Three Life Lessons from Writing Books

Writing a book is a major endeavor. When you reach the end, like the traveler after a long journey, you look for the stories or lessons in the experience to share with others.

Those stories hold wisdom that applies beyond writing.

I’ve written six books, and coached or supported many authors on theirs. A few patterns emerge from these varied experiences-simple lessons that apply to all kinds of endeavors.

Here are the top three lessons I’ve absorbed from working as an author and book coach. Perhaps they’ll resonate with you as well.

Rule 1. Honor the time it takes

Writing a worthwhile book, like most meaningful work, requires time.

Perhaps you can write a book in a weekend, but should you? You’ll likely cheat both yourself and your reader if you do so.

In my survey of over 400 nonfiction authors, more than half said that writing their book took longer than they expected.

Why is this? Are nonfiction authors rotten planners?