Write the book already!

I was teaching a class on Novel Writing last night, and once again, had to convince my students to write. The problem is that few people have the confidence it takes to pursue their dreams of, in this case, publishing a book. It is partly this confidence that makes an author an author. After all, you are not considered an author until you publish a book, right? Well, how do you publish a book if you don’t write it in the first place!!

We all come to this place in our life where we start evaluating. This time comes sooner for some people than others, but if you’re one of the lucky ones, this point arrives sooner rather than later. My time came when I lived in Virginia. I couldn’t get a job to save my life. I was over-qualified for most of the positions available, or too old to be a trainee, so I brought my work home. While I wrote on a freelance basis, I spent time writing my book. In truth, the first manuscript I wrote was written the summer after I graduated from college at 33-years-old. It was bad, so I moved on and chalked it up as a learning experience. As luck would have it, this next book was published and an author was born.

My point is an author is not born unless an author writes. You cannot tell yourself you are not a writer and then expect to publish a book. That is self-defeating and does not produce a manuscript that can then, hopefully, lead to a published book. You have to build up your confidence, fire up that computer (or pen or recording device) and put the words to paper. That is the only way the words will string together and create something to be enjoyed by others, hopefully while producing a sizeable advance and many royalties.

I will get off my soapbox now, but with these words of advice. Go write your book!