Good, Bad, and Ugly Reasons to Write a Book

[image error]

I often say that I think everyone has a story in them. However, for a variety of reasons, not everyone ought to write a book. There are good reasons to write, and there are some that are not. Just because everyone can access tools that make it easy to publish does not mean that everyone should.

Before clicking Publish, or even before you begin penning your manuscript, you ought to examine your motivation in the first place.

Here are some good reasons to write your book:

To pass on knowledge or to share your expertise
To motivate or inspire others
To tell a story or entertain
To market your business

These things seem pretty self-explanatory. You might have whole worlds spinning in your mind, or have always been a natural storyteller. Maybe you have a drive to help others succeed because of your own story or maybe you want to share knowledge that only you possess. Perhaps your business model would be helped by a book. All of these are great reasons.

There are other motivators out there. These are not so good. Writing for these reasons will leave you frustrated and angry, even if you might have been considered a success otherwise. Here are the four major ones– if these describe your motivation, you might reconsider your plans.

Revenge
To set the record straight about a past event
To be rich or famous
So you can call yourself an author