Bad Reasons to Write a Book
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There's a stat from some years ago that said more than 80% of Americans want to write a book in their life, meaning the majority of people in this country have writing a book as a goal of theirs. There are so many great reasons to write a book if it's something you feel passionate about, but I also think that there are quite a few bad reasons to write a book as well. These reasons can leave you feeling disappointed, discouraged, and frustrated with the whole book writing process.
Today, I want to encourage you to take a moment to step back and think very seriously and critically about your motivations for writing your book. Why do you want to write this book? Truly dig deep and be completely honest with yourself, because if you're going into this with the wrong intentions or motives, then the intensity of the book writing journey likely isn't going to suit you. You should make sure that this is something really worth your valuable time and energy.
So, how do you know if you’re writing for the right or wrong reasons? Here are a few bad reasons to write a book:
1. You Think It Will Be Easy
It's perceived as "easier" to become a writer than it is, say, a trapeze artist or an Olympic athlete. There’s a misconception that writing a book is something that is so easy, anyone could do it.
That's probably why so many people say it's a goal of theirs to write a book. It's true that everyone, to some degree, writes for personal and professional reasons. So, I guess that makes people think that it's easy to also write creatively and tell stories. Have you ever told someone that you're a writer and then they respond with something like, "Oh yeah, I've always wanted to write too," or "I've always thought about writing a book"? However, people don't have that same reaction if you say something that's super specialized. Even though a lot of people see writing as easy, as a professional book editor, I know that is not the case at all.
Not only does writing a book take developing your creative writing skill set, but it takes a ton of time, energy, and effort to see a project of this magnitude all the way through to the end. Frankly, I think only a small fraction of people who say they want to write a book actually have the stamina and the skill set to do it.
People who think writing a book is easy might have a rude awakening when they actually go into the drafting process. Even if the first draft comes out easily, which is great, the next phase of developing the story may not feel quite as easy. That’s just the nature of the book writing journey; it's certainly not for the faint of heart.
2. You Want to Make a Lot of Money
If you're looking for a quick way to make a million dollars, then writing a book is not the best way to do that. The book business is filled with people who do this because they're passionate about it, because telling and sharing stories gives them an immense sense of personal fulfillment. While there are, of course, best-selling, high-profile authors who make a great living or become wealthy on their books, that's not the majority of authors.
The truth is many authors still have day jobs or supplement their income with a spouse's job because it's hard to support yourself on book sales alone. And that goes for whether you are traditionally publishing or self-publishing. The people who are in this business are in it because they love it. The reason they want to write a book typically isn’t financially motivated.
3. You’re Motivated by Awards or Prestige
Some people want to check writing a book off their list of goals because they want the badge of being able to say they're a New York Times best-selling author or, at a really high scale, that they won the National Book Award or even the Pulitzer Prize.
While achieving these super prestigious awards can absolutely be a goal of yours, I don't think you should go into the book writing process with the unrealistic expectation that this is going to be the outcome, because you will likely be setting yourself up for disappointment. While I certainly hope that you win these awards and that you become a best-selling author who sells millions of copies, you shouldn't solely be driven by the desire to add credibility to your name.
First and foremost, you should be passionate about your story, and you should be committed to telling it whether it brings you great acclaim or not.
4. You Think You’re Better Than Other Authors
Some people are motivated to write a book because they read something that a friend recommended or something that was a book club pick or on a bestseller list — and they hate it. They think the writing sucks, and then they claim that they should write a book because they can do better than whatever this author did. This tends to happen especially for more commercial-leaning genres like romance or mysteries.
Reading is completely subjective, and not every book is going to be your cup of tea. But you shouldn't be motivated to write a book solely due to a competitive nature with other authors. There really is room for everyone's stories, and I think the most successful authors see that.
Comparing yourself to other authors and thinking that you can write better than them feels a little bit misguided to me because ideally, you wouldn't go into this process with the intention of tearing others down but with the intention of joining a community of authors. You can potentially connect with and even learn from these people — even if they're writing in a completely different style or genre than you, and you personally don't gravitate toward that. That doesn't mean that what they're doing is invalid or that it's any worse than what you're doing. Every author offers something different.
Good Reasons to Write a Book
Now that we've talked about all the bad reasons why people want to write a book, I want to talk about some of the good reasons, some of the things that indicate you absolutely should write a book:
First and foremost, if you're deeply passionate about this story
If you want to help inspire or motivate people
If you want to develop personally as a writer and a storyteller
If writing is a personal means of creative expression for you
If you're ready to take on the challenge and you want to learn from it
I hope this helped you think critically about your own motivations for writing a book. I truly believe that if you’re in it for the right reasons, writing a book can be one of the most amazing and fulfilling things you ever do.
Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!