These days, writing a book has become more popular than before: People write books as a way to promote their business. Self-publishing has made it easier to share your story.
But it’s easier to start a book than to finish it, as many people have discovered. According to the internet, a staggering 97% of people who start writing a book never finish.
Plenty of reasons abound for not finishing a book. This post will cover the more common reasons and share some suggestions on overcoming these obstacles.
Not enough time to write a book
It’s tough to commit time to write a book. You’ve got all the distractions of daily life, not to mention unexpected situations like finding out you’re out of the chocolate you munch on for inspiration.
Self-discipline is key. Set a daily goal, such as writing a couple of hours a day, or a certain number of pages per day.
Don’t worry about quality. Just write, and let the ideas flow. Sometimes you need to bunch of unnecessary words to get to the words you want to keep. You can edit your work later.
Fresh out of ideas or momentum
It’s easy to have ideas for a book. It’s harder to develop them into a story or a book.
Maybe you want to write about the adventures of a talking frog. You finish the chapter about the frog wandering into the city and get stuck explaining how a human and a frog become friends. It’s time to pause and map out your plot.
You may find reasons to stop writing.
For example, you discover that since you started writing your book, your topic has become popular. The market is now saturated with books and blogs about the subject. It’s time to pause and research the market and your competitors. What will make your book unique from all the others now out there?
You hate writing
Okay, this is a big problem. You want to write a book because you have a lot of thoughts you want to write down.
Many people, particularly influencers and entrepreneurs, are writing books so you want to jump on the trend and write one too. Or you have this story you want to tell, and writing a book is the best way to share it.
One solution is to hire a ghostwriter. Experienced ghostwriters can capture your voice and style and write your book for you at a cost. Another possibility is to avoid writing altogether. Do you prefer to talk more than write? You could record your story as an audiobook instead.
You suck at writing
You love books and you love to read, but unfortunately, putting words in the right order just isn’t your thing.
Fortunately, writing – like any skill – can be improved over time.
The quick fix… write all your ideas down. Then hire a ghostwriter to write the story for you. Or, write the story as best you can, fix it up with a program like Grammarly (which can catch your typos and grammar mistakes), and hire an editor to polish your writing.
This is important: bad grammar and writing can ruin a good story. An editor can improve your writing and make suggestions you haven’t thought about.
You can also go for the long-term solution. You might write terribly now, but that might not be true forever. Take some writing lessons. Read anything by your favorite authors. Learn to write like them, and then develop your own writing style. When you’re ready, start writing your book.
Key Takeaways
Many people start writing a book with gusto and enthusiasm, but never reach their goal. Even if you face an overwhelming obstacle, such as bad writing skills, you can overcome that obstacle when you’re open to solutions.
If you want to write a book, and you’re determined enough, you can become an author!
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