Here's How to Stay Motivated When You're Ready to Ditch the Draft of Your Ebook and Go Fishin Instead

It's not easy but it is worth it

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'“You're writing a book!”

“Whoa. That's huge.”

And you feel the load slip slightly from your shoulders when someone recognises the scale of what you've taken on.

But the weight’s still there.

And you aren’t about to dispel the mystique they’ve conjured of your 300 page blockbuster novel.

By telling them that you’re working on a 30 page ebook.

The thing is, how big it is doesn’t really affect how you feel.

Either way, writing draws on all your creative juice and can leave you spent.

Very little left in the tank. Ready to throw it in.

A lot is required to write a book.

It’s not just coming up with the words and sentences. The original ideas. The compelling thoughts.

It’s also the ordering of them, the outlining. The stories and examples, and evidence you have to research.

The unique spice that you offer.

And the bringing it together and creating some half decent takeaways.

Then endless edits to bring the draft home.

You need help to make you stay.

I’m running an online challenge at present for writers attempting their first ebook.

It’s slower, harder, and more fulfilling than they expected.

Like anything new, you have to climb a steep learning curve and find your limits as you go. But the more you respect them and stay aligned with your purpose, the easier it is to not run away.

Here’s some actionable advice to help you reset. And not just give up on this project that meant so much to you when you began.

Here are my top four suggestions:

1. Give yourself a short break.

Accept the invite to ecape.

To the beach, the movie, or the day spent chilling with someone several feet smaller and decades younger, whose idea of a day well spent is building a sandcastle then knocking it over.

Your creative muscles have been stretched, and just like body muscles, need time to return to their stronger shape.

2. Adjust your timeline.

Because you’ve never done this before, you likely were too ambitious with your initial schedule. You anticipated being much further along than you are.

If you can be kind and accepting with yourself here, you’ll avoid adding self-shaming to overwhelm.

Just rejig your schedule with a more realistic timeframe.

And do this again whenever it’s needed.

Noone’s looking or judging.

And there’s no “correct” timeline somewhere that you’re late for.

3. Don’t try to do it alone.

Find a fellow writer to commiserate with. Especially one with an action bias.

We all know the score and have been there. You’ll emerge from the chat feeling a sane, if not genius, human.

Even better than holding a pity party, ask them to take a quick look over your work. Their mind hasn’t tried to wrestle down that wriggly sentence yet.

They may suggest ditching that paragraph entirely. If so, you just saved yourself another hour and a few hundred brain cells.

4.Take inspiration from others.

At the end of a few hours of writing, even more so after editing, you need a recharge. A reminder of why you do what you do as a writer.

Here are 3 of my favorite quotes on this.

• From Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist and poet

A word after a word after a word is power.

That strong word at the end of such a simple sentence pulls a punch!

And remember what impact your own words have on your readers.

• From Paulo Coelho, Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Tears are words that need to be written.

A beautiful reminder of how self- expression transforms us along with our readers.

• From Slyvia Plath, American poet and novelist

Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.

The deeply human need we have to connect with each other is satisfied when we write well and are read.

And ‘good sentences’ take time.

So remember when you’re about to put up the “Gone Fishin” sign and leave for a few months, that you’re a human who’s built for rest, rejuvenation, and connection.

Go ahead and take the boat out or find the rocky shore and throw a line.

But return after a few hours.

And then call a writer friend to chat. Tell them how hard this is. Listen to what's ruined their day. Share your work.

Or take down a favorite book and be reminded how another’s words have worked on you.

This is the honorable craft you're perfecting.

In your own good time.