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“Oh, you’re a writer? You should write my book!”
It never fails. I get this comment constantly when I mention my career, and after speaking with other writers, it appears I’m not alone.
I’m flattered that you think I’m worthy of drafting your autobiography or bringing your fictional account of a dragon-loving princess to life, but I have enough work of my own. I don’t want to deal with your stuff, especially when you basically demand that I write a book for you instead of asking if I’m interested.
When you tell me what you do for a living, I don’t say, “Cool! You should come educate my children” or “Wow! I want you to run a CT scan on my gallbladder.” If you do something that may benefit my family or friends, such as auto repair or massage therapy, I ask where you work and whether you’re accepting new clients. Sometimes I ask questions that someone with your career can likely answer, but I’m not upset if you don’t have time to get back to me with free info.
It works the same way for writers. Many of us are happy to help you get your book published, but that doesn’t mean we personally want to draft it for you. Next time creativity strikes, try asking these questions instead of demanding that we author your book:
