According to a widely cited survey, “81% of Americans say they have a book in them.” Based on today’s population, that means there are 267 million people in the U.S. who want to write a book. Unfortunately, there’s another statistic about authorship: 97% of the people who start writing a book never finish it. There are many reasons for the enormous gap between aspiration and publication: Too many obligations, not enough time in the day, lack of know how, and so on…
Life happens, right?
Or does it?
At Bublish, we have the unique pleasure of helping authors start, finish, and publish their books every day. We see two qualities these authors share: The first is commitment. Life doesn’t happen to these people; they make life happen. Kenneth Blanchard is the author of 60+ books, including The One Minute Manager, which has sold more than 15 million copies. Here’s what he has to say:
“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.”—Author Kenneth Blanchard
But commitment takes courage, and from where we sit, fear is what holds back many writers. It’s the little voices in their heads that say, “I don’t have anything important to say,” “I don’t know how to write a book,” “No one will like my story,” or “It’s too much work. I can’t do it.”
Unfortunately, writers often accept these negative messages as truth. It’s uncomfortable to challenge these thoughts and banish them from our brains. But banish them we must! Dr. Brené Brown—author of five New York Times bestselling books, including Dare to Lead—has a motto: “Courage over comfort.”
Courage is the second quality we see in our published authors.
“I don’t think you can get to courage without uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.” —Author Brené Brown
If you can’t find courage, it’s very difficult to commit. The two go hand in hand.
Maybe the idea of writing an entire book is overwhelming. It’s a big lift. If this is the case, commit to something smaller. Bublish is proud to be a sponsor of the 2021 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Each year, on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world commit to writing 50,000 words in a single month. That’s a little over 1,600 words a day. It’s a more bite-sized commitment with a clear daily structure and a finish line that’s only 30 days from the starting point.
What if you started there? What if you committed to NaNoWriMo and followed through? That would be a major accomplishment and get you much closer to your goal of publishing a book. You would also have created a daily writing discipline, which is great.
What do you say? Are you ready to write that book?
Find the courage.
Commit to your story.
Create and contribute something meaningful to the world!
We are cheering you on and hoping you’ll participate in NaNoWriMo this year!
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