Forget Losing Weight: Write A Book Instead

The title says it all, rather then delve into the old routine of trying to lose weight, a lofty venture unto its own, but one probably tried before and lost; consider writing a book in 2023!

There are many benefits.

If you like to do non-fiction, then you have passed off your knowledge and skill-set off to a number of people, some of which may have yet to be born. And if fiction is your thing, then you have taken something that never existed and twisted and crafted a story along the way.

The benefits are so numerous because it gets your mind thinking creatively, it is time well spent since once put into print or online, it is a forever-sort-of-thing, and has lasting impact, maybe even a legacy started. And it really does not even take much time. If you write just 1000 words a day, in less than three months you will have a 90,000 word novel or other type of book.

And as myself and others on here have stated in other threads on books, making your own book using stuff you already have around the house can mean you get your thoughts into a true to life book that can look just as good as what you see on bookstore shelfs. So, if you do write a book, rest assured that you can make paper book, soft or hard cover, without having to write a check to a publisher.

One thing that cannot be overstated, when done with that first rough draft, of that first book written, there is a sense of accomplishment that is impossible for even the best writer to put into words. There are so many people who say they want to write a book, but to be a person that actually completes one, is immensely gratifying. And unlike with that unfilled goal of losing twenty pounds in 2023, if you don't quite finish it, you just pick up sometime where you left off. With me, if I go off my diet, I regain weight!

Best wishes and get that book written in 2023. You'll thank me for the inspiration in 2024 after you do!

Steve said, "consider writing a book in 2023!
There are many benefits.

For those who might be considering writing a book:

https://permies.com/wiki/115130/pep-commerce/Develop-residual-income-stream-PEP

https://permies.com/t/186066/perils-author

I thought you were going to say the brainpower required to write a book makes the pounds melt off...

Not to put a damper on things, but writing a book is easy.  Making money off your writing is hard.  

Everybody talks about stuff like royalties but the fact is, you'd have to sell a dozen self-published books every single day of the year to earn any real money (self-published, because royalties on traditionally published books are a pittance).  Sadly, Publishers Weekly says that the average book in America sells about 500 copies.  Not 500 copies a year, but 500 copies total for its whole published life.

But for the sake of the discussion, let's say you sell a dozen books a day every day for a year.  Let's say you earn $10 per book after your costs.  That would earn you about $44,000/year before taxes.  That would be great!

BUT you'd have to spend time almost every day promoting your book and you still have to write more books since the older a book, the more sales will fall off.  Writing takes time.  Hours a day.  So between promotion of this year's book and the writing of next year's book, you've used up a big chunk of your time that you might have hoped to use for stuff like permaculture.  You haven't really earned any more money than you would have by getting a job at a fast-food joint.  

And of course, odds are you won't sell a dozen books every day for a year even if it's a great book. You'd be among the top publishing authors in the world if you sold just a couple books a day for many days in a year.  Don't take my word for it, just google it.

My advice:  If you want to write, I say write!  You won't lose weight and you likely won't earn much money, but if you're a real writer, you'll still write.

I do not agree with that at all, mostly because I have no affinity towards money, so I do not define ANY book success as having to have high sales. Unfortunately in life, talent is freely distributed among the seven billion people of this earth, but opportunity is only begot by a select few. A good book is a good book is a good book, and readers will be the judge of that, whether that good book is a single copy, or 1 million copies.

It is my personality for the most part, as I look at money as a tool, and so I do not care if my books are given away to 5, or are sold to 500 or 500,000 people. In that, I am a Gert author for sure.

For me, the accomplishment is in writing the physical book and having it in print. Maybe I will be discovered, and maybe not? Maybe it will be long after my death and I will have a legacy of printed books? Who knows, but that is not my place to decide.... fate, luck, karma, God???

But you cannot have a book without writing one, and that is anything but easy to do. If it was, the millions of people who start to write a book, would actually finish one, and that is about one out of 100 people by statistics anyway.

For non-fiction, there is the task of being a semi-expert on the subject and writing about the topic, organizing it, and writing so people understand complex terms. To teach is to learn, because it forces you to know details of what you are trying to get across. Add in references, quotes, and clever wording, and it is a challenge indeed, and a true success to be proud of upon a non-fiction books completion.

For fiction, there are plot twists, first line hooks, end chapter tie-ins, characterization, mannerisms, underdog plotting, all while being different, yet writing within the requirements of the genre one is writing within. It is not easy, and consumes the three or four months that it takes to slog through writing a novel. To do that takes dedication, faith and confidence in yourself that what you are writing has merit. None of that is easy, and again why less than one percent of people who start a book, never finish it.

But this post was NEVER about fiscal success; it was instilling in people, WHILE DIFFICULT, to finish a book is an accomplishment that is far better than losing a little weight. As an example, on Christmas morning I beamed with pride as an aunt opened up her present; a handmade hardcover book that I put together and wrote on a subject that was near and dear to her heart. Now, as she reads through it, she texts me about the many plot twists and turns that it has. It was a very personal Christmas gift, and it's fun to be a part of it as she reads along. I have done this about 100 times so far; so while I might be 400 books away from being just average, I sure do not feel average. I would dare say for the readers of my novels, it is not average either.

Writing a book can give a person a huge confidence boost, and a sense of life fulfillment, but it does not take being discovered to get that.

Lif Strand wrote:Not to put a damper on things, but writing a book is easy.  Making money off your writing is hard.

Writing a book is easy, writing a good book is darned hard work! Making $10per book sale is even harder, especially in fiction, though with non-fiction it could be possible.

But ideally, it's not about the money, it's about communicating something the author is passionate about to other people. Passion can be contagious, though, and sometimes the money will come. If it doesn't, the author had a great time digging deep into something that has meaning to them, processing it, and creating something new. That has a value in itself.

I've learned and grown emotionally and spiritually with every book I've written. If a book only touches one reader's heart and mind, then it's worth doing. As it happens, I also make a nice side income from my books. Getting the balance between writing, communicating with readers, and all the other real-life stuff is something I am still working on.