Are you looking for my Speaking FAQ? Go here.

Writing FAQ

These are questions that I receive regularly in my travels worldwide. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to contact me!

⏲️ How long does it take you to write a book?

It takes me roughly 1,000 hours to write a 300-page nonfiction book and around 4,000 hours to write a 500-page fiction book. Depending on my other projects, these hours could be spread over anything between one and four years. (The number of hours does not include the ongoing research that I do by reading books, browsing the web, and talking with people.)

🛒 Can I order books directly from you?

I’m sorry, but I usually don’t sell books directly. On the various book pages on this website, you find links to international resellers (such as Amazon). However, when there is a special release that I ship myself, you can find it in the shop on this website.

📑 Can I translate your book into my language?

Sorry, I cannot answer that question for my nonfiction books because I am not the right person to ask. Local publishers arrange local translations. If you want to see my book in your local language, you should find a local publisher who wants to publish a translated book. This local publisher must then negotiate the translation rights with the American publisher of my book because the American publisher has global publishing rights. When the American publisher grants the translation rights to a local publisher, the local publisher will decide which translators to work with and how they will be compensated.

🗨️ Can you give me feedback on my work?

I regularly get requests from people asking me to review their blog posts, books, articles, websites, etc. Sorry, it is not in my interest to be a reviewer of other people’s works. Other people are much better at this than I am.

🖊️ Can you write a blurb or foreword for my book?

I only write blurbs or forewords for books that look professional. Send me your nearly-finished manuscript and I will have a quick look to see if it passes the test. Sorry, if you don’t work with professional editors and designers, I will not want to add my name to your book.

Jurgen Appelo

"Emotions don't change inconvenient truths, but they do create new ones."