{"id":24,"date":"2025-03-29T17:27:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T17:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/?p=24"},"modified":"2025-03-29T17:27:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T17:27:44","slug":"why-the-first-draft-is-sometimes-longer-or-shorter-than-the-final-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/why-the-first-draft-is-sometimes-longer-or-shorter-than-the-final-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the first draft is sometimes longer (or shorter) than the final draft?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Someone on X asked, \u201cHow do people write a first draft longer than the final draft?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good question. One that every book writer, blogger, and ghostwriting client has thought about at some point.<\/p>\n

The answer? It depends.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the first draft is longer. Sometimes it\u2019s not. And both are okay.<\/p>\n

First drafts are like messy kitchens<\/h3>\n

Imagine cooking a big meal. You take out every spice, every pot, and every knife\u2014just in case. The kitchen looks like a war zone. But you\u2019re not worried. You\u2019re experimenting. Figuring things out.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what a first draft is like.<\/p>\n

You dump your thoughts on paper. You ramble. You repeat yourself. You overwrite. Not because you\u2019re bad at writing. But because you’re still trying to understand what you really<\/em> want to say.<\/p>\n

A client once told me, \u201cI wrote 30,000 words and still don\u2019t know what my book is about.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t wrong. That 30k was him talking to himself. Thinking out loud. Once we knew the core idea, we cut 15,000 words without blinking.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s ghostwriting.<\/p>\n

A ghostwriter for writing books isn\u2019t just someone who types fast. It\u2019s someone who knows what to keep<\/em> and what to delete.<\/em> Someone who can hear the signal through all the noise.<\/p>\n

Why some drafts balloon like that<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s when a first draft usually ends up longer than the final:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    You\u2019re still figuring out your main idea<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    You\u2019re emotionally attached to every story you know<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    You write just in case someone might need<\/em> that example<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    You\u2019re scared to leave gaps, so you overwrite<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    When you\u2019re in that place, you end up writing like a hoarder. You don\u2019t want to throw anything out. Everything might<\/em> be useful.<\/p>\n

    But when it\u2019s time to edit, you step back and see the clutter.<\/p>\n

    You see that Chapter 6 is just a longer version of Chapter 2.<\/p>\n

    You realize the anecdote about your first boss adds nothing.<\/p>\n

    You notice you\u2019ve said the same thing three times\u2014in slightly different words.<\/p>\n

    So, you trim. You shape. You turn the mess into something sharp.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s the shift:
    The first draft is for you. The final draft is for your reader.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    But what about short first drafts?<\/h3>\n

    Let\u2019s flip it.<\/p>\n

    Sometimes, the first draft is tiny. Just a skeleton.<\/p>\n

    You start with a single idea. You write a few bullet points. A sentence or two under each. And you stop.<\/p>\n

    You don\u2019t have much yet, but what\u2019s there feels solid.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s how I start with most clients who want book writing services. Especially business coaches or subject-matter experts.<\/p>\n

    I don\u2019t ask for 10,000 messy words. I ask for 500 focused ones. A story. A point. A belief. Something we can build on.<\/p>\n

    From there, we add.<\/p>\n

    We layer in their voice.<\/p>\n

    We bring in client stories.<\/p>\n

    We include examples, metaphors, and side notes.<\/p>\n

    What starts as 500 words turns into 5,000.<\/p>\n

    The first draft is short. The final one is layered. Full. Deep.<\/p>\n

    Both styles work. Neither is wrong.<\/p>\n

    Real examples from real people<\/h3>\n

    One entrepreneur I worked with sent me his \u201cmanuscript.\u201d It was 38 pages. No structure. No chapters. No intro. But it had heart.<\/p>\n

    His draft was long, because he didn\u2019t want to leave anything out. He was scared he’d forget the one<\/em> thing that mattered.<\/p>\n

    We cut 12 pages, restructured the rest, and turned it into a tight, 20-chapter book.<\/p>\n

    Another client\u2014an executive coach\u2014started with just 200 words. A single LinkedIn post, actually.<\/p>\n

    She said, \u201cThis feels like the heart of the book.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    It was.<\/p>\n

    We expanded that post into a full outline. Then into chapters. Then into a finished book.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s the beauty of ghostwriting.<\/p>\n

    Some people talk for hours. Others give you one sentence. Either way, a good ghostwriter for writing books knows how to listen.<\/p>\n

    If you’re writing your first book…<\/h3>\n

    Don\u2019t worry about the length of your first draft.<\/p>\n

    Seriously. Don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

    Whether it\u2019s too long or too short\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

    What matters is momentum. Clarity comes later.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re drowning in words, keep writing. Then step back and ask: What am I really trying to say?<\/em><\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re stuck with too little, say one thing clearly. Then build from there.<\/p>\n

    There\u2019s no rulebook. There\u2019s no one-size-fits-all.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s why so many people use book writing services.<\/p>\n

    Not because they can\u2019t write.<\/p>\n

    But because writing a book is different from having a good idea.<\/p>\n

    The first draft is you talking to yourself.
    The final draft is you talking to someone else.<\/p>\n

    Big difference.<\/p>\n

    So don\u2019t stress if your draft looks messy or too short or too long. It\u2019s not a test. It\u2019s a process.<\/p>\n

    And if you ever need help\u2014whether you need structure, clarity, or someone to carry the heavy load\u2014ghostwriting exists for a reason.<\/p>\n

    A good book writer doesn\u2019t just write.<\/p>\n

    They listen.<\/p>\n

    They shape.<\/p>\n

    They bring your voice to life.<\/p>\n

    Whatever shape your draft is in\u2014there\u2019s a book in there. Somewhere.<\/p>\n

    You just have to find it.<\/p>\n

    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Someone on X asked, \u201cHow do people write a first draft longer than the final draft?\u201d It\u2019s a good question. One that every book writer, blogger, and ghostwriting client has thought about at some point. The answer? It depends. Sometimes the first draft is longer. Sometimes it\u2019s not. And both are okay. First drafts are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions\/26"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amrithallan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}