Blog: So you want to write a book?

“I’d like to write a book”. Does that sound famiiar? It’s been said that everyone has a book inside them, but is author Jodi Picoult right when she says “it doesn’t do any good until you pry it out”?

Escaping into your own head and losing yourself in your own imagination is great for the soul and a perfect step forward in the pursuit of mindfulness. Sometimes, though, that imagination wants to find it’s way out and how amazing would it be if your stories could be shared with others so they too can lose themselves?

So you have the creativity and the desire to share your story? What next?

In 2017, a YouGov survey stated that 60% of British men and women wanted to become an author. And according to writer Joseph Epstein (in The New York Times), 81 percent of Americans want to write a book - in America alone, that equates to 200 million people who want to write.

Throw a global pandemic into the equation and ‘Stay at Home’ guidance and that’s a lot of readers and wannabe authors with free time on their hands. -I know, I know, not everyone has had more free time during the Covid crisis. Front line workers and parents with endless ‘home learning’ battles on their hands (to name a few examples) most definitely didn’t result in more free hours, but lots of people, the world over had less distractions and more free time. During Lockdown, book downloads and Kindle sales went ‘through the roof’ and 61% of British writers were quoted as saying that Lockdown had led to them writing more (Page Turner Awards).

The publishing industry is a notoriously tricky one to crack, but the evolution of the digital age has made it much ‘easier’ to get your book into print. Want to be a published author? No problem! You can pay for your books to be printed and sell them direct from your kitchen table, should you wish to, or you could self publish via print on demand. We live in an age of choice and opportunity. Becoming an author is simple.

Think of an idea. Self publish. Sit back and enjoy the success.

Is it that simple? 97% of people who begin their book writing journey don’t see it through to completion (Quora). The reasons for this are almost endless, but in short, having the desire and creativity alone isn’t enough. Inclination, commitment and persistence are needed in abundance when starting out on the hunt for the book publishing grail.

It’s a minefield. So where do you start? Now that part really is that simple.

Take a breath - breathe in the country air, or the perfume or the vibrant and varied city smells. Listen to the birds or the traffic or the background chatting from strangers around you. Feel the love or the pain; the elation, the sadness and every emotion on the spectrum that makes you feel alive and in that moment. Open your eyes and see the world right in front of you. Think about something that brings you passion. Embrace the fantasy of your inner child and lose yourself.

Sometimes you choose the story. Sometimes the story chooses you.