Publishing a book was on my professional writer’s bucket list. Even though I focused on my skills as a freelance writer, book writing has always appealed to me. A few years ago, I wrote and published The Starving Freelancer: How to shift from struggle to success. While I knew what to expect from a writer’s standpoint, the life lessons I learned were a surprise. Here are some of my favourites!

Surprising life lessons from book writing

In any big venture, you’re going to run into obstacles you couldn’t have predicted. Below are the honest ones that I still use right to this very day, years later.

• Stop at “good enough”: As any creative professional will tell you, the thing you’re working on will never be perfect. There’s always one more edit, one more detail, etc. A hard but somewhat liberating lesson I had to learn in getting ready to publish was that “good enough” is, well, good enough. It won’t be perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. This also can apply to your life in general. Give yourself permission to stop at “good enough” instead of striving for perfection that, in most cases, doesn’t exist.

• Don’t let the haters destroy your pride: I’ve had well-intentioned people tell me online and in real life that I published a book at the wrong time. I published right after AI took over the market, and all freelancers started feeling it. Since my book was about how to persevere through hard times as a struggling freelancer, my book could either get really popular or disappear between the cracks. But, in terms of my book’s lack of popularity and life in general, I learned that you should always maintain your pride in your work. People will always talk, but keep your pride regardless of their words.

• Base your worth on your efforts: A lot of things could have torn me down after publishing. My book didn’t sell. When it did sell, very few people left reviews. In a time where it could have been a great support, it went unnoticed or, worse, pushed aside as irrelevant. I was so tempted to take it down. To literally delete the “failed attempt” and pretend it never happened. But I pushed away my professional temper tantrum and left it exactly as it was. Why?  Because how the world sees the book doesn’t touch the amount of effort I put in. It doesn’t touch me or my worth. I am the only one who determines that. I often remind myself of this when life’s tasks get me down and make me question.

Writing a book improved my outlook on life

This is cheesy and cliche, probably. But it’s very true. Even though my book was about how to be a freelancer, I ended up applying the chapters I wrote to my life in general. A huge reason for that is the realization that over 700 copies of my book were downloaded or purchased.

In the publishing world, that’s nothing. However, it fills me with this sense of relief to know that 700 people can potentially find some nugget of wisdom to help them keep moving forward. Or some reassurance that they aren’t alone.

Are there any other book writers who want to share their experiences? Am I the only one who learned life lessons?