27 Inspirational Quotes to Motivate You Into Writing Your Book in 2024

You’re likely being inundated with “Get started” quotes for the New Year. This last week of 2023 has people waxing poetic, even if the words they’re using aren’t their own.

I like quotes, myself. I generally pick out the best ones and apply their meaning to whatever is happening in my life at that moment.

I have specific quotes on the walls of my office to keep me inspired. My muse, Edgar Allan Poe, surrounds me on the bookcases scattered about my office. His voice is ever in my ear.

Because we’re close to the New Year, I thought I’d share 27 of my favorite quotes, to get you motivated about writing your first book (or another book) in 2024. And to perhaps inspire you in your everyday life.

I know 2023 was a tough year for some. I saw it on LinkedIn. I saw it on Facebook. I saw it in the emails I get from folks. I saw it in the newsletters I subscribe to.

Master Book Builders became stronger and more focused in 2023

We talked to so many writers about their work and we commisserated with them when they could not proceed “just yet.” It’s our hope that all writers who wish to write a book have that opportunity. With us or with someone else. We truly want to see more Indie Published books be written and published in 2024.

One of our goals is to be a resource for writers. Where you can find the answers to your questions about writing and publishing. And marketing, yes. Though we don’t do the marketing, we are well trained in what needs to be done, so we can coach you on your book marketing.

We know, for many, 2023 will not be missed. I say, BRING ON 2024 – where everything, yes, everything, is going to be so much better! How do I know? I believe. And, I have a myriad of voices of inspiration around me encouraging me to take that belief and make it real.

It’s important to have that inspiration, I think. Important to hear from those who have gone before us, and endured the travails, experienced the joys, cried and laughed the same way we do. I think we should listen to their words of wisdom. You don’t get to be an authority just by talking to yourself, after all.

I’ll give you a little insight into each quote, explaining what it means to me and why I chose it for this moment in time. Perhaps you’ll share your favorite quote in the comments.

First, Happy Happy New Year! ✨🤩🌟😎🎉😊🥂

Now, on to the quotes. In no particular order.

“Stay afraid but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it, and eventually the confidence will follow.” — Carrie Fisher

🌟 Step out on the stage and speak. I’ve found that even folks who have written fabulous books find themselves a bit tongue-tied when asked to speak. If that’s you, find someone to help you overcome this reluctance and begin sharing your message in podcasts, at events, and presenting at networking groups.
“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” — Lou Holtz

🌟 This one almost shouts at me. I know you have talent, how you use that talent, well, that’s up to you, isn’t it?
“Don’t count the days; make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali

🌟 Each and every one. Make them count.
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” — Maya Angelou

🌟 Are you ready to do that – take this advice? Get out there, whether or not you’re a girl? Make 2024 count by taking this advice.
“Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

🌟 You have to win it. That’s the key. It’s not handed to you. There are no overnight successes.
“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” — George Lorimer

🌟How determined are you?
“Drench yourself in words unspoken / Live your life with arms wide open / Today is where your book begins / The rest is still unwritten” — Natasha Bedingfield

🌟 I am a big believer in the power of poetry. Poetry is so much more than a few rhyming words strung together in a lilting way. This article in Writer’s Digest, speaking to Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason focuses on fiction, but I want my nonfiction authors to pay attention here. Poetry is the wind and rain and snow of our lives. It’s the sun and moon and millions of stars we gaze at when we’re stuck. Learn to use it to make your writing more beautiful and more engaging.

For reference, watch this Smart Conversations interview I did with Alesia Hurt of Hurt n’ Poet, not that long ago. She is an intuitive seller-poet and wordsmith, along with being an empathetic coach. She embodies my belief in the strength of poetry to help us in all areas of our writing.
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” — Earl Nightingale

🌟 Time is of the essence, they say. It waits for no man. Or woman. Or anyone. Why would you waste the time you have thinking you can ‘get to it tomorrow?’
“Someday is not a day of the week.” — Janet Dailey

🌟 Nope. Not even if you try to make it a day of the week. Getting to that book someday just won’t fly.
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb

🌟 More about time and it’s fleeting nature. Very much like the proverb about planting a tree. You know, “the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda

🌟 One has to throw in a little Yoda, don’t you think? Go out and do, now. Do. Do. Do.
“You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don’t decide, others will decide for you.” — Tony Morgan

🌟 Others will decide for you. They will. Not only that, they’ll write your book. And you’ll wonder how that happened.
“When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” — Karen E. Quinones Miller

🌟 THIS is what I believe in my heart of hearts. It’s not a reflection on me when someone says no. It’s merely a statement that changes the relationship. And onward I go.
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” ― Stephen Hawking

🌟 I love this quote because it sort of flows like poetry. I think we need to look at the stars up in the heavens but also within ourselves. We have stardust inside of us. Carl Sagan said so. It makes us star quality from the day we are born.
“The most important step a man can take – it’s not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step.” ― Brandon Sanderson

🌟 Brandon Sanderson is a genius marketer on the same level as Taylor Swift. We advise you to study these two giant stars – one in music and song and one in science-fiction – to take the right steps you need to take to be the success you desire. (Want a copy of our Taylor Swift Model of Book Marketing? Just ask.)
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers

🌟 I sense a theme in these quotes. Do it. Get moving. Don’t stand still. Don’t let ‘no’ stop you.
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein

🌟 I have an Albert Einstein quote on a bookshelf here in my office. It says, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Like Hawking, he recommends being curious. Never settle for the safe choice.
“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

🌟 Who better than Eleanor Roosevelt to say this? What an adventure her life was! Her challenges were many, but she never let any of them hold her back.
“You can get what you want or you can just get old.” ― Billy Joel

🌟 Don’t just ‘get old.’ Age with purpose. Get what you want and wear it proudly, no matter what birth date is on your license.
“Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” — Farrah Gray

🌟 Oh yes. This is a big one. It’s your life. Don’t let others highjack it when you’re not looking.
“Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.” ― Toni Morrison, Beloved

🌟 Define yourself. Before someone else (like Google) defines you.
“If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

🌟 Do something that’s bigger than yourself. Do something that makes you stand out – in the right way! As a thought leader. An authority in your field. As someone who values others.
“And how do you know when you’re doing something right? How do you know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you’re supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know. The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead.” — Oprah Winfrey

🌟 My friend, Michele Molitor from Nectar Consulting, says, “Your intuition is that feeling you get in your gut. That instant ‘knowing’ of what the best choice for YOU is in the moment. Learn to trust your gut. Cultivate listening to it. It is wisdom from your higher self that is guiding you along your path.”

Your gut feelings are the ones that whisper to you during a meeting with someone new. The ones that say, “I don’t really like this guy. Maybe I won’t do business with him.” Or, “I am so glad I met this woman. She’s just what I need right now.” They come from your gut. And yes, they’re part of what makes you ‘know’ what to do about your business or your book, as the article linked here says.
“A dead-end street is a good place to turn around.” — Naomi Judd

🌟 I LOVE 💗💗💗this quote! What does it say to you? Are you on a dead-end street? Is it time to turn around? Are you afraid to turn around because that means admitting defeat? Remember – Dale Carnegie says that “discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”

Never hesitate to turn around and start over.
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates

🌟 We’re all examing our lives and our businesses, right now. As we plan for 2024. Remember to set your intentions and build self-care into your 2024 plans.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — e.e. cummings

🌟 I like this quote because it talks about growing up. I approve of growing up. This does not mean you should lose your childhood wonder of the world. Or your youthful exuberance. Keep all those marvelous parts of being a child, but allow yourself to grow up and become the person you are meant to be — someone who values both creativity and youth along with wisdom and experience.
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” — Nelson Henderson

🌟 Trees are my thing. I talk about them on LinkedIn. I love this quote because I believe writing a book is exactly what it means. To pass on knowledge that will live on long after you and I are gone. Maybe folks will sit under a tree when they read our books.
“Don’t trust any one story of how to become successful.” — Mindy Kaling

🌟 Of course, there is a bonus here. This quote is about life, about stories, about legacy. It’s about reinvention. It’s about entering the New Year, 2024, and rewriting, or revising the story you wrote about yourself in 2023, no matter where that story is written; in your head, somewhere on your computer, or in a journal you keep, daily.

👉 No one can really tell YOUR story but you. And you are allowed to change the story as it unfolds.

I hope some of these quotes resonated with you as they did with me. I hope you take some of them to heart and believe, as I do, that 2024 is going to be a fantastic year for all of us. Because we are going to make it so.

Leave a comment. Share your favorite quotes. If you’re ready to talk about that book you didn’t write in 2023, DM me on LinkedIn.

27 Inspirational Quotes to Motivate You Into Writing Your Book in 2024