How Amantha Imber wrote and published The Health Habit

Executive overview

Writing a nonfiction book for a major publisher involves two distinct acts: creating the manuscript and then marketing it. Most authors focus only on the first. The gap between health knowledge and behaviour change sparked the book's core idea — existing health books don't use behavioural psychology to make habits stick.

Combining health science with habit psychology fills a gap no existing book had bridged.

From idea to book deal

• Idea emerged in the shower: health books proliferate because strategies don't stick without behaviour change science
• Proposal structure: why this topic, why now, why this author, table of contents mock-up, sample chapters, competitive titles, marketing plan
• Including a marketing plan is unusual for authors but strongly influences publisher decisions
• Deal secured within months; Penguin requested a January 2024 launch, leaving five months to research, write, and polish

Writing the manuscript

• Committed to 1,000 words per day, separate from research and interviewing
• Temptation bundling: paired writing sessions with a daily coffee to reduce friction
• Streak board: physical calendar with daily X marks; visual momentum to avoid breaking the chain
• Hall passes: pre-authorised flexibility to miss the goal once or twice a week — research shows this increases overall adherence
• Target: rough draft in two months, three months left for editing before May submission

The editing and production process

• Two editing phases: structural edit (big-picture flow, section order, cuts) then copy edit (word-level precision, grammar, consistency)
• Graphs, charts, and illustrations are coordinated between author and editors throughout
• Audiobook recording: four four-hour sessions over four days in a soundproof studio — described as the hardest work of the year
• Self-doubt peaks during audiobook recording, when the author reads every word aloud for the first time in sequence

Marketing and phase two

• Phase two requires equal effort to phase one — promotion is not optional
• Media interviews and podcast appearances are the preferred channels
• Social media is a known friction point; author ran a deliberate three-month experiment posting three times a week on LinkedIn and Instagram
• Behaviour changes immediately once social apps return to the phone — more checking, more monitoring