Is This the Right Time to Write Your Next Book?

Three things to settle before you begin: affirmation, obedience, and productivity

Maybe it showed up in your morning quiet time. Maybe it came in a reader’s note, or you scribbled it in the margin of your last book. However it arrived, there’s an idea tugging at your heart, and you keep asking the same question: Is this the right time to write it?

I can’t tell you with 100% certainty that now is your time. Only God can communicate that to you. But I can help you think through three things that will bring a little more clarity. When you understand affirmation, obedience, and productivity, you’ll be able to decide when to write, and you’ll know how to push through when the writing gets tough. (Because it will!)

I never expected to write any kind of book. I avoided English classes in high school and college, and I much preferred standing in front of a classroom to putting words on paper. But when I retired from my pastoral position, I sensed God whispering, “Becky, I have exciting adventures for you in your retirement. I want you to do the things you love.” That whisper launched an encore career of writing, teaching, and coaching women who want to use their God-given gifts. So if you’re wondering whether God could use you, I’m living proof that he uses unlikely writers.

1. Affirmation: You Are the Writer God Wants to Use

God isn’t looking at your life and your dreams and thinking, “Well, I guess it’s her.” You aren’t the second-place choice. He called you. He wants you.

You have become his poetry, a re-created woman that will fulfill the destiny he has given you, for you are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before you were born, God planned in advance your destiny and the good works you would do to fulfill it!  Ephesians 2:10 (TPT, personalized)

Your book dream isn’t selfish. It’s part of the story he wrote for you to fulfill. How do you know? Look for these signs:

• You want your story to become something beautiful for others.
• You long to share your faith journey with someone who is struggling.
• You keep hearing that whisper from heaven: write it down!

Self-doubt will tell you someone else could write it better. The enemy will tell you no one wants to read it. Don’t listen. When God puts a passion in your heart to tell your story or lead others into truth, it’s the right time to say yes to that calling.

Reflect: Will you respond to God’s calling with a yes?

2. Obedience: When You Sense the Green Light, Will You Obey?

Once you realize God has placed this passion inside you, how do you respond? First, pray for confirmation. Then step out in obedience.

I’ll confess, I’m always rushing ahead of God. I have a lot of really good ideas, but realistically I can’t act on all of them. That’s why this verse has been my anchor:

Unless the Lord builds the house, the work of the builders is wasted.  Psalm 127:1

I don’t want to waste time on something that isn’t God’s best for me, and I don’t want that for you either. So I keep a few declarations on my desktop:

• I am going to be quiet so I can listen.
• I will seek God with writing decisions and not chase every idea.
• I will give my very best to accomplish the good works God has called me to do.
• I will align my life, schedule, commitments, and resources to do God’s will.
• I am focused, concentrated, and determined. The Holy Spirit is ready to empower me.

Here’s what makes listening so powerful. The Hebrew word shema, “to hear,” doesn’t simply mean letting sound waves enter your ears. It means letting the words sink in, bring understanding, and produce a response. In Hebrew, hearing and doing belong together. So if you’ve truly heard God’s call to write this book, that hearing asks for a response of obedience.

God-friendship is for God-worshipers; they are the ones he confides in. If I keep my eyes on God, I won’t trip over my own feet.  Psalm 25:14–15 (MSG)

Reflect: If God is building this “book house,” what step of obedience is he asking you to take?

3. Productivity: To Finish a Book, You Have to Find Time to Write

The difference between an aspiring writer and a published one is actually finishing the book. That takes productivity, but not the frantic, “busy writer” kind. You need sustainable productivity: the ability to keep a writing schedule without depleting your energy, time, and well-being.

Sustainable productivity balances two things. Efficiency means producing words without wasting time, and even small spaces in your day can hold unlimited potential. Personal wellness means guarding clear thinking, managing stress, and keeping a sense of peace and focus.

Two things usually stand in the way of productivity:

#1 Your mindset

Fear and negative self-talk can stop you before you write a word. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of criticism or of making the wrong choice. And the self-talk sounds like this: “I don’t have time to write.” “Nobody is interested in my story.” “What if I finish it and it’s terrible?”

Try this: say “I am a writer” out loud. When you say “I am,” you claim the word for yourself. And if you are a writer, you write. You behave like a writer, which means keeping a writer’s schedule.

#2 Your schedule

Life is full of distractions, and your writing time will be eaten away unless you protect it. Finding time is the most important step in writing and completing your book. Here are two practices that help:

• Book your writing appointments. Look through your calendar for blocks of at least 30 minutes. Mark them down as business appointments and treat them just as seriously. You wouldn’t interrupt a business meeting for a phone call, coffee with a friend, or Facebook, so don’t interrupt your writing.
• Set a deadline and work backward. I aim to have a book written by my birthday each year, and that date keeps me producing. Choose your finish date, then work backward to set smaller, specific targets.

How much do you really want this? What are you willing to give up to write this book?

No one said it would be easy. If it were, everyone would be writing one.

Reflect: Where in your calendar this week could you claim your first 30-minute writing appointment?

So, Is This Your Time?

Let’s bring it together:

• Affirmation: You are the writer God wants to use.
• Obedience: If God has given you the green light, he is building the house. Will you obey?
• Productivity: To have a finished book, you have to find the time. Will you make the commitment to write?

If your answer is yes, get a plan. Learn what you can about writing a book, and look for teaching that includes live coaching, because there is nothing like a coach who walks with you one step at a time. Then find accountability. Ideas, encouragement, and follow-through grow best in community.

From the beginning of time, God wrote your story so that you could write about his goodness, power, and love in beautiful words for others. Don’t stay stuck in fear. Clear a path for the book he has placed on your heart.

Free Download: Starting Your Next Book Worksheet

Ready to take the first step? Download this free worksheet with 10 simple ways to begin your next book with clarity, Scripture, and a plan. Each step includes a short prompt for you to answer, so you’ll finish with your idea captured, your first writing appointment booked, and your finish-by date set. Print it, tuck it in your journal, or keep it on your desk as a reminder that you were never meant to write alone.

Download the Starting Your Next Book Worksheet

I would be honored to walk alongside you wherever you are in your writing journey. Write On!

Becky