Why Now Is Always The Best Time To Write Your Book
Updated: Mar 22, 2024
Written by: Leandre Larouche, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It’s so easy to procrastinate on starting, writing, or finishing our book. But that’s only the case because we forget the power of the book and its ability to compound for our success.
If I gave you $200,000 and the ability to travel twenty years back for a few hours, would you invest the money?
Assuming an 8% annual return, you would make $16,000 the first year. Twenty years later, you’d have close to a million dollars. That’s the power of compound interest.
Compound interest doesn’t just apply to money, though. It also applies to book writing; that’s why, if you know you want to write a book, you shouldn’t wait. You should do it now.
The Compound Interest for Your Speaking Career
Although you can make a lot of money from selling copies of your book, most authors make their money from other book-related activities. For example, they can use their book to land speaking engagements.
As far as public speaking goes, most people have to start at the bottom of the ladder. This means they start with speaking engagements, and they face a lot of rejection.
With a book, however, you can more easily land speaking gigs. All other things being equal, conference organizers tend to prefer authors because they have an extra level of credibility.
You’ve probably heard of the “Matthew effect.” An economic theory invented to describe income equality, the Matthew effect states that wealth breeds wealth. The reality is that once you start landing speaking engagements, the opportunities will keep coming.
The Compound Interest for Your Coaching/ Consulting Business
You may already have coaching or consulting business, or you may be thinking of starting one. Regardless, now is a good time to write your book because it will increase your economic value in the marketplace. Buyers trust authors, however irrational that may be.
Having a book is a tremendous asset not only because it causes prospects to trust you, but also because it strengthens your self-image. The better your self-image, the higher prices you can charge.
To reiterate, the sooner you have a book, the longer you’ll be reaping the benefits. Assuming you procrastinate on your book for three to six months, you’ll miss out on three to six months of increased trust and self-image.
The Compound Interest for Your Readers
Of course, writing a book isn’t simply about how you’ll benefit from it. In fact, that should not be the first thing you’re thinking about. Doing something solely for ourselves is the best way to cheat ourselves out of the expected results.
A good writing mindset focuses on how the book can impact your audience for years to come (with the understanding that financial rewards will follow for a job well done). That said, think about the long-term impact you can have on your readers.
Let’s say that you have a book idea that could shift the public debate on an important topic. As soon as you publish your work, you have the opportunity to change people’s minds and change the culture’s direction.
It can be difficult to estimate the compound interest you’ll get from your book because not every return is financial. But it is clear that the returns are worthwhile, and that the sooner you write the book, the more benefits you’ll reap.
What are you waiting for?
Want to learn more from Léandre?
Leandre Larouche, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Leandre Larouche is an author, speaker, and writing consultant based in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of Hétérochrome (2017) and three upcoming nonfiction books, Write a Book That Matters, Architecture of Grammar, and The End of Nonsense, all of which are scheduled to come out in 2021.
Though he grew up in French in Saguenay, Québec, Leandre has been writing in English for the better part of the last decade. He studied English literature and professional writing at Concordia University, where he also worked as a writing assistant and developed a unique writing methodology.
Léandre Larouche was a 2019-2020 Fulbright fellow at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA. Upon coming back to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, he founded Trivium Writing Inc., a consulting agency that helps thinkers get their wisdom out in a book through innovative writing frameworks.
