Did you know that roughly 81% of Americans expressed the desire to write a book? Of that number, about 15% actually start writing. Only 3% finish a manuscript, and only about 1% are published.
Why is that? Let’s get into it.
Too often, I see writers work themselves up into a tizzy about the challenges of the publishing world and stall themselves out of progress before they ever have the opportunity to address those challenges.
I say, one thing at a time, folks.
If 3% of people finish a manuscript and 1% get published, basically, one in three people who finish their manuscript will get it published in some way. I like those odds much better, let's go forward with that mindset.
So now that we’ve got our heart rates down, let’s talk about why so many writers don’t finish their novels, what you can do to start completing each and every project that you start, and how embracing disaster will be your secret weapon.
Why writers don’t finish their novels
In my experience, writers don’t finish their novels for two main reasons that contain, basically, every other reason.
The first reason is this: You don’t have a game plan that sees you through to the end.
Whether your aim is to pursue traditional or indie publishing, there’s a cadence to the process that you can follow regardless of your end goal.
Between the spark of an idea and the realization of the multi-step, convoluted path to publishing that lies ahead is when writers usually lose heart. You’ve got an idea in your head for a great story, a blank document on your computer, and… now what? Start from the beginning and just chug through to the end? Write the exciting scenes first? Do you plan it or pants it? What about character arcs? Symbolism? Foreshadowing?
The truth is, there’s no single right answer. Each writer’s plan and cadence needs to be both aligned to the practical parts of their life, like their schedule and routine, and the emotional/mental temperament of each writer.
A plan that outlines each step without being too restrictive to follow gives writers a map to follow so they’re not writing words and tossing them into a folder.
The second reason could be this: You’ve got a plan, but you can’t follow it. For one reason or another, there’s something logistical in between you and accomplishing your goal.
It could be work, it could be school, kids, social activities, anything meaningful that gets in the way of your progress towards finishing your novel. It could be that you lost heart because this project proved to be far larger than you thought it would be.
To this I say, you need a new plan.
If you’ve been struggling to implement your writing routine because more important things get in the way, this mindset shift might be what changes things for you:
Writing is no longer a fun little hobby. It’s a professional opportunity that you’re relentlessly pursuing.
Even if you don’t want to be the next Rebecca Yarros or James Patterson, even if you just want to get this one story out into the world and be done with it, this applies.
Even if you don’t want authorship to be your full time job, this applies.
Because frankly, the work that’s required to get your story out into the world is going to require more from you than your average hobby.
That said, if you’re passionate enough to churn out books fueled just by love of the game, you may disregard.
But if you’re anyone else, start treating your writing like a professional opportunity and see how much easier it becomes to prioritize it.
What you can do to conquer these obstacles
Whether you have a system that’s not working for you or you’re operating plan-less, the first thing you’re going to want to do is sit down with yourself and answer a few questions.
Why do I want to write this book? What’s actually getting in the way of me doing it? Am I operating only on motivation? If so, how do I shift it to discipline? When am I at my most creative? Do I want to publish traditionally or independently?
All of these questions will help paint you a picture of your writing personality and give you the information you need to create a writing and editing cadence that will work for you and your life as it currently looks. You can also take this WRITER ARCHETYPE QUIZ to find your writing style and learn how to leverage it to finish more projects.
The most important mindset you can take into any new project is this: let your first draft be whatever it ends up being.
To paraphrase Newberry Honor-winning author Shannon Hale, your first draft is just about building the sandbox, every draft after that is about playing in it.
Your first draft does not have to be incredible. It doesn’t even have to be good. It definitely doesn’t have to be something you feel like sharing with the world, or with anybody at all.
The first draft is about making the story exist. That’s seriously it. You can edit and refine and add to and subtract from a badly written page.
You can’t do any of that with a blank page.
Let your first draft wander as you follow your outline. Or maybe as you’re writing you discover a new opportunity for your characters and your outline becomes totally obsolete by the time you get to the midpoint. That’s fine too.
Just build the sandbox. You’ll play in it later.
And the truth is, when writers try to build and play — to create and edit — at the same time, we end up doing both of them ineffectively.
The writing process inevitably informs the editing process, so as you work through making your story exist during the first draft, you’re getting to know your world, your characters, your plot. So when you finally get down to editing, you have an entire story to look at and address as a whole, not just bits and pieces of a larger project.
My advice: finish your first draft as fast as you can. Don’t let yourself get bogged down by logistics when it’s time for creation.
Feeling ready to conquer your next draft? Want to do it with a group?
Come join the Mantis Academy writers circle! We brainstorm ideas, work through plot problems, write together, and help each other turn first drafts into finished stories.
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