How do you know when writing a book is worth it?
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I recently gave a talk on book publishing for an organization where a common question came up: how do you justify the time and expense (in terms of actual money spent, but also opportunity cost) of writing a book?
There are a few key things to consider, but first some observations.
Results from my Author Readiness Scorecard show a clear trend.
Most people have abundant motivation to write their book
Most have big goals that they think a book could help them accomplish
but they suffer from a lack of confidence in two important areas
They’re not sure they’ll actually be able to finish the book
They’re not confident that they know how to use the book as a tool to increase the likelihood that they accomplish those goals
An earlier poll got some results that are a good reality check—100% of respondents said that writing a book had been harder than they expected.
With all of that understood, writing a book can still be extremely worthwhile.
The investments we make
If you’re like most of my authors, the book you dream of writing (or are in the middle of writing) is closely tied to your career goals and the expertise you’ve built over many years of study and experience. It can help you put your ideas on the map, give you greater authority, start conversations that lead to concrete progress…but only if you finish it.
In a way, it’s like the education you’ve acquired. If my guidance resonates with you it’s because you’re an expert. There’s no doubt that whether you gained that expertise in school, on the job, or more likely through a combination of the two, it was both expensive and time consuming.
Your book is going to take similar focus, if on a somewhat smaller scale. While some authors can carve time out of their workdays to write, most find the time at the margins. Early mornings or late nights are standard writing times—and they even start to like it. One very successful author recently described that she has come to cherish the solitude of her writing time. Another author would set aside all of Saturday to write until he finished his book. I generally recommend more—and shorter—writing days, but what works for you is the right choice.
In the end you’ll have something that you put all of yourself into. It will have the ability to advance your career or your cause. It will open doors like your diploma did at the start of your career—just different doors. And it will do something else for you. People who have written books say that their sense of mastery increased enormously because of the process they went through to write it. Imagine your confidence blooming, enabling you to take bigger leaps.
I’ve heard it said that the book that changes your life isn’t one you read, it’s one you write.
A checklist to ensure success
Success, like so many other consequential things, is subjective. We can talk about sales numbers, but the truth is that unless your book is a runaway hit, you’ll never earn enough from the copies you sell to retire on. So it’s vital that you have a clear idea of what results you want your book to generate.
Think about it like this: what do you want people to believe, feel, and do after they read your book? If you can answer that question clearly and write the book with that purpose, even just a few of the right people reading the book could change everything.
If you’re at any point on your publishing journey—but especially if you’re just starting out—it can be overwhelming to figure out all of the things you’ll need to do. I put together a streamlined checklist to help keep it all straight. You can download it —totally free — on my new website.