What Writing a Book Taught Me (That I Never Saw Coming)

Guest Blog Post by Claudia D. Thompson, Author of Take Charge – The BOSS Method for Entrepreneurs Who Never Planned to Be Leaders

I met Karen at an online networking event, the kind where your screen is a grid of strangers and you're wondering what made you show up in the first place. But then I saw her display name: The Book Mentor and something fell into place; I had just decided I wanted to write a book, but I didn’t have the slightest idea where to start, not even a little bit.

So after my first discovery call with Karen, I signed up to her Smart Author - Fast Track programme straight away. And it turns out, that gut feeling was right - with Karen’s help, I went from a blank page to a finished manuscript in just five months (published in May 2025).

And even if something completely wild happened and the book never got published, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because what I learned through the process changed how I see myself, my business, and what I’m really here to do.

This is what writing a book taught me (that I never saw coming):

1. It’s marketing strategy on steroids.

When you write a business book, you can’t hide behind vague messaging. It forces you to get crystal clear on who you’re writing for, what they’re struggling with and what you want them to feel, believe or do after they read your final page. My book helped me nail my entire service offering and gave me words for things I’d been doing instinctively for years.

2. Impostor syndrome will be your loyal companion.

I sat down to write with a plan and a coffee in my favourite mug. But it turns out, my impostor syndrome had also pulled up a chair. The voice that says, “Who are you to write this?” and “Who would read your book anyway?” didn’t go away but I kept writing anyway. Stubbornness, in this case, was a gift. I didn’t wait to feel ready. I just kept showing up.

3. Apparently, I’m very disciplined.

I gave myself a target of 550 words a day and I stuck to it. I didn’t wait for the muse to strike. I didn’t need a cabin in the woods. I wrote in between Zoom calls, during lunch breaks and even on those days when the last thing I wanted to do was stare at a Word document. And I followed through because I said I would.

4. It helped me make peace with the past.

I’ve been mismanaged in previous jobs. Writing this book gave me space to reflect on those experiences from a completely different perspective. Instead of writing from anger or resentment, I got to write from a place of purpose. I wasn’t trying to get even - I was trying to offer something better.

5. I care (a lot) about the details.

I’ve never thought of myself as pedantic, but the day I spent way too long debating heading styles with my typesetter proved otherwise. There’s something about putting your name on a book that makes you care deeply about every full stop, every title, every tone shift. And that’s not a bad thing. It just means you care.

6. The writing wasn’t the scary part. Talking about it was.

Finishing the book didn’t feel as vulnerable as announcing it. Sharing it publicly. Saying “I wrote a book” out loud. That was the worst. But that’s also where the growth happens when we are scared and then do it anyway.

If you're reading this and wondering whether your book idea is good enough, let me say this:

It is.
You're the right person to write it.
This is the right time.
And you've got this.

Writing a book will challenge you, stretch you, surprise you - and it might just change everything.

So if that voice inside you is saying “maybe I could…”, trust it. It’s time.

Wishing you all the best and cheering you on from the side lines,

Claudia

You can find Claudia's new book here - go and check it out and buy a copy!