The 3 Parts of a Successful Nonfiction Author
For the past two years, I’ve been in therapy. And because my therapist knows that I’m a book person, sometimes she’ll give me books to read as homework between sessions.
One of those books — that I absolutely LOVED — was No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz.
Schwartz is the creator of Internal Family Systems — the idea that our personalities and inner selves are made of individual parts. And like any other family, these parts interact. Sometimes in beneficial ways, and sometimes in destructive ways.
The goal in IFS is to recognize, get to know, and understand our parts.
By doing so, we get to know ourselves better — and gradually call our true selves forward.
Though Schwartz’s work is about healing trauma, I think it can also be useful when thinking about a big, long-term goal like writing and traditionally publishing a book.
What I’ve seen is that my most successful clients have three “parts” in common:
Feeling pulled to act by a mission that impacts others.
Wanting and valuing a dream outcome for yourself that benefits others.
Loving the work involved in your mission and dream, which allows you to experience joy and fulfillment along the way.
But also —
A part that feels unsure and insecure about whether you’ll be accepted.
A part that really wants to make the “right” choice.
A part that’s afraid to grow (enter your reasons here).
What’s awesome about these lists is that there are no bad parts. You — as the aspiring author self, as the published author self — are always you.
The work is to understand these parts, and all the others that influence your book journey, so that your truest self can step forward.
