“Oh, I would love to write a book!”
That’s what at least half the people I meet say when they find out that I’m a book coach and ghostwriter.
The idea of being a published author is seductive. It represents the achievement of so many universal desires: to be seen, to be respected, to make an impact. Who doesn’t want that?
But most of those people never follow through. Surveys say around 80% of Americans want to publish a book someday, but only 1% ever do. Most just carry this wish around their whole lives and then regret never fulfilling it. Or they spend a huge amount of time thinking and writing but never finish the project.
Even worse, plenty of the 1% who do publish wind up disappointed with the reality of authorship. Their books don’t do much of anything except slip silently into the depths of the Amazon search results. No visibility, no respect, no impact.
So, should you actually write a book? To answer that, start by checking your motivations. Some are good indicators that authorship is the right path, while others suggest that you’d be better off quitting before you start.
- You have a message or story that’s begging to be shared. ✅
This is a prerequisite for any great book. If you’re not bursting with desire to put your message out into the world, you probably won’t get far. Writing will be a slog, and even if you finish, you won’t have the enthusiasm to promote the book properly. Ideally, you should feel like you can’t not write your book.
- You want to stand out as an authority in your field. ✅
A book can absolutely do this for you…if it’s done right. Whipping up a manuscript by yourself and throwing it on Amazon won’t do the trick. The world is full of sloppily self-published books, and they don’t impress anyone. To make a splash—even a little one—you’ll need a highly polished manuscript, professional cover design and copywriting, and a serious marketing plan.
- You want to accelerate your business or career. ✅
Same as above. A well-done book makes you stand out, which can help you attract more customers, win speaking gigs, and build brand recognition. In the corporate world, it can give you a leg up in the competition for executive roles and board seats. Again, that’s if you invest in making a quality book and promoting it right.
- You want to put your body of work in a lasting format. ✅
A book is perfect for this. Articles, interviews, and social media are great communication tools, but they’re short in length and lifespan. A book has the space to fully play out big ideas and connect stories into a larger narrative. It can be the one place you point to when people ask what your work is about, and you don’t have to keep updating and re-posting it. For many people, this is reason enough to write a book, even if it never brings much recognition or profit.
- You want to make money selling books. ❌
If you’re hoping to sell millions of copies and rake in the cash, think again. Most books, even “successful” ones, make little to no money from selling copies. If it’s revenue you want, you can leverage a book to get it through other means, like consulting, speaking gigs, teaching/coaching, and products. But to make that happen, you have to do a lot more than just publish a book.
- Other people say you should write a book. ❌
Maybe you have an interesting life or a unique perspective, and someone has said you should write a book about it. If you aren’t dying to write it, ignore them. A book is way too big a project to take on at someone else’s whim. If you’re not genuinely excited about it, you won’t put in the effort to make it a success.
- You want to become famous for your book. ❌
In the nonfiction world, books are rarely the source of fame. Famous authors are usually famous before they publish a book. Even for those who are actually best known for their book, there is always more going on behind the scenes—speaking, teaching, and other activities that support the author’s public profile. Your book alone will not make you famous.
- You enjoy writing. ❌
That’s great, but it’s not actually a good reason to write a book. Creating a book is a long, often difficult process. It’s easy to get bogged down, and you have to wait months or years for feedback from readers. If you have ideas to share, start with articles or blog posts, which are quick and provide an immediate payoff.
In fact, you don’t have to be a writer or even like writing to publish a successful book. Plenty of leaders, experts, and business owners don’t have the time or skills to create a book by themselves. They collaborate with book coaches, co-writers, and ghostwriters to translate their ideas to the page.
Are you one of those people who would tell me you’d love to write a book? If you want to do it for the right reasons, don’t put it off another year, or five, or ten. The sooner you start, the sooner you can reap the benefits of telling your story.
