Why Most Books Fail Before They’re Finished

 

I’ve been around writers long enough to recognize the same quiet frustration settling across their faces when we talk about their books. The issue isn’t the story. Writers love their story. It isn’t talent either. Many have talent by the bucketful. The issue is something much harder to swallow: finishing and then facing the long road of publishing.

I’ve lost count of how many conversations have ended with, “I’ve been working on this book for years.” Some laugh when they say it, but the laugh doesn’t hide the weight of unfinished work. If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone. Nearly every writer stumbles here.

When I first started working with authors, I thought finishing the draft was the milestone, the great victory. But I discovered it’s only the halfway point. A book doesn’t find its readers because the author typed The End. A book finds its readers because the author kept going—through editing, revisions, cover design, formatting, publishing, and finally marketing.

This is where the struggle deepens. Writing the book feels creative, private, even sacred. Publishing the book feels like standing in the middle of town square, holding your heart out for strangers to examine.

I once spoke with a writer who told me she’d rather write three more books than edit the one she had. Another said he wished someone would swoop in, take his manuscript, and “make it a book” so he could wash his hands of the whole thing. Both were serious and talented writers whose books deserved to be read. What stopped them wasn’t lack of passion—it was fear.

Fear of finishing. Fear of exposure. Fear of rejection.

But here’s what I’ve learned: the only way to move beyond fear is through it. If you want your book to live, you have to finish it. You have to push through edits, endure cover proofs, and face the discomfort of sharing your words with the world. Readers cannot discover a book hiding on your hard drive.

Think of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee struggled with self-doubt. Without her editor’s insistence and her own decision to keep going, we might never have known Scout, Atticus, or Maycomb. Or The Diary of Anne Frank. Those words were not written for fame or sales, but because they were finished, edited, and published, they continue to move hearts around the world.

Now, I know some writers think, “But my story isn’t Harper Lee or Anne Frank.” That’s not the point. The point is your story matters. Your experience, your insight, your voice—someone is waiting for them. Maybe it’s a neighbor who sees life differently after reading your book. Maybe it’s a stranger halfway across the world. You’ll never know unless you finish.

Here’s what I recommend: break the journey into two halves. First, write the book. Then, publish the book. Treat them as separate but equally necessary steps. Celebrate finishing your draft, yes, but then roll up your sleeves for the publishing half. Surround yourself with allies who understand ISBNs, print runs, distribution, and marketing. Find an editor you trust. Seek out a cover designer who can translate your story into an image readers can’t resist.

I’ve seen it happen over and over—writers who nearly gave up but didn’t, who pushed through the discomfort, who held their book in their hands and felt something close to astonishment. They finished. They published. And readers came.

So if you’re sitting on a half-written manuscript or an edited draft you’ve been avoiding for years, take this as your reminder: your book deserves better than to sit in a drawer. You started for a reason. Don’t let fear decide how the story ends.

Finishing is hard. Publishing is harder. But neither is impossible, and both are worth it.

The Power of Authors: A Rallying Cry for Today’s Writers to Recognize Their Power, Rise to Their Calling, and Write with Moral Conviction, written by Evan and Lois Swensen with a foreword by Jane L. Evanson, PhD, Professor Emerita at Alaska Pacific University, launches this September. You’ve been reading its heartbeat in these messages — soon you can hold the book in your hands.

 

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