Eli Gonzalez

The top 4 Reasons to write a book

It doesn't matter what your profession is, how much schooling you have had or even if you’re a bad writer; you might want to consider writing a book!  Here are several quick questions to ask yourself, if the answer is yes to any of these, you may want to think about writing a book.

Do you have a strong opinion, strong argument or a strong conviction about something?

Are you the go-to person from your circle of friends for advice?

Do you have a vivid imagination?

Do you love to tell stories?

Are you really really good at your job?

Would your family/friends say you might be a little too passionate about something?

Do you love to write?

Do you love to read?

As I mentioned, if the answer to any of those is yes, maybe you should consider writing a book.  If you can answer yes to 4 of those questions, you just might be a writer and just don't know it yet!  The truth is that writing a book is hard and requires time, focus and dedication, but it has gotten easier.  Today there are ghostwriters, developmental editors easily found that can help you out.  

Ghostwriters are people that actually write the book for you!You give them an idea or you write parts of each chapter and they write it for you!  Of course, you have to pay them but at the end of the day, it's YOUR NAME ON THE BOOK!  Any monies, notoriety, royalties or exposure that comes from the book is all yours.  

Developmental Editors are people that partner with you to write your book.  They will take your exisiting manuscript and enhance it.  They will reword sentence structures so that it flows better for the reader.  If it's a non-fiction book they will do research on the subject to make it accurate.  They can take a 100 page book and make it into a 200 page book.

All it takes is willingness and a drive to write a book – and become a published author.  “Me? A Published Author?”  Yes; you, a published author!

Here are the top 4 reasons why you should write a book:

Reason # 1:  You become the subject matter expert on it!

Regardless of the topic, you become an expert on it.  Whether it be motherhood, how to be a good friend, how to succeed in sales, how to increase your faith, how to be successful, chess, how to plan a wedding, or any other topic, you would be considered an “expert” on it!  How effective would that be?  How many new doors can that open up for you?

You become an authority on the topic.  Very few people know as much about that topic than you, heck, you even wrote a book about it!  The respect you will earn from your peers will be noticeable.  

The thing about becoming an expert or an authority of the topic is that people don't check your references. You don't necessarily have to do it for a living or have gone to school for it to be viewed as an authority on it for them to buy your book.  How many books have you bought that you first looked up the authors biography or resume?  The majority of people buy books because of what's on the front and the on the back of it.    

Reason # 2:  It can catapult your career or start a new one!

Let’s say you've written a book about motherhood.  You send a professionally written letter along with a few copies to different organizations that deal with that subject.  A quick Google search led me to American Mothers, The International Mothers and Mothering Network, and Protective Mothers Alliance International to name a few.  You can also contact Adoption Agencies, Planned Parenthood organizations, MADD and other groups that teach and value motherhood.  All it would take is for you to start making headway with one organization and BOOM, you’re off and running!

Do you have something to say?

Your opinions will be shared over and over and it can open up speaking engagements, talking on radio shows, television shows or conferences.  Your career can get to a whole new level.

Reason # 3: You would have done something that most people have thought of but never did!

You can’t put a price on self-worth.  Writing a book; although easier now than ever before, is still not easy.  Out of every 100 people who start a novel, only 3 finish.  That’s 3% of people that really wanted to write a novel.  The percentage of people that actually write a book, taking into account everyone, is less than .0005%!  How’s that for an exclusive club?  The feeling you have when you hold your book is a feeling worth feeling.

"I DID IT!"

Have you ever heard someone say, "No matter what happens, they can't take that away from me"?  When you have published a book, it can't be taken from you.  People can say whatever they want about you or about your book, but the fact that you wrote and published a book is a feather in your cap that an extremely small percentage of people have.  

Reason # 4:  You leave behind a Legacy!

Imagine how your children will view you, the author!  We try to raise our kids so that they are good people and we want them to be successful in life.  However, what if we ourselves aren't very successful?  How do you think the message comes across to your children if you never have done anything great?  Perhaps you weren't able to go college and maybe you don’t have a great career.  Children do more of what they see than what they hear.  Imagine you finished your book!  Your children will see you go through the process and finish it to completion.  Now how will your message come across as you instruct your kids?  

How about when they tell every single one of their friends and maybe even some strangers that you’re an author?  The legacy an author leaves behind is one of intelligence, perseverance, and accomplishment.

There are many other worthwhile reasons on why to write a book, these are just my top 4.  Other reasons are:

·         Create an image for yourself

·         Give yourself the chance to play on a national stage

·         Demonstrate competence

·         Help more people

·         Tap into your creativity

·         Save on advertising

·         Be perceived as smart

·         Touch other people’s lives

Notice that I did not put “Get Rich” as one of the top 4 reasons to write a book.  That is not to say that you won’t, however, making money from a book has to do with other factors such as how good it is, how it’s marketed, how hard you push it and the connections you can make.  One thing is for certain; with more outlets today than ever before, an author has so many more possibilities than ever before!

So as your Christmas shopping frenzy dies down and you begin to think of a New Year’s Resolution that will make you a better you; consider writing a book, you can do it!

If you would like to discuss options or have questions, send a message here.