1. They will think too much about every dot and dash — perfection. And in that pursuit, will have loads of drafts and crickets in the publishing room.

2. They will ‘invest’ eons of time deciding their niche. Rather than writing their way to the niche.

3. They want their work to sound like that of successful writers. From the word go. Forgetting the fact that it took much time for them to get there.

4. They will consume each and everything about writing that is there. Stuff too much into themselves and then gasp for air — ultimately, lost and confused.

5. Their ego will be heavily bruised with the first rejection. So bad that they will never hit ‘submit’ again.

6. They will start too many things from day 1. The gurus have said so — do this and do that. So, aye aye sir. I can surely multi-task! (Sure…like hell you can)

7. They will expect things to move supersonic fast. And why not? They are working their ass off. And when their expectations don’t match the reality, they lose the steam to run.

8. A couple of days in, they will feel like fighting alone. A lonely battle. Without much ammunition. And no ground won.

9. They will hide behind the cloak of ‘learning’. Acing the theories but flunking the practicals.

10. They will do what’s trending. And never experiment. Never play around. All work, no play. Jack boy…you got company.

11. They cannot divorce their inner critic. Like being in a toxic relationship, they stay. And let the voice dominate their work…or maybe the lack of it.

12. They will not allow time to do the magic. Writing is a slow-pot recipe. Who is to tell them?

13. They will become number aficionados! Oh yeah…they will measure everything that is there to gauge. And they will be so entrapped with the metrics that they will forget to write.

14. They think that they have it all figured out. Rather than remaining inquisitive and learning on the go.

15…Why do you need the 15th one? Aren’t 14 reasons good enough?

Haha… just trying to lighten the heaviness in the room.

Although these reasons are the most common, they are all manageable ones. With some patience and a calculated approach.

Need some more help? Find it here.

Or… you can also do this…

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