Why I'm Glad I Started Writing My Book Before I Felt Ready
Hello, dear readers,
If you've spent any time in writing communities, you've probably seen the statistics. Around 80% of people dream of writing a book someday, but only a small percentage ever begin. Of those who do start, only a fraction finish their manuscript, and even fewer go on to publish it.
I've never cared much about statistics. And I don't think you should either.
Writing a book isn't a competition. It isn't a mathematical equation that tells you how likely you are to succeed. It's simply a question of whether you're willing to keep going when things become difficult.
Today, I'm deep in the publishing process for my debut fantasy novel, The Puppet King. After years of writing, multiple drafts, and working with a professional editor, I can honestly say something I never expected:
If I had known everything that was waiting for me at the beginning, I might never have started. Not because I didn't believe in my story. But because I had no idea just how much work publishing a book would actually require.
Editing. Cover design. Formatting. Maps. Character illustrations. A website. Social media. Marketing. ARC campaigns. And dozens of other things I didn't even know existed when I wrote the very first page.
There's a saying that ignorance is bliss, and I completely understand why.
Now, before I accidentally scare every aspiring author reading this...
It is absolutely worth it. Every late night, every rewrite, every moment of self-doubt, every obstacle along the way. Because somewhere in the middle of all that work, something unexpected started happening.
People began leaving comments.
They sent me messages asking about my characters and my world. They wanted to know when the book would finally be released. They became excited about a story that, for years, had existed only inside my own head.
Without realizing it, The Puppet King slowly became something much bigger than I had ever imagined.
It also introduced me to incredible people, future authors, passionate readers, artists, and people who simply love good stories. Looking back, that has probably been one of the greatest surprises of this entire journey. Publishing a book may involve countless hours of working alone, but somehow it also leads you to a community of people who understand exactly why you're doing it.
I think the reason I never gave up is because I never looked at the entire mountain. I only looked at the next step. First, I just needed to write the next chapter. Then I only needed to finish the first draft. Then the second. Then work through my edits. Then build a website. Then create my author accounts…
Little by little, those tiny steps became something much bigger than I ever expected. Looking back now, I realize I never actually felt ready for any of it. I simply kept taking the next step until one day I looked back and realized how far I'd come.
So if there's one thing I would tell the version of myself who was sitting in front of a blank page a few years ago, it would be this:
Don't wait until you feel ready.
Because the truth is, you probably never will.
Start anyway. Trust that your future self will figure out the next step when it's time.
Because that's how books get written.
If you’d like to follow the journey of the book I am writing and see how it’s coming together, you can find more here:
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