Forget About Your Marketability (for now)

Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb. You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness.

Hugh Macleod, Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity

Last year I started writing my first book and stalled a few months in for reasons I’ve since forgot. I always meant to restart my work but hesitated to pull the trigger because at first I felt the time wasn’t right (is it ever?) and then I started to mull over the marketability of the potential book to judge whether or not it was worth finishing. I think in some way I was waiting for permission to write the book.

Suppose I instead wrote a book proposal because I wanted a guarantee from a publisher that they will print the book before I even write it. I could be waiting a long time. Celebrities might get such deals because people know who they are and therefore publishers feel confident someone will buy their books (probably co-written with someone who actually knows how to write). They may tell me my platform is currently inadequate or I’m not yet established in my field (or any field) enough to interest readers and project credibility. The list could go on.

These are all market considerations and someone needs to make them but for now I just need to write and finish a book for me.

I’m getting above the snow line.