When I started writing books, a book took time. It took time to write, time to find a literary agent and a publisher, and yet more endless time before a book landed in bookstores. This process could take anywhere from one to three years.
All these years later, the publishing world has changed. Everything's running on fast-forward. If you know what you're doing, you can go from getting a book idea, to selling a short digital version of your book
within a week. Make enough sales, and you can make
$10,000 and more in a week, just from the short electronic version.
Yes, it's highly possible to write a short version of your book, and sell it online, FAST. (And make lots of money while you do it.)
If the electronic version of your book's a hot seller, it's time to ratchet everything up a notch, and focus on creating a full version which you can sell to a publisher – or which you can self-publish -- all while maintaining an income from the initial electronic version of your book.
If you're writing a book, and have been doing it the old, slow way, it's time for a change.