I was listening to author Wayne Dyer talk about starting a new book. He had an idea, wrote an outline, submitted it to his publisher (How nice!), and got contract (Even nicer!). He could see the book in his mind. So, he began writing.
I got a call this week from a prospective client. She had known from quite some time that she was going to write a few books; she’d had a vision of these books, but until now had not been able to put words on paper. Recently, however, she sat down and before she knew it the whole table of contents for one of the books appeared; next thing she knew, she had written three chapters. She knew she would write the rest of the book soon and had called me seeking an editor and an agent and information on getting published.
Although I have written a number of articles, essays and short books in much the same manner, I have also left books unwritten while I waited for an agent or traditional publisher to give me the green light to start or to complete a project. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a traditional publisher to offer you a contract for your manuscript or a magazine to offer you some sort of agreement. I would caution you, though, not to let the moment when you feel inspired pass. If you do, you may find that you never write your book or compose your essay or article. Or, when you finally do get a contract, you may no longer feel the same degree of passion and purpose for your subject. (Passion plus purpose equates to inspiration.) You’ll then find it much harder to write that book.
So, when you feel inspired write.
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