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Article published : July 07, 2010 |
Article author : Writer's Sherpa
Article category : Writing & Editing | Total Views
: 148 | Unrated
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When you think about writing your book, what's your motivation? What's compelling you to do it? Why is it important to you? These are questions I ask people all the time, and for many of them, the responses are pretty similar. They usually start with something like, "It will help me grow my business," or, "It will establish my expertise," or, "It will help me reach new audiences of potential clients."
These are all by-product benefits of writing a book, and after working closely with numerous aspiring authors, I've come to realize these reasons are like layer one. These are the safe reasons because we all want to make more money. We all want that, and so it's okay to share. These reasons allow us to confidently tell ourselves, "It's just a book." Because we all want to take our business and professional lives to that next level of success, right? That's just smart.
But underneath these reasons, deeper inside, is a much more powerful and personal motivation for writing a book. This reason makes the book more than just a book. And it makes writing the book and putting it out there for the world to see much riskier.
So what is it? Your story.
What is REALLY compelling you to write a book? If you're like my clients, you've experienced something that you believe is worth sharing. Whether it's about overcoming a problem, finding your passion, recovering from something in your past, or whatever path led you to where you are today-you know that if people hear your story, their lives will be better. They will understand what you now see so clearly, only they won't have to suffer the way you did to figure it all out. They won't feel alone. They won't have to struggle. And they will be able to use your success to make their lives better.
When I'm talking to a client or any other aspiring author--and we get past those safe, first layer reasons for writing a book--they often share with me that if they can help just one person with their book, then the whole thing is worth it. They want to get their story out, and that's why the book is so important to them.
But, looking at this deeper motivation ups the stakes significantly. Why? Because it's not JUST a book anymore. It's not just a way to build your business and make more money. It's your story--an extension of yourself that you are sending into the world with the hopes that other people will find it as meaningful as you do. And that's so much riskier! It means putting a piece of yourself on the line. Now writing a book doesn't seem so easy, and this is where many would-be authors get stuck.
You have all these ideas inside your head and all these connections that feel so strong. And writing about these experiences may feel easy--almost like the material is just pouring out of you. But when it comes out, it's in pieces. It doesn't connect the way you want it to in your mind. And so you become frustrated and confused and uncertain about everything you know in your heart to be true.
When your book is more than just a book, more than just a way to grow your business, and more than just a way to establish expertise, everything becomes more complicated and hard to figure out. But it doesn't have to be. The key is to think about your story in a way that makes it applicable and powerful to others. Once you figure that out, it's easy to see how all the pieces fit together, and the book practically writes itself.
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