How to Decide When to Start Your Book?

Questions to ensure you will know when the time is right.

Writing a book is not essential to your life. You can check all the appropriate boxes and never write a book: college, job, marriage, kids, and a trip to ten-buck-to.

For some people, however, the urge to write lies deeply within.

You think about it while reading other books. While at bookstores, you walk around the stacks of books and dream about where your book may be shelved. You hear of other people writing and you hate to mention it but there is a tinge of jealousy.

I was a late bloomer. I didn’t desire to start writing until I was in college and began to read novels. It was then I couldn’t and haven’t been able to stop thinking about writing and novels.

But the fact is the days don’t get longer when you recognize this need. Fate doesn’t automatically make your day 26 hours instead of 24 just because you want to create.

Three questions to get you started.

Question one.

Is it your dream to write a book? This is an important question. Writing a full-length manuscript does take a lot of time and energy. Is this a passing whim? Or does the thought of writng come up at different times? If it is something you cannot shake, commit to making it happen.

Question two.

What makes you believe that starting your book in January, or after the kids are gone, or when you get settled in your new job is better than today?

Just like many things that are difficult to start like exercising, taking a new class, or cutting back on sugar, tomorrow or after the holidays always eases our minds. But this is a fallacy, putting things off never calms our thoughts, feelings, and anxiety.

Granted, you may not be able to dedicate full days or even mornings to writing, but I assure you you can find twenty minutes many days of the week. And twenty minutes a day, five days a week adds up to over an hour of writng time per week.

Question three.

How will finishing or not even starting your book feel?

Imagine ten years from now. Close your eyes and see yourself sitting in your favorite chair. You just closed a book by a favorite author. Do you still have a burning desire to have written?

Now, imagine having written that book. How does that feel?

Today is the day to start your book.

Your book that you are itching to write deserves to be read. Maybe you have lived through something extraordinary and want to share it, or you overcame something painful and you want others to learn from it, or even you want to create a world of characters where readers can be entertained and experience the depth of the human condition.

Grab your favorite pen and notebook and sit in a quiet place. Tell yourself that you do deserve to do this. The thought and feelings to write are there for a reason and someone does want to read your work. No one knows how many readers you will have. Not even writers who have been writing for years and have already had best-sellers can foresee book sales.

Practice saying, “I am writing now. I can’t….” you fill in the blank. I can’t talk, cook, do laundry.

There is no wrong book.

I compare my stories, what I have to say to other books, and what other people have said. Often, this makes me question my stories and my voice. And then I want to place a“good” or “bad” label on my work.

I believe it is not our job, especially while we are writing to say or even think: this is good, or this bad.

You are the only person who can tell your story. There is only one voice that resonates like yours. Sit in the confidence that if you have the urge to write that story, there is a reason for it.

Habits do matter.

When it comes to writing habits do matter. And the beauty in this is you can create a strong writing habit. Writing is an art, a skill, and you can fine-tune your skill. This is where discipline and a plan comes in handy.

Our brain is wired to do the same thing every day. This can work against us, or we can use it to work for us.

Decide what time of the day and what days of the week you want to write. Many people keep the same schedule from week to week, this is because work schedules tend to be set. I have always flourished by having a diverse schedule. I always chuckle when making say a doctor's appointments and the receptionist asks what day works for you. I say every day is different.

But with my writing, I write first thing. For me, this is my way to ensure I have a good day. Because it is so very important to me. It is how I wrote my award-winning novel, Out of the Shadows, and four other manuscripts that I am preparing for publication.

If time allows in the evening, I will revise or work on an article.

Where do you have twenty minutes? Pencil writing in your schedule. Keep at it for a month and see where you are at the end of the month.

There is nothing better than printing the pages I have written and reading them, looking for things I did well and passages I can improve. If you start writing today and stick with a plan, you will be able to read your own pages as well.

✍🏼 Need more clarity to start writing your book? As an award-winning novelist, I know the desire and the challenges. Click here for a FREE PDF Booklet: Five Tips for Starting Your Book.