Are you convinced you could write a book?

One of the most common statements I have heard people make throughout the course of my life goes something like this...

"You know, I think I should write a book!"

I hear that all the time, yet statistically speaking, very few people ever get around to actually doing it.  Why is that?  I think I have figured out at least two reasons why.

1.  It takes long-term discipline to write a book.

Writing a book isn't something most people can accomplish over the course of a weekend.  It takes planning and commitment.  It requires discipline and revisions.  It may be fun, but it certainly isn't easy.

Anyone who has successfully written a book during the course of their life can tell you that the process was challenging, especially the process of writing their first book.  But once you get used to the process, it's not that bad.  You just have to stick with it long enough to produce a useful product in the end.

2.  You think other people are smarter than you and you don't believe people will actually want to read what you have to say.

Last night, I asked a group of aspiring authors to tell me what prevented them from writing in the past.  Just about all of them agreed that they were at one time afraid that no one would want to read what they wrote.  They were convinced that other people could say things better or do a better job writing than they could, so they didn't bother sharing their insights and ideas.

Here's the truth.  You're just as intelligent as nearly every other author.  The major difference between them and you isn't intelligence, it's belief.  They believed they could write something of value, so they did it.  As long as you persist in your belief that you can't write something of value, you won't.

I'm convinced that nearly anyone can write a book that conveys value and insight.  If you've been talking yourself out of doing it, I'd like to encourage you to stop putting unhealthy limits on what you can and cannot achieve.

Just write a sloppy copy of whatever you think might be helpful for someone else to read.  Then run it through spell-check and grammar software.  After that, pay an English major at your local college to edit it.  Then revise it as necessary and release it to the world.  Don't overthink it.  Just get it done.

And once you've got some experience under your belt, do it a little better next time.  Before you know it, you'll have several books to your name and a tribe of people eagerly awaiting the opportunity to read what you write next.

If you'd like to hear a discussion we recently had inside Platform Launchers about the process of writing books, click here.

-John