- To make a little cash.
There’s a saying in the horse world: It takes a million dollars to make a million dollars. One could say the same about book publishing. In this day of easy e-publishing, over 1 million new self-published titles were released in 2017 alone. Pair with the reality that only 1 in 4 Americans even read a book all last year, and it is exceedingly unlikely your first book will break through the static, reach motivated readers, become a bestseller, and make you rich. Even if it does, you will have spent thousands on coaching, editing, and writer’s conferences (just to get into agent pitch sessions) along the way. My partner refers to my first byline book as my “PhD program.” That’s about what it cost me in terms of actual financial costs and unpaid labor.
- To get famous.
Ditto on the observations in #1 above.
- To get back at my mother/father/uncle/sister/high school English teacher.
Revenge is fast-burning fuel. It can fuel two or three solid chapters. But it won’t sustain you through years of draft-writing, revision, beta reader feedback, rewrites due to beta reader feedback… not to mention another 12 to 24 months looking for an agent or publisher. Or deciding to self-publish and market the puppy yourself for another three to five years. “I’ll show her” just doesn’t cut it.
Also be aware that revenge can appear in noble clothing. Sometimes it sounds more like: I’ll prove to the world that… I’ll let everyone know the truth about… I’m the only one who knows what he’s talking about… If it smells like hubris, there’s probably a grain of revenge in there. Truth telling is a good thing—more on that in a moment. But root out and purge any hint of revenge-craving. It won’t serve you over the long-haul.
- My mother/father/uncle/sister/high school English teacher told me my writing is brilliant.
Until you let me know that this kinsperson is a New York editor who’s already secured you a major advance, I can’t put much stock in a loved one’s opinion. Praise is nice. It’s a fuel of sorts. But it burns even faster than revenge and can actually work against you. For instance… If I’m so brilliant, why should I listen to my editor? Why even hire one to begin with? The ditches are lined with writers who thought themselves too brilliant to implement critique.
- An angel told me to write this.
Well. Then you don’t need an editor. Go for it. Have fun. Years ago, I quit working with writers who claim 100% Divine Channeling.
EVERYONE feels wildly inspired while writing. The very act of writing causes a union between right and left brain that feels amazing. It can easily be mistaken for “divine dictation”. What you’re feeling is an incredible shift in your brain chemistry. It’s great, but it doesn’t mean your writing is perfection.
It also doesn’t mean you or your book are charmed—that you’ll be magically exempt from the hard work of revision and the mundane tasks of agent-hunting, publisher shopping, and constant book-marketing.
Now for the right reasons…
- This story wants to be told.
You can’t shake it. The idea has a life of her own, and she won’t quit pestering you. You’ve read stories like this before, but you believe you can bring a unique voice to it. You hope so anyway. This is a deep, soul-level reason for writing. It is lasting fuel that will sustain you through hard years.
- To support an existing successful speaking career.
If you are an expert on a timely ____ medical/psychology/business/legal____ issue, and you want to write a book to support an already robust speaking career, get cracking! If you speak on the topic regularly, have a social media following in the tens of thousands, and your fans are asking you to write a book, then you’ve hit the jackpot. Publishers aren’t looking for the next great book; they’re looking for the next great author platform. That’s the reality in today’s exceedingly competitive publishing world.
- To end-cap a healing journey.
You’ve survived a trauma and done years of healing and forgiveness work. You’re ready to write the story—not only about the trauma, but also about the re-building afterwards. The forgiveness work you’ve already done will empower you to tell the truth about difficult people in your past, and to do so with great compassion.
If you’re at that point, your writing will transcend the trauma itself and capture people based on literary quality alone.
There is vivid truth-telling present in a transcendent survival narrative. Yet somehow it doesn’t reek of revenge. There’s a fine and beautiful line here. If the text thrums with beauty and even humor, despite the harsh topic, I know with certainty that the author has done years of healing work. You can’t fake this. The page will always tell on you.
- To honor a lost loved one or mentor.
As long as you’re not deifying the person, and you portray them with both admiration and honesty, this will fuel your journey well.
- You are a writer.
Writing is the only thing you can still do at the end of the longest day, during the hardest season of your life. You write. Nothing stops you. This is a core identity-based motivation that will sustain you through the years and decades ahead!
2 more reasons not to let hubris guide your writing process:
The Long Steady Decline of Literary Reading
The Decline of the American Book Lover
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-decline-of-the-american-book-lover/283222/
And one ray of hope:
Maybe Americans ARE reading, just in different ways…