What is it like to write and publish a book

Writing and publishing a book is both one of the most rewarding experiences and one of the scariest that a person can have. I say a “person” and not an “author” nor “writer” because the truth is that anyone can write a book… You just have to do it. 

I recently published my 9th book, Fake It ‘Til You Make It, and it brought up all of the same feelings I had from my first one. Jokingly, I always say that every time I publish a new book, it’s both the best and worst day of my life. It’s thrilling to see a story come alive in physical form and to hear from readers. But it’s also the scariest because every book, even the non-fiction ones, is personal. So when people don’t enjoy the book (and there will be people who don’t), it takes some time to build up a thick skin, note the feedback for future books, and not let it emotionally affect me. 

But that said, it’s one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I’m addicted to it! 

What’s the hardest part of writing a book?

The hardest part of writing a book is simply writing it. No matter the length of a book, writing it still requires quite a bit of story planning, overcoming writer's block, edits (and more edits!)... It’s a lot. But it’s also very fun! 

My tips for sticking with it are:

Tip 1: Set a writing goal for every day. Mine is 200 words/day. This will result in a 60,000-word book by the end of the year, which is the average length of a novel in popular genres like Thrillers and general Fiction. Sometimes my 200 words don’t have to be for my book if I’m feeling blocked or inspired to write something else. The goal is to write the words to stay in touch with your voice and keep you in the habit of writing. 

Tip 2: Outline! I never used to outline, and I can confidently say those stories suffered because of it. Now, I write very detailed outlines that tell the entire story. I think of them like the skeleton and muscles of a body, and then the rest is just deciding what it looks like. People tend to think that an outline is restrictive, but I find that with a firm foundation, you’re free to explore all kinds of facets of your story because you are grounded in your themes and pacing. 

Tip 3: Read a lot. I read about 7-10x more than I write. It’s nearly impossible to become a better writer without reading, especially if you aren’t sure what your voice is yet. It also keeps you involved in the craft without needing the energy to conjure up your own ideas.

What’s the hardest part of self-publishing a book?

The hardest part of self-publishing a book is making sure that you don’t overlook any of the details. You are in charge of not only the writing, but editing (and whether or not to hire an editor), cover design (or whether you want to hire an artist), formatting for paperback, hardback, and ebook, distribution on various platforms (most of which have slightly different requirements), and finally, marketing your book. There’s more to it, but those are the basics, and they are a lot. 

It wasn’t until my 7th book that everything clicked into place, and I finally had a blueprint to streamline the process. I created a workbook with my 13-step plan if you want to use the exact process that I’ve honed.

What’s the best part of writing and publishing a book?

The best part of writing and publishing a book is the sense of fulfillment when you’re done. It’s such a huge achievement to simply finish the book, even if you aren’t planning to publish it, or if you’re querying agents for representation. 

I talk to people all over the globe who have a book idea or something they want to write about, but they can’t bring themselves to start, let alone finish it. It’s a huge feat to create a wholly new story out of thin air and then bring it to life. 

Writing a book is literally like magic. You are the creator of people and worlds who didn’t exist until you breathed life into them on the page. Think of your favorite books and the characters in them, how much joy those people brought you… And now imagine a world without them if the author hadn’t written them. 

You have that same power to summon stories from the ether and make them real. 

Should I write a book? 

Everyone should write a book! We all have different stories and perspectives on those stories. What you write may resonate with a whole group of people that you otherwise may not have interacted with. 

If you don’t know where to begin, start here.