A client came to me excited about writing a book to establish credibility in his field. He had the expertise, the stories, and the budget. We had an initial conversation. He was ready to start. Then he talked to his advisors.
A few weeks later he sent me a message: “Several people I trust and value as advisors don’t think these kinds of books have the business impact they once did. More on the real ROI of a book. So, I’m not going forward.”
I don’t know who those advisors were. I do know that the 2024 Business Book ROI Study of 301 published authors found that ghostwritten books generate a median of $92,500 in total revenue, with 96% of authors satisfied with their investment. His trusted advisors were wrong. And he’ll never know what his book could have done for his career because he listened to people who had never written one.
He’s not alone. I’ve watched this happen repeatedly across 54+ ghostwriting projects and many more consultations that never became projects. The book doesn’t die because the author lacks talent, time, or material. It dies because someone else’s doubt gets louder than the author’s conviction.
Should you listen to people who discourage you from writing?
The person who discourages you from writing a book has never written one themselves.Share on X
The pattern is always the same. The person who discourages you from writing a book has never written one themselves. They have no data on what books produce and no experience with the process. All they have is a feeling, and they present that feeling as wisdom. For more, see Eight Ghostwriting Misconceptions That Stop People From Writing Books and why successful people use ghostwriters.
Another client had an incredible book idea about leadership.
She was articulate, experienced, and had material that would have made a useful book. She abandoned the project after her family raised concerns. “I just don’t think it’s worth it right now,” she told me. The decision was based on the opinions of people who didn’t understand what a book could do for her career.
These aren’t unusual stories. Other people’s doubt kills more book projects than writer’s block, a thin budget or a crowded calendar ever does, and it’s unforgivable, because the authors in these stories did nothing wrong except ask people who’d never done it.
The people doing the discouraging usually fall into predictable categories. Some are trying to protect you from what they see as wasted effort. That’s generous but uninformed. Some are uncomfortable with the change your book represents, because a published author occupies a different professional position than the person they know now. Some are projecting their own fear of failure onto your project. And some simply don’t understand that a book is a business tool. They see a vanity project, and they’ll talk you out of it the same way they’d talk you out of a sports car you don’t need.
Whatever the reason, the result is the same. A book that could have changed a career never gets written because someone who has never done it said it wasn’t worth doing.
The Books That Almost Did Not Happen
I’ve faced this with my own projects. When I was writing Safe Computing, a book about helping non-technical people stay secure online, a friend told me nobody cares about computer security and I should just let the tech guys handle it. The comment dismissed the entire premise that ordinary people need to understand how to protect themselves.
A book that could have changed a career never gets written because someone who has never done it said it wasn’t worth doing.
When I wrote Focus on LinkedIn, someone said, “Why would anyone read a whole book about LinkedIn? Just Google it.” That book became a Kindle bestseller, selling 15,000 copies in three days.
Focus on LinkedIn became a Kindle bestseller. The person who asked why anyone would read a whole book about LinkedIn was wrong, and so was everybody else on this list.
How to Sell on eBay got similar treatment. “eBay is dying; why waste time writing a book about it?” The person who said this had never used eBay. The book sold over 5,000 copies.
I created four bellydance coloring books, and the response was exactly what you’d expect. “Who’s going to buy a bellydance coloring book?” and “There’s no market for that.” They sold several thousand copies and proved that niche markets are real markets if you serve them.
Every one of those projects was questioned by someone who had no relevant experience, no data, and no understanding of the market. If I’d listened to any of them, those books wouldn’t exist and the readers who bought them would have been unserved.
What Is the Difference Between Criticism and Discouragement?
Not all negative feedback is discouragement. Constructive criticism focuses on the work. It offers specific observations about what is and isn’t working. It respects the project while trying to make it better. Someone who says “your third chapter loses momentum because the structure shifts from narrative to lecture” is helping you.
Discouragement focuses on whether you should be doing the project at all. “Why bother?” and “You’re wasting your time” and “Who’s going to read it?” are opinions about the value of the endeavor from people who have no basis for that opinion.
I handed an early draft of Peacekeeper to a friend expecting useful feedback.
What I got was “This is terrible. I hate the characters, the plot’s a mess, and honestly, you should just drop it.” That’s not constructive criticism. There’s nothing in that response I can use to improve the manuscript. It’s just discouragement wearing the mask of honesty.
The distinction matters because constructive criticism makes your book better and discouragement makes your book disappear. Learn to tell the difference. Use the first. Ignore the second.
What Does Doubt Cost a Writer?
The client who backed out of his credibility book is still operating without one.
His competitors who did write books are getting the speaking invitations, the media appearances, and the inbound client inquiries that come from established authority. He has the same expertise they do. He doesn’t have the book. That gap grows every year.
The leadership book client is in the same position. Her knowledge and experience haven’t changed. Her visibility hasn’t changed either, because the tool that would have changed it never got built.
This is the cost of listening to the wrong people. It’s the career opportunity that never materializes because someone else’s uninformed opinion killed the book that would have created it.
The 2024 ROI Study found that authors who published books saw median increases of $30,000 in speaking fees, $50,000 in consulting revenue, and $40,000 in workshop income. Those numbers represent the cost of not writing the book. Every year without it is another year of leaving that value on the table.
How do you keep writing when people discourage you?
The authors who finish books despite discouragement share a few characteristics.
They know why they’re writing. Not a vague desire to “share their story” but a specific outcome they want the book to produce. A book written to generate consulting clients survives doubt better than a book written because it seemed like a good idea. Clear purpose creates resilience.
They evaluate the source. When someone says your book is a waste of time, the first question is whether that person has any basis for the opinion. Have they written a book? Have they published anything? Do they understand your industry, your audience, or your goals? If not, their opinion is noise.
They have a system. Motivation fades. Systems persist. A ghostwriter provides the system. The ghostwriter schedules interview sessions and delivers chapters on milestones. The project moves forward regardless of whether the author feels inspired on any given day, because the process doesn’t depend on inspiration.
They surround themselves with people who have done it. Other published authors understand the process, the value, and the challenges. They don’t question whether the project is worth doing because they’ve seen the results in their own careers. Find those people. Listen to them instead.
Write the Book
If you have expertise worth sharing, a story worth telling, or a career that would benefit from the authority a book provides, the people telling you not to bother are wrong. Most of them mean well. They’re still uninformed, and meaning well doesn’t give anyone back the years they spent not writing. And the cost of following their advice is measured in years of missed opportunity.
I have ghostwritten 54+ books for clients who decided to move forward despite the doubt. The ones who finished are glad they did. Those who listened to the wrong people and walked away are still wondering what might have been.
I can live with a prospect who tells me the timing’s wrong for their business. That’s a decision, and it’s theirs to make. What I can’t stand is watching a book die because somebody who never wrote a chapter decided it wasn’t worth writing, and the author took that person’s word over the evidence.
Start with a conversation about your book. If you want to develop your writing independently, my AI-Enhanced Writer’s Library covers every aspect of the craft from character development to publishing strategy. The Writer’s Block Handbook addresses the psychological barriers that stop books from getting finished.
My take
Ignore the advice of anyone who’s never written a book. Ask whether the person talking you out of it has published anything or understands your business. If not, it’s noise. I can respect a prospect who says the timing’s wrong, because that prospect made a decision. A book that dies because an uninformed friend shrugged at it is another thing entirely. Know the outcome you want the book to produce, put a system around it, and listen to people who’ve done it.
Writing Discouragement FAQ
Doubt from other people is one wall. Don’t Live in Fear is about the walls we build ourselves, starting with the job I lost because I was too chicken to talk to people.
