Why you should write a book (even if no one reads it)

Writing a book can change your life, whether it’s ‘successful’ or not.

Hey there! Before we dive into today’s main subject, I’d like to share a behind-the-scenes update.

I’ve been working on my ninth novel, Catalyst of Control, for the past several years. It’s a dark sci-fi epic about a secretive race to develop mind control technology. It’s my most ambitious book to date, hence why it’s taken far longer to write than any of my previous novels.

I’m excited to announce that the book is now in the editing phase, and will be published this summer. If you want to be among the first to read it—for free!—you can apply to be an ARC reader here.

I’ll be sharing more about the making of the book in an upcoming video.

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Why you should write a book (even if no one reads it)

Okay, here’s a wild statistic: 81% of Americans want to write a book, but less than 0.1% of people ever do. When I was 7, I broke into that 0.1% by writing my first novel, and I’ve written eight more since then. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that writing a book can change your life—even if no one ever reads it.

I could not have predicted where writing my first book would take me. It was, though I didn’t know it at the time, a turning point that set me on the path I’m on today. And it’s not because it became a bestseller or a landed me a publishing deal.

It can feel like there’s so much emphasis placed on getting published, building a following, making your writing profitable, that the benefits of simply writing a book—regardless of its success—are overlooked. In fact, I’m glad no one read my first book—well, my first several books, really.

You Can Write a Book

We’ll get to the benefits of writing a book in a moment, but first, I think it’s important to make one thing abundantly clear: if you want to write a book, you can write a book—and you already have everything you need.

You don’t have to be ‘talented’ to write a book. I wrote my first novel when I was 7, and I was a pretty normal… well, I wasn’t really a normal kid, but I wasn’t a prodigy.

I started writing because I loved reading. I devoured books, especially fantasy and sci-fi, when I was a kid, and I had a hyperactive imagination. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to try my hand at writing my own stories. I began with short stories, comic books, and plays, and then started writing a fantasy/sci-fi book when I was 7 that turned out as a full-length novel. I barely planned it—I was mostly making it up as I went along.

I hadn’t gotten an MFA or an English degree (I wasn’t even in middle school, so can you blame me?), I hadn’t read dozens of books on writing, I didn’t have any fancy software, I didn’t even have my own computer. I was just passionate and I had plenty of time on my hands.

And that’s all you need. However young or old you are, however inexperienced, passion and time are all it takes to write a book. People will tell you you need this writing app or that plotting structure or decades of life experience to draw upon, but it’s not true. At least, if you’re writing fiction, it’s not true.

It was through writing my first book that my love for the craft was cemented. After that, I just kept going, branching out into new genres and growing my skills. I wrote a novel when I was 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, and over the past few years, I’ve written three novellas and my ninth novel, which is coming out later this year. I’ve been making videos about writing for four years, and I’ve met hundreds of other artists as a result of my work. I’ve started a publishing company, won awards, and built a community online of other writers. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t taken the leap to write my first book. And mind you, practically no one read it, and it wasn’t all that good. Still, that one decision forever altered the course of my life.

So, obviously, writing a book can change your life in some pretty significant ways. But even if you don’t want to make this into your career, even if you don’t want to publish, even if you feel like you only have one story in you, writing a book can be transformative. Here’s why.

I. Self-discovery

In a story, your protagonist goes on a journey. They face obstacles in pursuit of a goal, undergo change, and emerge on the other side with new skills and knowledge. Usually, they become a better person as a result of what they experience. As a writer, you go through the same journey in the process of bringing your book to life. You’ll face challenges and setbacks. You’ll learn new things and find help in unexpected places. You’ll have breakthroughs and victories.

By the time you finish your book, you’ll no longer be the same writer you were when you started. You can learn lessons and grow as a person by reading a book, but that change pales in comparison to what you can experience by writing a book.

All fiction that comes from the heart is somewhat autobiographical. Not in its plot or characters, but in the feelings it tries to evoke. To my mind, that’s what all art really is—the attempt to capture a feeling and share it with others.

When I look back at novels I’ve written, it’s like stepping into the mind of my younger self. I can see what I was afraid of, what I cared about, what I thought was cool, the feelings and lessons I deemed important enough to crystalize in words. So not only can writing a book help you learn more about who you are now, but it can also serve as a time capsule for your future self.

I’ve discovered a lot about myself through writing fiction. Not just my preference for certain styles of prose, or my undying allegiance to the Oxford comma, but the themes and ideas that matter most to me. My latest novel examines when the pursuit of control changes from a virtue, as in self-control, to a destructive vice.

Why? Because that’s something I think a lot about myself, and I wanted to explore it on the page. Through writing this book, I’ve been able to come to a better understanding of control and the ways I seek it.

Fiction allows you to externalize and dramatize philosophical debates that would otherwise remain in the confines of your mind. It can help you come to new conclusions and see things through other people’s eyes.

II. Self-confidence

Writing a book is a big, ambitious undertaking. It’s a serious challenge. Like running a marathon, it’s something that will push your limits and force you out of your comfort zone.

Yes, it can be a lot of fun, but it also requires a lot of time and effort. If you have deadlines, it’s going to require discipline. If you have standards, it’s going to require ruthless editing. There will almost certainly be times when you’re tempted to give up. But, as counterintuitive as this may sound, the fact that it’s so hard is one of the best reasons why you should write a book.

Doing hard things is how you build self-confidence. Especially if you don’t feel like you have talent, or you were told you could never accomplish anything big, writing and finishing a book might just be the proof you need to believe in yourself.

That sounds so corny, but it’s true.

III. A change of pace

Taking on such a big project can also help develop skills like time management, discipline, and focus.

In an age of short-form content, instant gratification, and constant distractions, carving out the time to write a whole book and applying yourself to the process can be a challenge. Especially if you feel like you have a short attention span, it can be intimidating, but it might just be the antidote you need to the mile-a-minute world of overstimulation we find ourselves in.

Writing allows us to slow down, listen to ourselves, and dedicate time to creating something new and beautiful. We need practices like that, now more than ever.

IV. Writing skills

Writing is one of the most fundamental and important skills a person can possess. Even in a time when you can have ChatGPT write your emails for you, being able to express your own ideas articulately is invaluable. If you can write well, you can communicate well. If you can communicate well, you can go further in any field.

Improving your writing skills will help you become a better critic of other writing, a more articulate conversationalist, a more analytical and thoughtful reader.

Writing a book can teach you how to write decent prose, how to construct beautiful—or at least competent—sentences. But beyond that, it makes you learn the fundamentals of storytelling.

Stories are everywhere. They’re used to manipulate us in advertising, to teach us lessons, to sell us on certain ideas, to keep us glued to a screen or turning the pages. A deeper understanding of storytelling techniques leads to better media literacy. You can identify the underlying reasons why a plot twist felt satisfying, or why it didn’t work. You’re more aware of the storytelling tactics used by the news or marketers to influence your feelings. It’s a little like Neo seeing the Matrix.

This doesn’t mean you’ll never be fully immersed in a story again. Yes, there are times when seeing the skeleton of the story takes me out of it, but if it’s done well enough, I can still get lost and forget about picking apart the story until after it’s finished.

In short, understanding from firsthand experience how storytelling works is a valuable skill to have, wherever you go in life.

V. It starts conversations

Another benefit of writing a book is that it makes you a more interesting person. I’m not an inherently magnetic, fascinating guy. But I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been talking with someone and mentioned that I write novels and that sparks a conversation about literature, or my writing process, or how they’ve always wanted to write a book.

Like I mentioned earlier, a fraction of a percent of people write a book, so if you’ve written one, you’ve admitted yourself into a pretty exclusive club. It’s not every day that most people meet an author. They might not remember your name, but there’s a good chance they’ll remember you wrote a book, or you’re writing one, if it’s not finished yet.

So even if no one ever reads it, your book can serve as a good conversation starter.

VI. It can inspire others

By writing your book, you might inspire others to do the same, or to take the leap to work on another big project.

Writing a book is something so many people aspire to, but so few ever do. Part of the reason may be that they don’t know anyone else trying to. Pursuing your dreams gives other people permission to do the same. Not that anyone actually needs permission, but it can feel that way.

Authorhood is sometimes painted as something unattainable for the average person. And sure, becoming a traditionally published author is extraordinarily challenging. But writing a book? Most people can do that. It may not be very good, and it may never be read by anyone, but a finished book is a finished book.

The art of writing should not be gatekept. It’s one of the most accessible forms of human expression, and an integral part of society. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be an author—with enough time and dedication, you can make it happen. When you do, you’ll show other people they can, too. You might just be the spark of inspiration that leads someone else to tell their own story.

If you’re still reading this, you probably want to write a book. Maybe you already know what it would be about. Maybe it’s just a feeling you’ve had for a long time, that you have some story to tell, even if you haven’t found it yet. If you have that dream, no matter how far-fetched or insignificant it may seem, follow it. Try writing that book.

Maybe you’ll get two chapters in and realize you hate the process—it could happen.

Or maybe you’ll find you love it. And even if your first draft is absolute garbage, you’ve discovered something you want to improve at, something you enjoy doing even when you haven’t mastered it yet. So it’s worth a shot.

I’m glad my first several novels weren’t read by many people—they weren’t great. But they certainly weren’t a waste of time. I’ve learned so much from every book I’ve written, far more than I could have by consuming advice about the craft.

And now, my ninth novel will be my first widely published book. I couldn’t have written it without having written the previous eight. Just like every other book I’ve authored, it’s been a journey and a struggle at times.

But it’s always worth it. Even if no one ever reads it, writing a book is worth it.

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You can watch the video version of this post here. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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Recommendations

• Listen: “Your House” by Mandelbro (Bartholomew Joyce), a talented musician from Paris whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and seeing perform several times.

• Read: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I visited Dresden briefly last year and realized I’d never read this classic about its destruction—an oversight I’ve now ameliorated. It’s a fascinating blend of sci-fi and memoir.

• Watch: Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler. With an unlikely combination of elements—from vampires to gangsters to blues music—it’s a lot of fun, with some truly imaginative sequences.