I Wrote And Published Two Books During COVID. My Advice To Solopreneurs And Founders? 'Do NOT Write A Book'.
Why Am I Saying 'Don't Write A Book?'.
I wrote and published two fiction books during COVID-19. But for Solopreneurs and founders - my advice? Do Not Write a Book
If you are writing fiction, please go ahead with your creations. But if you are writing anything else (non-fiction) -on business, life, and so on - please do not write a book now.
Let me explain
My first book, titled The Whispering Tree of Bengaluru, sold about 500 copies in all -my first ever. This story is the autobiography of a tree, and it falls in love with a child growing up in the house across the fence.
My second book, a digital title (Kindle only) book titled An Untold Lockdown Story, is about the life of an old woman during the COVID lockdown. Her already lonely life becomes more difficult, and then she does something unbelievable, and the whole world takes notice.
So, why should solopreneurs not write books?
The answer: (like someone said) - You do not write the book till you become it.
Means?
Your life should become ‘the book’.
You should live the message.
The content of your book will be seen if someone looks at you carefully - you are living it.
That is when you write the book
Then it will fly off the shelf.
Publishers will fight to get the contract and for digital rights
Readers will scramble to grab a copy.
Your first edition will be a sell-out, and the second edition will have a wait-list.
You will be smiling as you look at your book in the airport bookstands
You will be surprised when unknown readers leave reviews on Amazon.
You will look back and say, ‘Did I say that? ’
You will ask yourself, “If you had a second chance, would you live that way - and you will hear yourself say -’ Darn YES!’
But when should you write the book?
After living the art
'After breathing the craft, ‘eating, drinking, and sleeping, it’ as they say.
After scripting your rules
After breaking them
And then rewriting
After your ego is busted several times. After you are humbled
And you realize the role model you had in your younger years,
whom you imitated shamelessly,
is also reading your book (or art, or performance, or code, or your craft, be it anything)
Or he has dropped you a line that says, nice things about your work
That someone you thought was a giant in your art is now walking with you like a peer, shares the podium with you as a panel member in an event
That is when you write
And then when others tell you
‘Wow -man, you have arrived!’
You ask yourself:
“Is this what they mean by ‘arriving’?’
And then something deep inside tells you
‘I know it was not me’
It was something bigger and invisible that made it work
‘Yes, I was only the face of it, but something else was driving it’
So Why Should It Take So Long To Write A Book?
If you are a software architect, hardware designer, marketer, author, singer, creator, tech innovator, musician, dancer, or artist of any kind, do not think of writing the book till you have put in at least 10 years in the craft.
If you have a dedicated effort to put together whatever is required in the craft of actually building it.
Your first 10 full-time years in any craft are for you to soak into it, headfirst.
Work with the best in the business, learn from them, and do not count on cash or rewards. Soak it in …go solo, work for free. learn
The first 10 years or more should be about learning and not earning.
By then, you would have matured in your craft, developed a style or fingerprint of your own - a unique one. When you have learned from the Masters, your shoulders would have chipped off the ego. You would have cut your teeth in the grind of the daily sun. The craft would have become uniquely you.
Then you will write that book.
With AI?
AI is a sterile, soulless machine fabric desperately adding speed and efficiency to your craft. Use its strengths when you need them. But remember that you are the artist, the coder, the marketer, or the designer. AI will at most become an efficient assistant.
This efficiency and speed may bring your timeline from 10 years to 8 years, but not anything else.
Now, when you have crossed these milestones, you can write the book. And it will be a best seller!
Share your story in the comments. Forward this to a founder who needs to hear this today.
This note is from Sridhar Pai Tonse. I teach Solopreneurs & founders to build, sell, and scale with digital assets, content, and full-stack GTM. Learn more → TonsePai.academy
Building: Tonse Pai Academy: GTM Learnings for Founders
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