Why Most People Never Finish Their Book and How You Can

When you tell people you’re a writer, you probably often get the response: “I’ve always wanted to write a book.” I’m astounded at how many people I hear this from, and yet only 3% of people who start writing a book actually finish it (Most People Never Finish Writing Their Book). My question to these dreamers is always, “So why don’t you? Why don’t you sit down at your desk, or in a coffee shop, or a library, or wherever, and write that book?”

The answer is usually an excuse:

• I don’t have time

• I always lose interest after chapter one

• I don’t know where to start

The real reason these people don’t finish writing a book is that writing a book is hard. And hard things don’t happen on a whim. Hard things happen when passion and perseverance come together. In other words, writing an entire novel requires grit. (Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth).

The Fantasy of Authorship Vs the Reality

Ask yourself why you want to be an author. Is it because your favorite authors have fame or money? Is it because you want to make a living doing something that you love? Maybe you just want to tell stories and share them with others. Any reason is a valid one for finishing a book. However, if your motivation for writing isn’t deeply personal, the odds are you’re not going to finish.

Why?

Writing tends to be a lonely career. An author spends hours planning, writing, rewriting, and editing books. Those hours can become really long when in the throes of writer’s block, imposter syndrome, and lack of motivation.

To actually finish a book, a writer must really want it, and they must keep working on it, despite all odds.

Why Most People Don’t Finish (or Even Start) Their Book

Writing a book has plenty of obstacles to overcome, and when aspiring authors encounter these obstacles, many give up.

What Are These Obstacles and How Can You Prepare for Them?

Fear of Failure & Perfectionism

Anytime we try something new, we often feel a little nervous. This is a natural response as our brain tries to protect us from danger. But like we learned in The Croods, new doesn’t always equal bad. In fact, learning a new skill like novel-writing can be hugely beneficial to your mental health, your creativity, and your confidence (Writing and Mental Health: 8 Psychological Benefits of Writing).

However, sometimes fear of writing something awful or of showing our work to others can make it hard to even start writing. If you find yourself in this situation, know that the first draft is supposed to be garbage! In fact, you don’t have to show that to anyone. Write what you need to write and don’t think about how good it is. Once you have a first draft written, you can go back and make the changes you need to get it ready to show to others.

Lack of Discipline

Discipline is one of the most crucial skills to have if you want to finish a book. Without discipline, your draft will sit on page one for months, maybe years, without any progress. The greatest writing advice I have ever received is to write every day. Even if it’s just for ten minutes, create that habit, and your book will get done. But if you’re not consistent in your writing, you might slip into that 97% of people who never finish.

Write 10 Minutes Every Day

Writer's Block and Burnout

I personally struggle a lot with burnout, and I think most writers do. It’s a byproduct of making your hobby into your job. Sometimes, it’s hard to feel the excitement that you used to, and then you start to say to yourself, “I’m not having fun anymore. What’s the point?” (Writer’s block is a symptom of burnout, in my opinion. It’s hard to come up with things to write about when you’re not having fun).

So, how do you make yourself write when you don’t feel like it? Write something that is fun. Change projects. Work on something else. Start something new. Shake things up. Do whatever you have to to spark your interest again. Maybe take a break from writing, but not from your story. For example, try sketching your characters, or reading comp titles for research. This might take some trial and error to figure out what works for you, but whatever you do, don’t give up.

The Writing Process

Some inexperienced writers don’t pay enough heed to the writing process. But just like ignoring the scientific method will lead to a flawed experiment, ignoring the writing process will lead to a flawed manuscript. Many people fall into the trap of editing while they draft. This is one of the surest ways to let your manuscript burn in hell.

Let me tell you a secret: your book is never going to be perfect. Not even when it is published. Have you ever found typos in a published book before? I have. And it’s okay!

The writing process is there for a reason, so stick to it. When you edit as you write, you are skipping to the end of the process, denying your manuscript all the maturing it needs to do in the middle.

1. Write your draft

2. Get feedback and rewrite (repeat as many times as you want)

3. Edit

How to Be the Person Who Writes a Whole Novel

As someone who has completed six novels, here are my top tips for finishing a book:

• Create a Routine: To be able to finish a book, you need grit. You need to put in the effort necessary to get the novel done. To make yourself put in the effort, I suggest creating a writing routine. Write in the same place every day at the same time, and give yourself as few excuses to get up as possible.

• Set Effort-Based Goals: As a hardcore planner, I love deadlines. Setting deadlines makes me feel motivated and secure…until I miss the deadline. Then I feel like a failure. To mitigate this trap, set goals of effort instead. For example, set a goal to write for ten minutes every day, regardless of the word count or quality.

• Remember Your Why: Another facet of grit is passion. You wanted to be a writer for a reason. What was it? Write that reason down and display it somewhere you can see it when you write. It may also help you to visualize your ideal version of success before each writing session (i.e., are you rich, are you signing books, does your book have a movie deal? Picture that and then work toward it!).

If you’re considering writing a book, you need to ask yourself if you’re willing to push through the hard parts and put in the work necessary to actually finish. If the answer is yes, then good luck! If the answer is no, that’s okay! Maybe writing it down isn’t the way your story needs to be told. There are plenty of other storytelling mediums to try.

Struggling to Finish Your Book?

Comment about what’s holding you back from writing your novel, let’s see if we can help each other out!