In Episode 266, Christine Tulley walks through the process of creating a "book completion battle plan" when facing a tight deadline, sharing her real-time approach to finishing a book manuscript due March 1st with only 23 days remaining. She demonstrates how to audit your available time by identifying writing days versus non-writing days, distinguishing between "big block days" (2+ hours), smaller writing blocks (45-90 minutes), and brief time fragments, explaining that she has 15 realistic writing days to complete 15,000-25,000 words at approximately 1,600 words per day. Tulley emphasizes thinking in terms of sections and subsections rather than just word counts, strategically allocating big blocks for generating new content and structural work while reserving smaller time pockets for cleanup tasks, and she shares practical decisions like printing the full manuscript for review, hiring a coach for formatting help, planning when to hand off work for editing, and protecting key writing days. She explains that noting that this kind of strategic time mapping helps writers facing deadlines make informed decisions about whether they need to add weekend days or pull all-nighters to meet their goals.

Resources Mentioned:

• Episode 99 - Double Check Your Writing Using Penzu
• Register for the 2026 Textbook and Academic Authors Institute to work on your book

DPL Resources

• Tuesday Toolbox - contact [email protected] for subscription information to get more videos like Lesson 13
• Set your writing goals with us! Try us out in a free consultation.
• Check out our current and past workshops at Eventbrite for writing support content. A FREE webinar is posted each month. Missed a workshop? Request a workshop or webinar recording from [email protected]
• Don't forget about the wonderful resources at Textbook and Academic Authors Association. The organization can be found at: https://www.taaonline.net
• New to TAA? Join for just $25 using discount code DP25! You will also receive a copy of the eBook, Guide to Making Time to Write: 100+ Time & Productivity Management Tips for Textbook and Academic Authors.