Are You Making These Common "I'll Write My Book Someday" Mistakes?

Hey there, future author!

Let's be real for a hot minute. How long have you been saying "I'll write my book someday"? Six months? A year? Five years?!

If you're still stuck in "someday" land, you're probably making some pretty common mistakes that are keeping your book locked away in your head instead of out there changing lives & building your author-ity!

Don't worry, I've got your back. Let's dive into the biggest traps that keep writers stuck in the dreaming phase & never actually getting to the DOING phase.

Mistake #1: The "Perfect Time" Trap

"I'll start writing when I have more time."

Sound familiar? This is hands down the BIGGEST excuse I hear from aspiring authors, & honestly? It's total BS.

Here's the truth bomb: There will NEVER be a perfect time to write your book.

The kids will always need something. Work will always be demanding. Life will always throw curveballs. You know what successful authors do? They write anyway!

Some of my most productive clients wake up at 5 AM to squeeze in writing before their usual daily dose of chaos begins. Others stay up late after everyone's asleep. One brilliant mama I worked with wrote her entire memoir during her toddler's nap times!

The fix? Stop waiting for perfect & start working with what you've got. Even 15 minutes a day adds up to a finished book faster than you think!

Mistake #2: Believing You Need Hours of Uninterrupted Time

This one goes hand-in-hand with the perfect time trap, but it deserves its own spotlight because it's such a creativity killer!

You don't need to lock yourself away in a cabin for weeks to write a book. (Though that sounds pretty amazing, right? And I'm 100% a repeat offender of seeing that rustic-off-grid-cabin as the perfect answer.)

Real talk: Some of the most successful authors I know write in tiny pockets throughout their day. While dinner's cooking. During lunch breaks. In the car while waiting for soccer practice to end.

Your book doesn't care if you write it in 15-minute chunks or 3-hour marathons. It just wants to be WRITTEN.

Mistake #3: The "I'm Not Good Enough" Mental Block

Oh, this one breaks my heart every single time I hear it.

"Who am I to write a book?"
"I'm not a real writer."
"No one will want to read what I have to say."

STOP IT RIGHT NOW!

You know what makes you qualified to write your book? YOU LIVED IT. You experienced it. You learned from it. You survived it. You conquered it.

Your story, your expertise, your unique perspective: that's what the world is waiting for! There are people out there RIGHT NOW who need to hear exactly what you have to say.

Mistake #4: Perfectionism Paralysis

This sneaky little monster convinces you that your first draft needs to be Shakespeare-level brilliant.

Newsflash: First drafts are supposed to be messy!

Anne Lamott calls them "shitty first drafts" & she's absolutely right. The magic happens in the editing, not in trying to make every sentence perfect the first time around.

Give yourself permission to write badly. Give yourself permission to ramble, to repeat yourself, to write sentences that make no sense. You can fix messy: you can't fix a blank page!

Mistake #5: Waiting Until You "Figure It All Out"

"I'll start writing once I know exactly what my book is about."
"I need to have my whole marketing plan figured out first."
"I should probably take more courses before I begin."

Hold up, beautiful human. You're putting the cart before the horse!

You don't need to have everything figured out before you start. In fact, the act of writing IS how you figure things out. Your book will evolve as you write it & that's exactly how it's supposed to happen.

Mistake #6: The Distraction Dance

We live in a world designed to steal our focus. Social media scroll-traps, the new bingeable-true-crime series on Netflix & that never-ending to-do list: they're all conspiring against your book dreams!

Here's what I know: The writers who finish their books are the ones who get ruthless about protecting their writing time.

That means putting the phone in another room. Closing those browser tabs. Maybe even (gasp!) missing a few episodes of your favorite show.

Your future published-author self will thank you for every distraction you eliminate today.

Mistake #7: Treating Writing Like a Hobby Instead of a Priority

If writing your book is always the first thing to get bumped from your schedule, it's never going to happen.

Brutal truth: You make time for what matters to you.

Want to write a book? Then treat it like the important project it is. Put it on your calendar. Set boundaries around it. Show up for it even when you don't feel like it.

Your book deserves better than whatever leftover time & energy you have at the end of a busy day.

Mistake #8: Going It Alone

Writing can feel isolating, especially when you're struggling with motivation or hitting roadblocks.

Here's the thing: Every successful author had help along the way. Whether it's a writing coach, a book doula, a supportive community, or just one good friend who checks in on your progress: having support makes ALL the difference.

You don't have to figure this out all by yourself! In fact, trying to go it alone is often what keeps people stuck in "someday" mode forever.

Ready to Stop Making These Mistakes?

Look, I get it. Writing a book feels overwhelming when you're looking at it from the outside. But here's what I want you to remember:

Every published author started exactly where you are right now. With an idea, some doubts & a whole lot of "I don't know how to do this."

The only difference between published authors & forever-dreamers? Published authors stopped making excuses & started making progress.

Your book is waiting for you. Your readers are waiting for you. Your author-ity is waiting for you!

So what's it going to be? Are you ready to transform "I'll write my book someday" into "I'm writing my book TODAY"?

The time is now. Because your story matters. Your message matters. YOU matter.

Let's turn that someday into today, shall we? Your future bestselling-author self is cheering you on!