“How do you give yourself permission to write a book?”

The question came from a friend who was finishing her manuscript. Clearly, she’d found a way—but only after struggling with a sense of not being invited.

Hers is a question each of us must answer, whether we want to write a book, a blog, or a LinkedIn post. Because, most of the time, we must grant ourselves permission to write.

Inviting ourselves to write

Once upon a time, editors and agents decided which voices to publish and amplify. Today, with self-hosted blogs and indie publishing, we can bypass those gatekeepers and reach our own audiences, whether large or small.

Yet those gatekeepers served another role—they granted permission. They soothed the doubting voices in our heads.

They still do. If you land a book deal, you have official permission to write the book. (Of course, authors with book deals can struggle mightily to feel worthy of writing.)

Most of us have moments of doubt and anxiety. Conquering them is part of the growth that comes from writing. If self-doubt prevents us from starting, we never have the chance to clear that hurdle.

How do you give yourself permission to write? The answer is different for everyone, but here are a couple ideas to try if you become mired in doubt and inertia.

Start by writing for yourself

Start a journaling or freewriting practice. You don’t need anyone’s permission to write for yourself. And as you show up regularly and contribute, you will create a few ideas, sentences, or paragraphs that are worth sharing.

Writing for yourself seeds the work you do for others.

If it feels pointless or self-indulgent to spend time on journal entries that no one will see, tell yourself that you’re working on your craft and feeding the creative processes. Because it’s true.

Adopt a servant authorship mindset

Think about the people you want to serve with your writing and aim to meet their needs.

Creating something of value is always a valid reason to write. You don’t need anyone else’s permission or invitation when you have a sense of purpose.

Better yet, when you focus on other people’s needs, you’ll stop worrying about whether you are “good enough” or “expert enough” to write.

You may not have a clear idea of the purpose until you are deep in the work, so get started.

Related Content

Need more inspiration? Here are a few posts from the blog archive that might help:

Adopting a Writing Mindset

You are Not an Imposter

Or, watch this quick video, with its two-question test to determine if you’re fit to write about a subject: The Imposter Syndrome.

“Where’s the paper towel holder? Did we find a place for it?”

I peered dubiously into the over-packed car. Steve and I were taking the final load of random things from the house we were vacating. I thought we were ready to leave.

“I haven’t seen it,” he said.

Back in the house, there it was, sitting on the otherwise empty kitchen counter. Loaded with a fresh roll of paper towels.

I had walked right past it thinking, “Yup, the kitchen is empty.” My brain simply didn’t register it.

Our brains are too helpful.

They fill in what we expect to see, even if it’s not there. And sometimes they look right past things that we have already determined belong, even if they don’t.

This, my friend, is why we need editors.

A professional copyeditor sees what’s really on the page, not what we think should be there. They fill in our blind spots.

Critical projects need critical eyes

People sometimes ask me if they really need copyediting for their manuscript. “You’ve looked at it and it’s pretty clean, right?”

Sure, but I walk right past paper towels holders, much less incorrect homophones (words that sounds the same as the one you want to use).

I’m not a copyeditor.

For important works like books (and legal documents), professional editing isn’t a luxury—it’s essential.

Missing or misplaced words or commas can have major ramifications. (See this article from the National Law Review on patents lost to punctuation.)

As writers, we know what we’re trying to say in our writing, and the tone we think we’re projecting. So, it’s difficult for us to see what’s actually on the page.

We need editors—real professionals—to protect our readers, and ourselves.

Editors come in different forms.

• Developmental editors examine a manuscript’s overall structure. In fiction, they’ll assess plot and continuity. For nonfiction, they might consider fit to market, organization, expression of authority, and balance of research.
• Line editors identify issues with the readability and flow of the sentences and paragraphs. They reduce the cognitive load for the reader.
• Copyeditors look for grammar, usage, stylistic conventions, spelling issues, and more.
• Proofreaders give the last look after copyediting when the piece (like a book) is in its final layout, and will spot not only grammar and usage but issues with headings and cross-references.

These are fundamentally distinct skill sets. I can do developmental and line editing for nonfiction works, but copyediting? Proofreading? Nope.

What about using software, you ask?

Software only gets you partway there

I’m a huge fan of using software to check my work before hitting Publish or Send. Grammar and spelling checkers are always active as I write. In Word, I summon WordRake to examine my writing for clarity. In other online environments, ProWriting Aid checks blog posts before I publish them.

But software cannot catch everything, such as using the right word in the wrong situation.

Nor can it detect ambiguities in tone that might disturb readers.

Despite advances in Artificial Intelligence, we need human editors.

Get the most from your editing investment

You might not need a developmental or line editor, but we all need copyediting and proofreading.

You probably don’t have the time or money to hire editors for everything you write. Some projects don’t merit that level of care. For blog posts or crucial emails, you might combine judicious use of editing software with letting the work sit or reading it aloud.

But I always recommend hiring a professional copyeditor and/or proofreader for your most important work—such as a book.

Here’s how you can get the most from that relationship, personally and economically.

Submit the cleanest copy possible to the editor

Polish and perfect the draft, removing as many errors as you can find before sending the manuscript to the copyeditor. Why? Two reasons:

1. If your editor charges by the hour, you can save money by sending a clean copy. They won’t have to spend as much time fixing the obvious problems that you could have caught with software.
2. When they’re not overwhelmed with easy fixes, editors can catch harder-to-detect issues, like repetitive sentence patterns or over-use of specific words.

Learn from your feedback

Make a note of what the editor marks. Do the same kinds of comments repeat?

Professional editorial feedback is like a personalized lesson in writing craft.

Take advantage of it. Note your personal trends and try to correct them going forward. Search for them in future drafts.

For example, many people routinely confuse words: principle for principal, or its for it’s. We all have these weak spots. Learning yours can save you headaches in the future.

Need help with those issues? My friend Sarah Townsend has a new book: The Little Book of Confusables: Simple Spelling and Usage Tips to Help Smart People Avoid Stupid Mistakes. Get a copy and earmark your own confusables.

Related reading

Due diligence in writing

Getting bogged down in revision

When I am about to publish a book, the voices of self-doubt whisper incessantly in my head. Have I done enough? Is it any good? Even with professional proofreading, have we found all of the glitches? Could I choose stronger verbs?

These thoughts can drive authors to distraction—even people like me that know intellectually to trust the process.

In the days before publishing Get the Word Out, similar thoughts and doubts swirled in my head. Then my library sent a notification that a book I’d requested months earlier was now available.

The book? The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown.

It was precisely the book that I needed at that moment. Even the title gave me peace.

Receiving gifts from the celestial librarians

My rational mind doesn’t believe in signs from the universe. But sometimes, I imagine that a celestial librarian sends me books, blog posts, and articles at the precise moment I need them.

These gifts arrive from many sources, beyond the actual library.

• Off-hand recommendations by friends
• A blog post or book review that rolls through my social media feeds
• A review request from an author/publisher for a new book

Often, I simply pluck a book from my long-standing “to be read” stack, only to discover that it holds a key to my current situation. Had I read it several months earlier, it would not have resonated so deeply.

Time and again, the universe provides the books I need when I need them.

Does this ever happen to you? With which books? And what did you do with that book when you were done—keep it on your bookshelf? Pass it on to someone else?

If you want more support from the celestial librarians, here are a few ideas:

• Make time to read—especially when life throws you curve balls.
• Keep a large stack of unread books as fuel for the celestial librarians.

Stocking the celestial library for others

Here’s a thought experiment for writers: Imagine a situation where someone desperately needs something that you are about to write.

What is that person’s state of mind, and what is happening in their life? What are they worrying about?

Then imagine their experience the moment they find and read your book or blog post or article or poem.

What will they say? How will they feel? What will they do and how will it change them, even slightly?

Make a note of all of that. Then write.

Write the book that the celestial librarians will deliver for that person.

How does this change the experience of writing? Does it change anything stylistically? Does it get you out of your own head?

Go ahead, write something and give it to the celestial librarians to deliver.

Related content

The celestial librarian exercise is another lens on the concept of servant authorship. Learn more about that in these places:

Blog posts:

Servant Authorship: How serving the reader advances your writing

The servant authorship mindset: Why it matters

Video: My conversation with Joseph Jaffe

Book: Get the Word Out: Write a Book That Makes a Difference

Make the reader’s curiosity your ally in titles and introductions

The following is an excerpt from Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why

Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book The Tipping Point opens with the detailed description of a village in Italy. Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat occupies the opening passage of Susan Cain’s excellent work on introversion, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Daniel Pink’s 2018 book When launches with the departure of the Lusitania ocean liner from New York in 1915.

Of the nonfiction books intended for a general audience on my bookshelf, a large percentage begin with a story that, at first glance, has nothing to do with the title of the book. Yet I trust that the author will make the connection and I’m curious about what it will be.

We can learn from these expert explainers.

Launching your book with the Lusitania may be a bold move, if you are superstitious. But while the ship sinks, the book takes off by linking the tragic scope of the story with the premise of the work: the importance of timing on human behavior.

Pink, Cain, Gladwell, and countless successful nonfiction authors understand that their first job is to catch the reader’s attention. Without that interest, no amount of brilliant explaining will matter, because the reader won’t be around to notice.

Your window of opportunity for earning attention is quite short; it lasts as long as the title of your piece and, if you’re lucky, the opening lines. You may spend hours, days, months, or years tuning your arguments and building your expertise. Without an effective opening, all that work is for naught.

Marketing copywriters talk about the importance of having a hook, in everything from ad copy to blog posts. The hook entices the audience to click your link, pick up your book, or open your magazine article.

Yet even in the discipline of marketing, you’ll hear different definitions of what makes an effective hook. One classic definition is a short sentence or tagline that de- scribes the primary benefit, like the New York Times tagline: “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” Marketers also create headline hooks that appeal to curiosity or the fear of missing out: “You won’t believe what happened next!”

The most effective hooks either pitch a powerful benefit or activate the reader’s curiosity.

The chief objective of a title or an introduction is to find the intersection between the audience interest and what you want to communicate. Without an effective beginning, you may lose the reader altogether.

• Books connect with potential readers starting with the title and book description, and continuing into the introduction and first chapter.
• For a blog post, the starting promise may be expressed in the title and opening sentences.
• In an academic article or report, the title and the executive summary entice people to read further.

If you are forming narrative nonfiction, telling a story related to your content, remember that you don’t have to open with the very beginning and proceed in chronological order. The middle of the story may make the most intriguing starting point.

If the target audience already knows something about your topic, then you have a rich variety of angles to consider for your opening. If not, find a relevant connection to their lives (a benefit) or a way to engage their curiosity.

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This is a short section from the chapter on curiosity in Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why. The chapter continues to explore types of curiosity and how to active them. If you’re interested, check it out.

My last post talked about getting to know your Muse. This time, let’s look at the Muse’s counterpart, the Scribe.

The following is an excerpt from The Writer’s Process Workbook.

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The Scribe embodies the productive self.

It handles everything from getting your butt in the chair or pen to paper to releasing your finished works to the world. (Yes, the Scribe handles publication.)

The Scribe controls these inner processes:

• Linear, analytical thinking
• Research and organization
• Critical judgment
• Self-discipline
• Project management
• Focused attention

As writers, we tend to worship the Muse and undervalue the Scribe’s grubbier, more mundane tasks. But without a fully functioning Scribe, your words will never reach the larger world.

If you want to communicate with others through your writing, you need a stable and reliable Scribe.

How Does Your Scribe Take Charge?

As you did with the Muse, think about how the Scribe fits into your writing life. Which of the following best describes your writing discipline?

Slacker Scribe

Maybe you can’t find the time to write. Or you work only when you’re inspired or love the project. That means you wait for inspiration. If this sounds like you, perhaps you have a Slacker Scribe.

Deadlines have little power over you. You rarely complete things to the standard that you want to achieve.

We’ve all spent time with a Slacker Scribe, so there’s no shame here. But if you want to publish your writing, you’ll need to strengthen your Scribe.

Distracted Scribe

Perhaps you start out strong on a writing project, then can’t maintain the pace or find that life gets in the way. You may feel like you end the day farther behind than you started.

Life challenges all of us with competing priorities. But when your Scribe is easily distracted, you find it difficult to finish writing projects.

Reliable Scribe

If you have a reliable Scribe, you have a good handle on how to get projects done. You meet most of your deadlines and obligations. Sometimes, of course, you falter, or you are not as productive as you might like. It’s not always pretty or easy. But when you need to do it, you get the work done.

Scrupulous Scribe

With a scrupulous Scribe, you never miss a deadline and are meticulous about meeting commitments. You stick to schedules without deviation. You have a reputation for getting remarkable things done, and people often call on you because of it.

Your meticulousness can be a curse if it crowds out creativity and inspiration. You can easily exhaust yourself.

What does your Scribe look like?

If your Scribe shows up differently for diverse types of writing, make a note of it here. (For example, Scrupulous Scribe for business writing, Slacker Scribe for poetry.)

And if your Scribe is a bit of a slacker, don’t worry. You can strengthen it. Consider adding a daily writing practice to your life. It’s like weight-lifting repetitions for your Scribe.

For more ideas on understanding and strengthening your Scribe, refer to The Writer’s Process Workbook: Simple Practices for Finding Your Best Practice.

I used to think that I was not a creative person. But then, over time, I came to realize that I was creative. My inner creativity (my Muse) was simply shy.

That insight opened up doors for me.

Over time, I learned how to work with my Muse, enticing it into my work and my life. Now, I’d have to characterize my Muse as reliable. When I need it, I can summon those creative thought processes, and they usually show up. (Not all the time, mind you.)

How about you? How well do you know your Muse?

If you struggle to notice your Muse, check out my last post on Noticing the Muse. Once you’re familiar with the Muse, take the measure of its personality. That insight might help you as much as it did me.

Take the Muse Quiz

To help you get a handle on your Muse’s personality, try my short Muse quiz. And don’t stress about getting the “best” answer. This is entirely private, and no one is judging!

Take the quiz here.

After you answer several questions, you’ll get a result, identifying your Muse as one of the following personalities:

• Shy
• Temperamental
• Reliable
• Prolific

Read the descriptions below.

Shy Muse

If the quiz says your Muse is shy, don’t worry. You are not alone—and this does not mean that you aren’t creative! But, if you think of yourself as “not a creative type,” it might deter the Muse from showing up.

You can encourage a Shy Muse to participate actively in your life by learning how and when it shows up, and creating more of those situations.

Temperamental Muse

If you have a Temperamental Muse, good ideas come to you after you need them, but rarely on deadline. Creativity feels like it’s out of your control, and pretty much just happens to you.

That’s a pretty normal part of the human condition!

Good news: You can learn how to entice the Muse to appear more consistently. Create time and space for the Muse in your writing life. Leave time to let your mind wander and to listen to any creative thoughts that arise—without judgment.

Reliable Muse

With a reliable Muse, you can generate ideas when needed. They may not come easily, or exactly at the moment you need them. You’d probably like to have better control.

You can learn how to work even more closely with your Muse, integrating it into your writing process.

Prolific Muse

When you have a prolific Muse, often come to you because they know that you’re an “idea” person. You consider yourself creative and have many ideas for projects—perhaps even too many!

A prolific Muse can be a mixed blessing. The constant flood of inspiration can interfere accomplishing anything. You’re easily distracted by the next project.

With a prolific Muse, you need a strong Scribe (the disciplined, hard-working writing processes.)

The Split-Personality Muse

My friend Chip Scanlan, a journalist, author, and prolific writer, reports that his Muse shows up differently depending on the type of writing that he’s doing. He’s not alone in this.

We may work creatively in one domain and get stuck in another.

If you write novels in your spare time and blog posts at work, for example, consider taking the quiz twice, once for each type of writing.

What to do with your results

The Muse Quiz is meant to be both fun and valuable. Once you understand the personality of your Muse, you can figure out how to work with it better.

When you take the quiz, you’ll get an email with suggested exercises for the Muse you have today. Maybe, like me, you’ll learn how to transform a Shy Muse into a Reliable one, or to get better control over a Temperamental Muse.

And if the quiz gave you new insights into your writing, please let me know!

Related Reading

Not sure when your Muse shows up? Check out my last post, Noticing Your Muse.

You’ll find advice and exercises for welcoming and working with your Muse (and its companion, the Scribe) in The Writer’s Process Workbook.