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Why Is It So Hard To Write A Book?

By on December 19, 2017
Why Is It So Hard To Write A Book? - Writer's Life.org

Everyone knows that writing a book is incredibly tough - here’s why!

It has to be well written.

Writing fiction is incredibly difficult, much more so than writing non-fiction. That’s why you might feel frustrated when you come across popular blogs or articles that have been published in magazines and newspapers and been baffled by how poorly written they are. How come these people can get their work published, or gain a significant following, yet, even though you have poured your heart and soul into your book you can’t seem to get anywhere with it?

Write a clumsy sentence in a post or article, and while your reader might be disgruntled, they’ll likely just skip over it. In a novel, however, doing the same can jolt the reader out of the story and they may be much less forgiving - do this too often, and they’ll give up on your book altogether, and possibly write you a scathing review while they're at it.

When it comes to writing a book you’ve got to be a perfectionist, you’ve got to be at the top of your game, and you’ve got to be doing your best work all the time - and that’s a pretty big ask.

The competition is overwhelming.

We all know how much competition there is out there, and we are reminded of it all the time. Of course, it depends on what your motivation is for writing your book in the first place, but if it’s to get it published, knowing how difficult that is means many writers feel daunted and overwhelmed before they’ve even begun.

It’s a huge project.

Writing a book is a massive undertaking. It’s not like sitting down one pleasant afternoon and writing a short story or poem. It takes months of crafting, research, writing, editing, redrafting and so on. Committing oneself to seeing this through is challenging, and probably why so many would-be authors never actually make it to the end of their books. Most novice authors are writing in their own time too so making time to get a book written at all, let alone written well, (especially knowing that nothing may come of it anyway) can make writing a book seem that much more of a challenge.

You are never really done.

Of course, even if you get to the end of your book you are never really ‘done’ with it. For a start, the editing and redrafting process can take just as long as getting your first draft down did. Even when you are finally ready to send it off to publishers or self-publish, there are an endless amount of marketing tasks you could get on with to give your book the best chance of success, not to mention continuing to write and even starting your second book too!

You may never achieve your goal.

The truth is, when it comes to book writing, there are no guarantees. You may put in all the time and all the effort and do absolutely everything you can think of, and yet still not achieve the kind of success you were hoping for. Whenever anyone starts a book, they know that this is the risk, but it can make the whole process seem that much harder.

While this all may sound somewhat negative, it is worth mentioning that many of the best things in life come from working really hard! Many writers find deep satisfaction in the process of writing as well as the sense of achievement that comes from finishing a book, regardless of whether they find a publisher or how many people end up reading it. Really what it comes down to is knowing how you would feel - yes, writing a book is hard, but it also can be the most rewarding thing you might ever do!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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