WHY DO YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK?

The New York Times says that 81% of people want to write a book and that under 1% actually do.??That’s shocking – until you actually try it and truthfully assess your untrained efforts.??It’s a brutal exercise. Without guidance, you’re set for failure either through your book’s not getting published or read.?

What’s more, so many half-written manuscripts lie in dusty drawers (they’re the REALLY old ones), thirteenth files, somewhere on 1990s memory sticks and forgotten external hard drives.

That’s upsetting, especially when surveys show that most people want to write a book because they want to help other people rather than to make money. For most, it’s a case of their feeling that “I’ve learned this the hard way, and I’d like to package this up and help other people.”?

Largely, the desire to write is philanthropic, caring and beautifully human.

For others, it’s the status of becoming an author – you don’t have ‘authority’ without the word ‘author’, after all.??There’s nothing wrong with that, regardless of how I’ve just positioned it in this article.??I love waving my ‘author’ flag whenever I can.??It’s my most respectable bit.

The moment I held my first published book in my hands, I felt the sort of deep thrill that fizzes you up inside only when a lifelong dream comes true.??

I knew that my dogged work over four years (yes, that’s how long my first book took me) had every chance of improving someone else’s life and outlasting mine.??On top of all of that, I’m in the British Library forever. Whoop!

The fun of that fades fast, though.??The real joy of getting published is far more profound.??

I firmly believe that what you know and come to learn has been given to you as a gift to steward for now and to pass on to others. We’re not just here on this God-given planet to consume: we’re here to create, and most of us have a deep yearning to do so.??

Writing is all about that – communicating that our private and business lives are all about the ‘process’ rather than the ‘product’.??

Some find a deeply spiritual significance in their writing a book.??After all, it’s ingrained in us to create something workwise that will outlive us physically.??Something that will be useful to others forever.??Is that you?

WRITE YOUR BOOK AND GROW

Usually, author experts are people who don’t believe they’re all that great.??They know that they’re still growing.??They know that writing makes you better as an entrepreneur as you learn how to crystallise what you know into a compact tool for others.??

There’s something to be said for ‘getting back into the trenches’ – becoming a student of a craft again.??It forces you to focus on something that takes commitment of time and mental energy which leads to growth and strength of character.??

Having a book is the best thing you can do for your business as it continues to increase leads, sales and referrals.??There will never be a convenient time to produce your book.??If you want it, start now.?Truthfully, you have to make the time.?

It starts with creating a happy daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly routine – and I really mean a ‘happy’ one.??If you don’t give yourself permission to have fun with this creatively, you won’t stick with it.??Believe me – I’ve trained writers for years.??They’ve all been amazed to find out how creative and expressive they really are when they allow themselves to relax.??I don’t really know why; I told them how creative they were before we began.

Anyway, you're having fun as you add the ‘zing’ to your writing style – that’s the key to your crossing the authorship finish line.?

Find out about AMP’s?“Writing In Colour”?6-week group course to learn how to write your story as a bestselling book.??It starts in May and there are just a few places available for you to?join your writing masterclass. Looking forward to hearing about your ideas!

Jo Collie