What’s Stopping You from Writing Your Natural Health Self-Help Book?

Photo by Michaela St on Unsplash

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. -- Douglas Adams

During the Civil War, when the term deadline was first used according to Merriam-Webster, it meant a “line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at the risk of being shot.” 

Today, thankfully, a deadline means a date or time before which something must be done. I’ve had many publisher deadlines in my career as a nonfiction author and editor. In a way, deadlines make the task easier because you know what you need to do and by when.

Having said that, the most difficult deadlines are the ones you set for yourself. You think, “I’ll start my book by this date or write this chapter or finish my book proposal or book,” but often that self-imposed deadline comes and goes whooshing by.

Procrastination is often the culprit. 

But what’s the root of it? Is it that you don’t have enough time or is it fear and self-doubt?

Thoughts like:

“What if my idea for a book isn’t good enough?”

“What if I’m not good enough?”

“I’m too old etc.” Fill in the blank.

“I don’t have enough time.”

“I don’t have enough money to spend on training etc.”

“I’ll never get it done.”

“If I do get it done, I’ll never get it published.”

These thoughts can stop you before you even get started.  

Kick Your Inner Critic to the Curb

Often, this is the nasty voice of your inner critic – old or not so old negative messages from a parent or someone else who is not supportive or worse -- pops up. In the Internal Family Systems model, the inner critic is viewed as a part, but I see it as an introject. A nasty, bullying know-it-all that sees everything in black and white, never looks at the big picture and should not exist because it can make you miserable.

When this happens, I find that it’s important to fight back. To act like a defense attorney and present the facts as they actually are, not a distorted mash up of all of your worst moments in an endless loop. First, tell this voice to stop or shut-up (I do) and keep on writing.   

Next, tell yourself you can do it. Bolster your argument with specifics:

List the projects that you have started and finished successfully before.

List past positive outcomes.

List why you believe in yourself.

Tell yourself:  

That you have something valuable to share with the world.

And that you are making progress.

That if you need help you can get it.

By refuting the inner critic’s voice, you can begin to create new positive neural pathways that will make you feel better about yourself. This energizes your writing practice.  

Writing is Rewriting

When it comes to the inner critic, getting a first draft finished is often the best revenge, even if it needs work. Instead of judging the content you’ve written, and working against it, try to work with it. Take what you’ve written and revise. Give yourself some time, space and perspective so that you can see it more objectively and revise some more. 

Garden-Variety Procrastination

If it’s not fear or self-doubt and you actually do have the time to do it, why haven’t you done it?

It could be because you don’t know where to start. You may have the burning desire to write a natural health self-help book, have an idea that excites you, and want to share your method, plan or approach with readers but don’t know where to begin. Or you started writing without a plan and are stuck in the middle or having trouble finishing.

Whether it’s fear or self-doubt or garden variety procrastination information is power. If you want to learn how you can go from idea to a published book you can be proud of, schedule a Book Coaching Strategy Call.    

P.S. Need help figuring out how to go from book idea to published book in 2026? To schedule your free book coaching strategy call please visit: https://www.thenaturalhealthbookcoach.com/freebookstrategycall