You're considering hiring a book coach for your project but you're not sure if you're ready yet or even how you'd know if you were.

Today we’re beginning our 3-part series dedicated to helping you answer this for yourself.

WHY?

Ask yourself:

Do I genuinely want to write a book?

I know, I know— it seems like an obvious question.

I mean, why would you even be reading this if you didn't already know you wanted to write a book?

But here's the thing:

People write books for all sorts of perfectly good (and not so good) reasons that have very little to do with a genuine desire to actually write one.

Maybe they believe it will further their career or it's part of a larger marketing strategy for their business.

Maybe something interesting/ terrible/ amazing happened to them and everyone who learns of it says, "You should write a book!"

Maybe they have visions of fame and glory— NY Times Bestseller lists and movie deals and, best of all, quitting their soul-sucking day job.

Maybe they dressed up as E.B. White for Halloween when they were eleven years old and told everyone they wanted to be an author when they grew up, and then forgot to pause and ask if that dream had anything at all to do with actually writing, or if it still held at all.

Maybe their always-so-damn-smug brother-in-law is telling everyone about the book he just wrote and they really just want to stick it to him by proving they can do it, too— and better! Take that, Gary!

Maybe...maybe...maybe...

I get it. I really do. It's why I'm asking what's driving your project.

It is essential to root out your reasons before taking a single step forward in the process.

Ask yourself:

Why do I want to write a book?
Why do I want to write this book?
What part of the writing process feels exciting or intriguing when I think about it?
What part of the writing process fills me with dread or intimidation?
What is it about my idea won't let me go?

Every time you get an answer here, ask why again and see if you can get a layer deeper. What's under that answer? Keep asking why until you're pretty sure you've gone as deep as you can.

Really think through this. Before working with a new client, I like to ask:

Why does it seem worthwhile to you to spend the time and energy to write this book instead of simply talking about these ideas with friends over brunch or with colleagues at a conference? Why write a novel about your family story instead of spending your Saturdays digging around in Ancestry? Why write this book instead of putting together a 5-minute story to tell on stage at The Moth?

I ask these questions not to dissuade you from writing your book, but to help you get to the bottom of this before you're two years into a project that always feels like homework you're trying to avoid.

There isn't a single right answer. But you do need to know what's driving you.

External reasons (professional clout or sticking it to smug ol’ Gary) might be enough to get you through to the end— maybe that's all you need for this particular project.

But I see again and again that it's the internal reasons that tend to be the ones that really sustain a project and, perhaps even more importantly, breathe true meaning and life into a book. This is tends to be what folks find most fulfilling, and so keeps them focused and writing.

So before you go any further, get to the bottom of this question for yourself and this project.

Don't just think about this in general terms while you're waiting in line at the grocery store— write it out!

It's really easy to think you know, but it's not until you put pen to paper and find words to articulate it that you actually nail it down.

Plus, writing a book is a long-term project and you'll almost certainly come to a moment in the process when your energy flags and you wonder if it's all worth it. Having this written out to refer back to can be exactly the touchpoint necessary to inject energy back into it for you.

So…

If you’ve dug deep and you’ve determined that you do, genuinely, want to write this book and you know why, then be sure to come back next month for the next installment, because you may be ready for coaching!

Work with me!