Can Anybody Write a Book?

So many people have the ambition to write their own book. Why? I’m sure everybody has their own reasoning but, more than likely, it’s down to the recognition. The pride of saying, “Yes, I wrote a book,” is something the majority of people long to be able to say, even if they have no interest in reading (or even writing). There’s just something about writing a book. A sense that you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s an accomplishment – whether traditionally published or self-published, it makes no difference. The fact that you have something concrete before you, containing your own ideas and views, feels like nothing else in the world. The same goes for me as a ghostwriter. Yes, I might not have my name on the cover. But you might find a little acknowledgement for me at the back of the book. The point is, that I have created something concrete. Something I am proud of.

Do I want to write my own book?

Hell yes!

Do I have the time to write my own book?

Well, that’s open for debate. I currently have two or three of my own on the go. But the truth is, I become so invested in writing the best book I can for my clients, often my own books take the back seat. And honestly, I’m fine with that.

So, back to the question at hand, can anybody write a book? Yes. Oh my god, yes. Anybody can write a book about anything at all. The fabulous thing about self-publishing nowadays is that you can publish your book no matter what. Independent of whether a huge publishing company picks it up, you will get a book in front of you – something you can smell, and touch, and show-off. Something to be proud of.

That doesn’t mean to say that writing a book is easy. On the contrary, writing a book is time-consuming, tiring, and often frustrating. I’m not going to sell you on using a ghostwriter here, that’s not the point of this blog post. The point I’m getting at is that anybody can write a book. Literally anybody. If you have a story to write, you can write it. If you don’t, then now is the time to start looking for inspiration. It is worth considering that no idea is going to be completely 100% unique anymore but the way in which you approach the idea is unique, and that makes it worth doing.

Imagine how many books we’ve missed out on because people decided that they weren’t going to bother writing their book.

Imagine how many books we’ve missed out on because people decided their writing wasn’t good enough, or their idea had been done before. 

The most difficult part of writing a book is starting. Getting those first few words down on the page. 20 words is a sentence. 200 words is a paragraph. 2000 words is a chapter. Even writing a page a day, a sentence a day, is better than not writing anything at all. I need to take my own advice. After a full day of writing other people’s books (something I am 100% in love with doing, I might add), I just don’t feel like writing my own. It’s something I’m working on.  I’ll get there in the end.

Your writing doesn’t have to be perfect. The first draft definitely won’t be perfect by any means. It just won’t. Stop comparing your own abilities to those of other people. There are plenty of books that won awards for their incredible storylines, not fancy writing. Think of the simplicity of To Kill a Mockingbird, for example. You don’t need frilly writing, full of complex metaphors, to make a decent book. You are unique. Your style of writing is unique. Your book will be unique.  

Maybe your book will be the one to change somebody’s life. Maybe your book will be the one to simply entertain a person for a few hours. Both are valuable. Both are valid.

My final tip is to write what you want to write, not what you think other people want to read. Writing comes from within. It’s about the writer, not the reader, as silly as that sounds. You write what you need to write. One of my favourite phrases is ‘you do you’, and that seems pretty apt right now.

I would love to see people writing – whether that be literary novels, children’s books, poetry, non-fiction – whatever they believe in. The more stories we share with one another, the more we develop empathy, the more we learn, and the more we understand.

Don’t get bogged down wondering whether or not your book is important to the world. Is it important to you? If the answer is yes, go for it.

Anybody can write a book.

Anybody.