One of the greatest feelings one can experience on earth is to join the ranks of published authors.
Once you write and publish a book, you join the ranks of the immortals.
You begin to rub shoulders with legends like Homer, Chinua Achebe, Frederick Douglass, Virginia Woolf, Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, Chimamanda Adichie, Ryan Holiday, Nicolas Cole, and Tony Robbins, to mention just ten.
As the creator of Book Writing Clinic, “What is the best time to write a book?”, ranks as one of the top questions my students ask me.
The number two question is, “How do I start?”
The question, “What is the best time to write a book?”, is deceptively tricky.
On the surface, you may think it’s about the time of the day you should write. Morning, afternoon, or night.
Look below the surface, it’s about the time in one’s life one should write.
Some “experts” speak with an air of finality, you should write when you have made it, else no one will bother.
I’m here to tell you that the “experts” are dead wrong in that regard.
Just like anything in life, there is no law cast on stone.
As the Chinese proverb goes, the best time to do anything was 20 years ago (even if your 10 years old), and the next best time is now.
Let’s take a look at people that have written books.
According to Wikipedia, “The youngest author in the world is Saeed Rashed AlMheiri from Abu Dhabi, UAE12. He published his children’s book, “The Elephant Saeed and the Bear”, at the age of 4 years 218 days12.
According to the same Wikipedia, “Bella J Dark from Weymouth, UK, is the world’s youngest female author. She published her book at the age of 5 years 211 days.”
According to Bing, “Abhijita Gupta from Ghaziabad, India, is the youngest author to receive the title of ‘Grandmaster of Writing’ by Asia Book of Records for her poetry and prose writing skills at such a young age”.
From antiquity, the world’s first known author is widely considered to be Enheduanna, a woman who lived in the 23rd century BCE in ancient Mesopotamia (todays Iraq). It’s unclear how old she was.
In modern times, the Delany sisters, Sarah Louise “Sadie” Delany, and Elizabeth “Bessie” Delany, became one of the oldest authors when they released their book, “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years”, in 1999, with the help of the journalist, Amy Hill Hearth.
In all, some people write books after they have become famous, while others write and their book(s) make them famous.
Bill Gates wrote The Road Ahead (1995) and Business at the Speed of Thought (1999) after he’d become a billionaire and famous.
Tom Peters and Robert Waterman Jr. wrote In Search of Excellence in 1982 and shortly after left McKinsey and became super famous.
Tom went on to write many other best sellers including Thriving on Chaos, Pursuit of WOW, and Liberation Management.
Tony Robbins wrote Awaken the Giant Within in 1982, followed by Unlimited Power in 1997 and became famous. Others like Money: Master The Game (2015), added fuel to the fire.
Daniel Pink wrote Free Agent Nation in 2002 and became famous. He added Drive in 2011 and To Sell Is Human in 2013. His latest is The Power for Regret (2022). Today, he is super famous
Malcolm Gladwell wrote The Tipping Point in 2002, Blink (2007), What the Dog Saw (2010), Outliers (2011) and became stupendously famous. He then added David And Goliath (2015) and Talking to Strangers in 2022.
Simon Sinek wrote Start with Why in 2011 and became famous. He then added Leaders Eat Last, and The Infinite Game.
The list of famous men who have written books cannot be complete without Richard Branson and Barack Obama.
Richard Branson’s most popular book is Losing My Virginity and Barack Obama’s are Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope.
Chinua Achebe is known for Things Fall Apart, his globally acclaimed masterpiece. One book. Global fame.
Not to forget Wole Soyinka and his The Man Died. The Prof. is a poet.
How did Chimamanda become famous globally? Book. It started with Decision in 1997, followed by For the love of Biafra in 1998, two books no one heard about. And over 10 books later, her Americanah, released in 2013, put her on the world’s map. Today Chimamanda is an awardee of over 10 honorary PhDs by the most prestigious universities all over the world, including Harvard, Oxford, and Wharton.
Remember, Benjamin Franklin said, “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.”
Paul Uduk’s little claim to fame is Bridges to the Customer’s Heart, which open doors to top business executives and Fortune 500 companies.
The best time to start your book is today. Stop procrastinating and asking the world for the permission to start. No one will give you the permission or authority. You decide. You have the authority.
I created Book Writing Clinic (BWC) to rekindle every man’s, woman’s and child’s dream to become a published author.
I have staged webinars on how to get started. Here is one on “Why you should write a book”
So, “What is the best time to write a book?” The answer: “NOW”.
In Part 2, I’ll show you how to start.
