Everybody Says They Want to Write a Book—So What’s Stopping You?

I can't tell you how many times somebody has found out I'm an author and immediately said:

“I've always wanted to write a book.”

And my first thought is usually:

Okay...so why haven't you?

I'm not being funny. I'm genuinely asking.

Because after talking to enough people about writing, I've realized something.

I don't think most people are afraid of writing a book.

I think they're afraid of writing a BAD one.

They want the first chapter to sound like somebody who's been writing for 20 years. They want the perfect title before they've written page one. They want to know who's going to publish it, how much it's going to cost, who's going to buy it and whether people are going to like it.

Meanwhile...

The book is still sitting in their head.

I Didn't Know Everything When I Started Either

I've written multiple books now, and I can tell you this:

I did not sit down to write my first book knowing everything I know today.

Not even close.

There are things I would do completely differently now.

That's what experience does.

You write.

You mess something up.

You learn.

You write something else.

You get better.

Then one day you look back at your earlier work and think, Oh, I definitely would've written that differently today.

That's not necessarily embarrassing.

That's growth.

If I had waited until I knew everything I know now before I started writing, I wouldn't have written anything.

Because the only reason I know some of it now is because I started.

Stop Trying to Write the Finished Book

This is where I think people get stuck.

They sit down at the computer expecting the words coming out of their head to look like the book they're going to see on the shelf.

That's not how it works.

The book you buy has been rewritten, edited, proofread, formatted and polished.

You're comparing your messy beginning to somebody else's finished product.

Of course yours doesn't look like that yet.

It's not supposed to.

Sometimes writing is beautiful.

Sometimes you're typing so fast because the story is coming together perfectly.

And sometimes you read yesterday's pages and think:

Who wrote this?

You did.

And that's okay. 😂

Fix it later.

You Don't Need the Perfect Title Yet

I've seen people spend more time trying to name a book than writing one.

The title can change.

The chapter names can change.

The cover definitely doesn't need to be designed before you've written chapter one.

And please don't spend three weeks choosing fonts when you currently have 412 words. 😂

Write.

You can make it pretty later.

Your job in the beginning is simply to get the story—or the information—out of your head and onto something you can actually work with.

“I Don't Have Time” Is a Real Problem

I won't tell somebody, “You have time. You just have to make time.”

Life isn't that simple.

People have jobs.

Children.

Relationships.

School.

Bills.

Responsibilities.

Sometimes you're exhausted.

I understand that.

But writing a book doesn't require you to disappear into a cabin for three months with a laptop and a fireplace.

You can write a page.

You can write for 20 minutes.

You can write in your phone while you're waiting somewhere.

You can record an idea and come back to it.

A book is still a book whether you wrote it in three months or three years.

The important part is that eventually you finish it.

Somebody Else Already Wrote About It

Yep.

They probably did.

Somebody has already written about love.

Divorce.

Money.

Business.

Trauma.

Parenting.

Faith.

Starting over.

Murder.

Vampires.

Probably murderous vampire parents starting a business after a divorce too. 😂

Almost every broad idea has been explored somehow.

But nobody has written it exactly the way you would.

That's where your voice matters.

Two people can experience something similar and tell completely different stories about it.

The idea doesn't always have to be something the world has never heard before.

Sometimes what makes it different is the person telling it.

Then Comes the Scariest Part: Letting People Read It

Writing privately is one thing.

Letting somebody else read it?

Completely different experience.

Suddenly every sentence looks suspicious.

You start wondering if you're actually a terrible writer and everybody has secretly agreed not to tell you.

Welcome to being creative. 😂

There is vulnerability in putting your work in front of people.

Not everybody will like it.

Somebody may criticize it.

Somebody may misunderstand it.

But somebody else might read it and think:

I needed this.

You don't get to meet that reader if the book never leaves your laptop.

Your First Book Doesn't Have to Be Your Best Book

I really wish more new writers understood this.

Your first book does not have to represent the absolute best writing you'll ever do in your entire life.

I hope mine doesn't.

I hope I'm still getting better.

Every book should teach you something about writing the next one.

That's the beautiful part.

You aren't supposed to start as the writer you're going to become.

You become that writer by writing.

So...What's Actually Stopping You?

Maybe you don't know where to start.

Maybe you're afraid it won't be good.

Maybe you think nobody will buy it.

Maybe you're worried people will judge you.

Maybe you've started five times and deleted everything five times.

Start a sixth.

Open the document.

Write the ugly first paragraph.

Write the scene that's been living in your head.

Write the introduction.

Write the ending first if that's the only part you know.

There isn't a prize for having the perfect book idea sitting in your head for ten years.

At some point, you have to give yourself permission to be a beginner.

Your first draft doesn't need to impress anybody.

It just needs to exist.

And if you've been saying, “I've always wanted to write a book,” for years...

Maybe it's time to stop saying it.

And write page ONE.