5 Reasons why you don’t need to write a book
People ask me all the time how they can get a book deal. So I had my agent write a post on how to get a book deal. But really, I’m telling you, you probably don’t need to write a book. Every time I ask someone why they want to write a book, they have a terrible answer.
So instead of worrying about how maybe you need to get a book deal, consider these reasons why a book deal is no good for you:
1. People who have a lot of ideas need a blog, not a book.
A blog is more immediate, so you'll get better feedback. And getting feedback as you go is much more intellectually rigorous than printing a final compendium of your ideas and getting feedback from the public only when it’s too late to change anything.
Many people think they have a ton of ideas and they are brimming with book possibilities when in fact, most of us have very few new ideas. If you have so many ideas, prove it to the world and start blogging. There is nothing like a blog to help you realize you have nothing new to say.
And, if you do end up having an amazing blog that focuses on one, big grand idea with great writing to boot, then you can get a book deal from your blog.
2. A book is an outdated way to gain authority.
It’s true that lots of people think that book authors are the people with authority. But anyone can have good ideas, and only some good ideas fit into book format. On top of that, the people who are on the cutting edge of any topic are not waiting the two years it takes to deliver new ideas in a book. Instead, they're reading articles and blogs and discussion online with all the immediacy of the Internet.
So if you feel like no one is giving you credit for having good ideas because you don’t have a book, think again: Maybe your ideas just aren't that good. Or maybe you are trying to get credibility with people who don’t know how to assess authority in the information age.
3. Books lead to speaking careers, but speaking careers often lead nowhere.
This reason actually works, because one thing a book really does provide is enough traditional authority to get you speaking gigs. People who schedule speakers are reluctant to give you a slot unless you have a book published by a top-tier publisher.
But before you get giddy about those huge speaking fees that take you to Hawaii and Belgium, remember that the life of a public speaker may not be what you expect. You don’t really connect with people and work with them, but instead flit from city to city making one-hour connections and then leaving. Also, it’s great to get a gig in Newport Beach, but usually it’ll be Bismarck or Birmingham. And the constant travel will keep you so tired that you’ll become numb to those chic-chic accommodations.
But really, the biggest problem with the life of a public speaker is that it is so tenuous, because you have to speak about what you do, but if all you do is speak, then it’s a Mobius puzzle that ends with you having nothing to say. So most speakers have to eventually figure out what to do after the speaking is over. Which means why not just forget the book and figure out your post-speaking career before you even start?
4. You’ll make more money per hour flipping burgers than writing a book.
The odds that your book will be a best seller are absolutely terrible. Writing fiction is an impossible life unless you hit the jackpot. There’s a great article in the New Yorker about a relatively famous, established novelist who cannot support himself on book advances. I can’t find that article, but just trust me: It’s a very very hard industry to survive in.
Nonfiction books are a better bet for personal survival, but this is not to say books are big money makers. Most nonfiction books are paperback originals which means they are $50,000 advances, and most of you could earn more than that spending a year in an office.
On top of that, a book costs so much in time that it’s a cost center which you have to justify by deciding what you are using the book to sell. And that’s the crux of all of this: That a book is a marketing tool. You can market your company or yourself or your blog or an idea, but you need to have something you want the book to support.
5. When you’re feeling lost, a book won’t save you.
A book will not give you direction in life. A book is something you write in order to get you to where you’re going. If you have nowhere to go, a book will insure that you stay where you are: Lost.
People use books like law school. They think if they have some piece of paper — a degree, a contract — then people will respect them and then they’ll respect themselves. But self-respect comes from having some sort of vision for one’s life and heading in that direction. And there is no one who can give you that vision — you have to give it to yourself, and before you can feel like you have direction, you have to feel lost — and lost is okay.
So stop with the idea that you need a book. Most people who think they need a book deal probably need to answer the question: What will I be doing two years after that book? Do you really need the book to get where you want to go? Probably not.
While reading this opinion, I thought, what a great point of view. That would be less daunting then have my trusty pen spill it’s blood day after day…Then I realized, it would be to immediate to see the public shatter the one and only goal this tattered man holds.
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I dont agree with you there I think people need to read tto learn more not less we all have to read so we can get a ggood jobs not homeless.
I write because I love writing. I blog because I love blogging. If I have an audience, that’s the whipped cream on top, but I’d write even if I knew nobody would ever read it. I don’t need a book deal to make my writing mean something to me.
thank you for info
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Love. Site Really great work, I would like to join your blog anyway, it is fresh, with related articles.
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hi penelope, thank you so much for this great information about pros and cons about book writing. well I don´t know if book writing is a complete dumb idea to do, but I know now that writig a blog is more efficiant. so thanks again for this great info. your blog is really awsome
I really like we have bookmarked your internet blog for brand new things to check out email on the highway. Excellent Job i really enjoyed reading your post thanks for sharing.
This is such terrible terrible things to say about writing! Writers write to satisfy their inner writer and to encapsulate the world through their eyes! I read a book that was written by a writer from Domican Republic, i loved the intimacy that i sharef with the writer and the things that i learned from the country! Then i did a research on Dimincan and found out a fee things which i forgot within hours after reading them..i dont know why u are discouraging ppl from writing, just because your idea no longer seem visible to you doesnt mean that you have the right to crush hope like this! What do you do if u love writing and reading and books but your bad at all of it? I say you do it anyway. We dont blame ourselves for failing, we blame ourselves for not trying!
Of course, we’re talking about nonfiction books, right? Nobody’s suggesting blogs replace Harry Potter books?
เครื่องชั่ง ชั่งสัมภาระนี้ขับเคลื่อนโดยแบตเตอรี่ลิเธียมเปลี่ยนที่จะสุดท้ายสำหรับปีน้ำหนักจริงในไม่กี่วินาทีเพียง ถ้าคุณบันทึกเพียงค่าขูดเลือดขูดเนื้อหนึ่งกับผลิตภัณฑ์นี้จะจ่ายสำหรับตัวเอง!
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Really interesting ideas. I agree that if you have a lot of ideas and want to build authority which leads to speaking gigs, start a blog. However, if writing is your thing and you love it, there is nothing better than publishing books.
They just have to be good enough to make A TON of sales to make a living. There’s nothing more rewarding than writing books and earning a good living doing it when you love it.
I agree with number 1.
** People who have a lot of ideas need a blog, not a book.
Thank you for your time and effort to summarize everything for the audience,. I am truly learning from your experience..
Thanks again for useful resource.
Totally agree with your point 4
My advice, keep blogging and write books at the same time. You will never know when someday you’ll make a hit from one of them. :)
i totally agree with your points here.Its quite true that writing a blog connects you with live people and a better exposure whereas books limit is static.
Cool article about SEO and thanks for some useful tips. Can anyone out here tell me, once in how many days does google update the page rank and on what basis will google crawl in to our site?
amen
Very great post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have really loved browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing on your rss feed and I’m hoping you write once more soon!
Of course, we’re talking about nonfiction books, right? Nobody’s suggesting blogs replace Harry Potter books?
we don’t need book, magazine or newspaper any more, we can get fresh information from internet
I don’t see how this blog answered the question, except to squash someone else’s dreams. I disagree with all the talking points. Write the BOOK. Put it on your blog with an excerpt from several paragraphs and let the masses know where to pick one up.
this article is really awesome.just now i find out the reason why i am not able to write a book.I get knowledge about lot of reason and lot of people share their view.Its really great discussion for me.always-forever.
I am the same opinion with you. Thanks for sharing this article with us.
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Your style is unique compared to other people I have read stuff from.I appreciate you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark this site
I agree the 3rd point of your post, and I like to read books.
I have a friend who is a legend in his field of writing yet he can’t pay his mortgage. I write because I love writing. I blog because I love blogging. If I have an audience, that’s the whipped cream on top, but I’d write even if I knew nobody would ever read it
Yes, in this age of “over-everything” you need not write a book or call yourself a writer; it won’t elevate you in any way. Instead, read through a mountain of advice on how to write (even join those hilarious seminars in the mountains), then put it all aside and write for your own amusement. Don’t blog, encourage people to stay clear of blogs and read what has been written and remains readable; there’s lots of it. Did you know that? Keep it there; your kids will dump it all in good time.
Seriously, good one. Almost everyone in my knowledge is on the mission to write a book.
My blogging friends are busy writing books even though they don’t have knowledge on the topic they are writing.
Wow, I am going to follow all the steps.
Nice share, thank you buddy for great share
I would like to communicate with others that have the same problem as I have and going through the pain and suffering, for being a victim of a planned divorce. My married life was destroyed by the husband and his lover, that helped him destroy a twenty five years of marriage. Taking almost everything I worked for and acquired with the husband. Now only left the hate for husband, the woman the lawyer
and all of those that were involved for the destruction of my life. I need to find out how many people are victims of this cursed Planned Divorce. I know few people that were victim as I was. One of them was a man named Paul, that committed suicide .
I am now homeless, sick with depression, and anxiety attacks. I can’t work because of my sickness condition . All I have now is the desire to die; but first I like to see all of those that contributed to my destruction, pay for what they did to me. I have try many different ways to forget and forgive them all, but I can’t . The pain of my destruction is so intense that I lost the zest to continue living. I can’t find any happiness any where, with anyone or anything. My life was completely destroyed by someone that I trusted and loved. The worse was that this man that was my husband took advantage as soon as my mother pass away , when I was suffering with her death. This man knowing my situation, push me even to a deeper and completely devastation. My husband and the woman that he was having the affair with were planning to take my inheritance that my mother left for me. How cruel can this so called human beings could be.
Interesting advice, considering that you did not stop at the first book, but are indeed working on a second one. :-)
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