The Addictive Nature of Writing Books
I never imagined I would have published 10 books since 2019
I wrote my first book in 2019 as an experiment.
It was birthed out from a series of blog posts that I did about productivity. That series came out of a last-ditch effort to save my job.
When I published the book, I had saved my job, done something I never thought about doing, and realized I had found something I didn’t even know I was missing in life.
Since then, I have written and published nine more books, including my most recent, which I just hit the publish button on this week. (Check it out here!)
Now, I have four or five first drafts written on books that aren’t quite ready to be released into the world, and I have several other books I am working on. It’s incredible how easy it is to have a lot of book projects going at once.
The Next Book
Of those open book projects, one book has been burning inside me for a while, but I haven’t been able to find its context until more recently. Finally, something happened that helped me start getting it out, and it began with a little challenge by
.Recently, he started a challenge to help encourage writers to turn their content online into a book, which has been the framework for all of my books.
In this challenge, I found new revelations for my book and myself, which I have somewhat shared, but not completely. Today, I will share them in more depth as to why they resonate with me.
The Minimalist Author
I have shared about this quite a bit as of late, but I have become very passionate about it because this is what I have been doing since 2019. I have been creating content, turning it into books, and publishing.
I have a small team, stay in my lane, and focus on creating short books that help, encourage, and spur people on to being who God created them to be.
This framework has been described but not defined. And thanks to getting to know Jamie and other minimalist side hustlers, I finally defined my process and really my philosophy on self-publishing.
Because of this revelation, I am writing a book on what it means to be a Minimalist Author, how to get started, and how to turn it into a full-on business.
Sustainable Simplicity
Again, this is something I have shared before, but it is something that I am starting to understand more and more as I have dug into the work of writing this year. I have struggled to keep things simple for years.
Over and over, I start projects but never finish them because I start spreading myself too thin. This happens to a lot of creators online. And unless they do something drastic, they quit or never entirely take off.
This has been my story: I have done a lot, but I never really found the breakthrough in my writing that I have desired.
I have recently realized the importance of sustainability in my efforts. For me, that means I am taking the work that I am doing and only growing where I can keep things simple.
I will consider expanding as long as I stay in my lane and keep it simple. If it goes outside my lane or gets complicated, I should stop in my tracks. I might come back to the project, and I might not.
What does this have to do with the addictive nature of self-publishing books?
I have many book projects open right now, and I have first drafts floating around my computer. And the truth is, I could probably write and publish many more books, too.
This is what is addicting about it:
The creativity that I enjoy writing is addicting. I could do this all day.
Helping people is addicting. When I get a positive review or someone shares a story on how my content helped them, it inspires me.
Seeing the books on the bookshelf. Seeing the books on the bookshelf in print or on Amazon is super encouraging and addicting.
Maybe these things don’t connect. Maybe they do. But it’s where I am at.
Two More Things…
Starting March 1, I will be going into the hard launch of my latest devotional on the Gospel of Mark. And for all of March, I will share my experience promoting the book here. So, be on the lookout.
Then, in April, I will launch my next book on becoming a Minimalist Author, where I outline everything in one place and expand on my current ‘first draft’ posts on Medium.
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J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who writes about faith and writing books. He has self-published 10 books and has some great resources. Check his book on using Substack to write books:
P.S. There may be sales or affiliate links in this post. So, I might get a little kickback if you purchase anything. Thank you in advance!
I'm so excited for The Minimalist Author! I want to be the first person to buy it!
So far I a agree and resonate with every one of your posts that I have read. For me Writing the book was the easy part, running a biz and all aspects is not fun. However knowing my book will help people has always been my motivation and that frequency is beyond fun. Love your posts.