Finish That Book

An Accountability Partner Dramatically Increases The Odds That You Will Publish Your Book

Setting expectations with another person gets that book written

Photo by RF._.studio

“Collaboration and partnership are all based on trust, if you can win the trust of a person then you can have them as a partner to invest in anything”
― Anuj Jasani

Writing is a tough gig. My accountability partner helped me complete my first book. Knowing someone else is experiencing the victories and defeats that writing can bring is comforting. An accountability partner is a successful strategy that works.

When I joined a write a book in 90 days course, one of their techniques to keep students on track was to require an accountability buddy. The idea was to have the two writers working together to set goals and hold each other accountable.

I found an excellent accountability buddy. While our books would be about different subjects, we were both writing non-fiction. We had the same set of values about health and life. Talking to her was fun; she was strong-willed intelligent, organized, and pragmatic. We were a match — when we set goals together, we worked hard to meet those milestones.

She was a doctor whose book would improve the physical health of her readers. My book was about mental toughness. She always told me the truth and kept me on track. I loved we were about making the world a better place and helping others. I was still in the corporate world, being a big corporate Vice-President with people whispering what they thought I wanted to hear in my ear.

It was refreshing to have someone who didn’t need or want anything from me other than my honest opinions. I appreciated we were both attempting to author a book. A side hustle of writing while keeping your stressful full-time day job is a demanding side hustle.

With her support, I published my first book ahead of the three-month schedule. How did we do it? I hated missing the milestones we set together because it put us both back. If one of us did not meet the deadline, the other waited at that point and provided encouragement and feedback on how to get the task done. She felt the same way, so together, we…