Hey there and welcome to Nothing but the Words. I’m your author coach, Candice L Davis.

I hope your week and your writing are going well.

If you’re not writing at all, I’m curious as to why you’re stuck or haven’t started.

Sometimes, I talk to a potential coaching client on a consultation call, and I can tell from our conversation that they’re not ready to write their book yet.

There’s nothing wrong with that person. It’s just that I’ve been doing this for years now, and I can almost always tell when someone’s ready to write their book and when they’re not.

When I first started coaching, I’d still take these clients on because I believed I could help them get ready to write their books.

Often, I was wrong about that. In many of those cases, they were so far from ready that they chose to skip their coaching sessions even though they’d paid in full.

Even the best coach can’t reach you if you don’t show up to get coached.

I should have followed my own analysis and accepted that these future authors weren’t ready to write their books yet.

These days, if I think a potential coaching client isn’t ready, I try to gently steer them to some steps to get ready. A lot of those steps can be found in the episodes of this podcast. Some are just a matter of taking control of their workload or their calendar or finding some things they can delegate.

If you’re thinking about writing a book, you may be on the fence about whether or not this is the right time.

To help you make that decision, here are 5 signs that you’re ready to write your book.

#1 You’ve got a book idea you believe in. (Your belief doesn’t have to be perfect, by the way.)

Maybe your idea isn’t fully fleshed out. It isn’t complete yet, and that’s fine. I help my clients get clear on their book ideas all the time.

But you believe in the power of your book to create transformation for your readers.

You believe your book can change your business or help position you in a new way as an expert in your niche.

You believe your book can open doors for you.

Don’t get me wrong. Your belief doesn’t have to be perfect.

You don’t have to sustain it all the time. We all have moments of doubt along the way. That's when, as your coach, I can lend you my belief in you until you get back on track with your own.

But a sure sign that you’re ready to write your book is your belief in the book idea.

#2 You can clearly see how your book aligns with your goals.

Writing a book takes effort. And writing a phenomenal, world-class book takes sustained effort over a period of time, usually months.

Along the way, lots of other great ideas will pop up.

Maybe you should start a podcast, or try to speak at that conference you love, or launch a new course.

You’ll be tempted to set lots of new goals and start new projects.

But when you can clearly articulate how your book aligns with your larger goals as a writer, as a person, as an entrepreneur, as a citizen of the world—whatever goals matter most to you at this point in time, you’re much more likely to commit to the process.

You’re more likely to keep going when it gets hard.

You’re more likely to decide you won’t give up until your book is finished and it can serve you in achieving those goals.

#3 You have time to write your book.

I took off a semester from undergrad to work and save money for tuition.

During that time I worked 85 to 90 hours a week. I worked as a bank teller during the day and made pizzas at Pizza Hut at night, always on the closing shift.

I was only 18 or 19 years old, but after a few weeks, that schedule got really hard to maintain.

In fact, I was so tired that one night, I fell asleep and rolled through a stop sign –after I’d seen a cop right behind me.

That didn’t end well.

If you had told me to make time to write a book during that period of my life. I would have laughed at you.

Yes, I could have written a few words during my lunch hour at each of my jobs, I guess.

But my body and brain were tired all the time.

Sometimes, you legit don’t have time to write.

And if you don’t have time, you’re not ready.

It’s perfectly fine to accept that reality and then plan to restructure your life to make time to write.

#4 You’re willing to do the work.

Creating anything requires effort, and writing is no different.

It doesn’t have to be painful work, but writing a book is work, my friends.

And here’s the truth. There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re not willing to do the work right now.

All it means is that you’re not ready to write your book right now.

Some people in that situation will hire a ghostwriter, and if that appeals to you, just keep in mind that even with a ghostwriter, you have to show up to share your content, usually in interviews with the writer. You also have to read and respond to everything the writer gives to you. Yes, it’s a lot less work than writing the book yourself, but it’s expensive and it’s not work-free.

If you’re ready to do the work, honestly, I can coach you through just about any other obstacle in  your way. I can help you find an idea you believe in. I can help you align your book with your larger goals and manage your calendar so you can make time to write.

#5 The desire to write a book comes from within you, not from other people telling you that you “should” write a book.

Listen. I don’t believe everyone should write a book. I believe everyone who wants to write a book should write one.

If your friends or your colleagues or even your business coach are pushing you to write a book, and you absolutely don’t want to, then you’re not ready.

And that’s perfectly okay. Maybe you will be ready one day and maybe you won’t. But don’t let anybody bully you into taking on a project this big.

If you examine each of these signs that you’re ready to write your book, you’ll see that they all come down to how you think about your book.

At the end of the day, if you’re not ready to write your book, you can absolutely get ready.

Go back and listen to previous episodes of this podcast.

Sit down and journal about the real reasons you want to write a book (and keep in mind that there are no bad reasons).

And if you’re on the fence, hop on a consultation call with me, and I can help you figure out if now is the time for you to become an author or not.

Visit CandiceLDavis.com/call to book a complimentary consultation.

That’s all for this episode, my friends.

For more writing tips and inspiration, follow me on IG @candiceldavis.

Thanks for listening to Nothing but the Words. I’m Your Author Coach, Candice L Davis. And I’ll see you next time.