Hey there and welcome to Nothing but the Words, I’m your Book Coach, Candice L. Davis.
I hope 2024 is going well for you and for your writing, and in this episode I want to give you a little bit of a wake-up call about writing your book now.
I’m calling this a bonus episode because I don’t want to wait for my podcast team to get their hands on the file, polish it up and edit it.
I just want to get this message to you now.
As I record this, we’re just in the middle of February.
Quitter’s Day, the second Friday of January is behind us.
Quitter’s Day is the unofficial day by which, according to surveys and studies, most Americans have given up on their New Year’s resolutions.
It doesn’t matter if they call them resolutions. They might call them goals or intentions. Whatever they are, they’re out the window.
Regular gym-goers look forward to February because they know most of the newbies who crowded the gym in January will mostly stop coming by the end of this month.
When we talk about New Year’s goals, the tendency is to focus on the people who quit.
I get it.
Most people will give up.
But let’s flip that around and focus on the people who make it.
Every year, thousands of people set their goals and stick to them.
They keep going to the gym.
They keep lacing up their shoes every morning and going for a run.
They take the steps to start their business, look for their dream job, plan that vacation, or write their book.
I 100% do not believe everyone should write a book.
If you just want to cobble together a few thousand words, slap your name on a generic book cover, and declare yourself an author, I’d encourage you to find something else to do with your time.
If people keep telling you to write a book but the idea bores you, annoys you, turns you all the way off, I suggest you take a hard pass.
But if you’re listening to this podcast, there’s a better-than-average chance that you actually care about the quality of the book you feel called to write.
You might face some resistance, but the pull to write a book and send it out into the world to share your message or tell your story doesn’t go away.
You are my people, and I want you to have the desires of your heart, especially the desire to become a successful author, however you define successful when it comes to your book.
I almost titled this episode “Why I Really Want You to Write Your Book in 2024” because the truth is I do want you to—but I reminded myself that it’s not about me.
Even though I’m called and purposed to support authors-in-the-making like you write books that matter, books that entertain, books that enlighten, books that grow your business in unexpected ways, that purpose is about YOU.
And I want you to know you really should write your book in 2024.
I don’t really care what your reasons are, I just care that you have a personal motivation that means enough to you to get it done.
I care that you have your own reasons to write a book, even if you haven’t been able to articulate those reasons yet.
So if that’s you, we’re on the same page.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a novel, a memoir, self-help, or some other kind of book.
Make 2024 the year you write your book.
Forget about goals or resolutions for a minute. Just make decide and commit.
Don’t worry about the how yet; decide and commit.
Listen, we both know the time will pass whether you write your book or not.
If you’re like most people I talk to, you’ve been thinking about writing a book for years.
You may even have written a few pages or several chapters already.
Whether you’ve written 200 pages or you haven’t written the first word yet, don’t delay finishing your book any longer.
Now is the time.
If you need to learn something, look it up, take a class, or hire a coach.
If you want consistent support take a class online, at your local community college or extension program, or join a group-coaching experience like Authors Ignited.
We’d love to support you as you write your book.
Do not wait for time and opportunity and information to knock on your door.
It aint gonna happen.
Find them for yourself.
You are so resourced, friend.
Everything you need to write a book that matters is out there if you’ll just go get it.
In my career as a ghostwriter, I wrote more than 30 books. Not pamphlets or mini books. Some were longer than others, but these were real books.
But I didn’t do it without help.
I took classes and hired a coach before I ever wrote the first book.
I never take credit for my coaching clients’ work.
But I do celebrate them for reaching out to get the support and guidance they needed to write the best book they could possibly write and finish it in less time.
They looked for resources, and they found them.
In January, two of my clients launched their books to great success.
One had a delightful book launch party with a great turnout and hit several bestseller’s lists, which she specifically targeted.
The other has also hit #1 on several charts and has been on a book tour to cities where she has personal and professional connections, and the reception has been great in each city.
They’ve each started 2024 off with the kind of results many authors never achieve.
Here’s the thing though.
They both initially planned to launch their books last year.
The process took a few months longer than they expected or wanted, but they’re now published authors.
They’re bestsellers because they decided 2023 would be the year they wrote their books—and they got it done.
Did it hurt a little bit that they didn’t launch on their original timeline?
Maybe.
But if they felt that disappointment, they didn’t sit in it.
They kept going until their books were written, and reviewed, and edited, and proofread, and designed, and published.
None of that would have happened if they hadn’t made a clear decision and stuck to it.
Now let’s look at the other end of the commitment spectrum.
This week, I sent check-ins to several people who told me they were writing a book last year.
They’re not clients, but we have some connection through our work or mutual friends.
The email was just a check-in, nothing for sale, just my usual “How’s the writing coming?”
So far, with one exception, radio silence.
When people have been writing, they typically can’t wait to update me and let me know how close they are to becoming an author.
I don’t want to assume, but based on my experience over the years, I’d bet 4 out of 5 of those people didn’t make much progress on their books last year.
That doesn’t make them failures. It doesn’t even mean they’ll never write their books.
For now, it makes them just like the majority of people who say they want to write a book and never do it.
Don’t let that be you.
Choose to be like the person who keeps going to the gym, eating salads, or folding the laundry right after it dries long after Quitters Day has passed.
I want you to know there’s a real cost to delaying your desire to become an author.
📖Think about the missed opportunities to share your most important message with the world.
📖The prestigious speaking engagements you could land as an author.
📖The ways you could multiply your audience many times over.
📖The new clients and customers who have never heard of you but would find you through your book.
📖The whole new world you could introduce to your readers.
📖The insights only you could have shared in the way your people need to hear them.
📖 And the delight or the introspection or the action your book could inspire in your readers.
Once you write and publish your book, it will open doors for you that you couldn’t even see were there before you became an author.
It’s never too late to write the book you feel called to write.
But there IS a cost to waiting.
Stop paying that unnecessary price.
Make 2024 the year you finally write your book.
Grab the free resources in the podcast description on your podcast app.
Or follow me on Instagram @candiceldavis for writing tips and motivation to keep you writing.
That’s all for this week’s episode, friends.
Thanks for listening to “Nothing but the Words.” I’m Your Book Coach, Candice L Davis, and I’ll see you next time.