimal retail sales windows. Instead, funds are paid upfront by an author’s institution to cover the costs, removing the need to build commercial sales.

As soon as production of an open access book is finished, it is freely and immediately available to the public under the gold open access model. This skips any delays in the dissemination of your book due to logistics such as physical warehousing, global shipping, bookstore distribution, and print-demand assessments.

Ultimately, open access publication makes your academic book less of a product and more of a permanent bridge between the public and scientific information, with your research digitally preserved in online database and indexes.

To learn more, see our article on publishing your academic book as open access.