"It isn't the most talented writers who are widely published, but rather the ones who meet their deadlines." -Ariel Gore, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead, p.9 [a nice book, by the way]

I came across this quotation recently and it reminded me of something about how I wrote 28 books, even though I am a bit ADHD, a world class procrastinator and way too busy. I wrote my first ten books in ten years while helping to raise four kids and working full time.

People often ask me, how did you find the time and motivation to write so much? One of the things that gets me to complete a book is that I have signed a contract and the publisher has paid me money and gotten me to promise to deliver it on a certain date. I rarely keep my commitments to myself ("I will exercise every day until my stomach is not so round."), but I almost always keep them when I make them to someone else (especially if there is money involved).

That has made it easier for me to write, generally knowing that I will be able to get a contract. But I still don't usually write very much until I have a contract and a deadline (or timeline, if you prefer a less macabre metaphor).

So, one of the ways to motivate yourself to write is to learn how to sell your book. Most authors focus on becoming better writers, and while that is an admirable pursuit, I have become a better writer by being edited by professional publishers at top publishing houses such as W.W. Norton, HarperCollins, Penguin, Writers Digest.

I had on-the-job-training and was always motivated by the contractual commitment and the money (I had a passion to communicate as well, but many wannabe writers have that and never get their books published). So, put some time and energy into learning how to get an agent, write a compelling query letter and proposal and how to get published and you may find your motivation to write a book increases quite a bit.

Hope this helps in getting your book written and published.

Bill O'Hanlon, author of 28 books published by major publishers like HarperCollins, W.W. Norton, Penguin, John Wiley and Sons, and other publishers. He appeared on Oprah with his book Do One Thing Different. His books have been translated into 15 languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, German, Chinese, Bulgarian, Turkish, Korean, Indonesian, Italian, Croatian, Arabic and Japanese. His latest book is Write is a Verb, published by Writers Digest. His writing and publishing information site is http://www.getyourbookwritten.com.

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