Earlywood: Why ‘So-and-so’ Doesn’t Write a Book

Publisher’s note: Good morning, and welcome to Earlywood, an excerpt from the thousands of pieces I’ve worked on since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post published in 2023. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective. Enjoy!

My current favorite book. Not because of the content necessarily. Just look at that cover! Wow.

When you encounter a person who is an incredibly talented woodworker, designer and teacher, it’s natural to wonder, “Why hasn’t this person written a book and become a famous author?”

I’ve met a lot of these people. I’ve attempted to get some of them to write a book. I’ve succeeded a few times and failed at least 100. The next time you think, “Why doesn’t this person write a book?” here are some reasons I have encountered in my career.

1. They are perfectly happy with their life. They are plenty busy. They make enough money. They are not interested in becoming better known. You can’t argue with this. Writing a book can make you and your family miserable for a couple years (or decades).

2. They don’t have the organizational skills, focus and stamina to complete a book. A good book can require two years of work. It’s easy to get distracted or bored by the project. Especially if your day job and family life are already a challenge.

3. They have no confidence in their writing skills and they fear the book will not find an audience. Basically, fear of failure. A related reason: The person is functionally illiterate. This is more common than you think. The smartest person I’ve met in my life was functionally illiterate. Writing a book will expose this fact to others, which can be embarrassing.

4. They know they have a problem calling a project “finished.” They will work and work on a book, but it will never be good enough to release to the world.

5. They cannot afford to gamble two years on a project that might pay them pennies on the hour. Many books do not make economic sense. If you do the math, it’s easy to conclude that only successful authors can afford to write books (a paradox).

6. They aren’t interested in sharing their methods of work with the world. Some authors fear their furniture business will be ruined if they share plans and their real methods with the public (John Brown was this way).

7. They feel like a fraud for some reason, perhaps a valid or invalid reason. Writing a book will expose them.

8. They distrust publishers. It’s a fair criticism; many are snakes.

9. The person is a complete jackass. Publishing a book is a team effort. If the author cannot take constructive criticism or they belittle everyone else in the project, their book is unlikely to be born.

I’m sure there are other reasons I haven’t yet encountered. Bottom line: It takes a special kind of maniacal, well-organized, generous optimist to write a book. Oh, and they have to have some talent, too. Honestly, the process is so fraught, it’s a miracle we have any woodworking books.

2026: Why am I Not Writing a Book?

The day after you finish writing a book, your friends will ask: So, what’s your next book about?

I don’t know about other writers, but I need a pause between projects. To be honest, I don’t want to work on a book right now. In fact, as I type this I can honestly say that I have no desire to write another book. Also in fact, as I type this I can honestly say I am probably full of shit.

It takes time (weeks, fortnights, months) for me to recover from the process and allow new ideas to take root.

So what happens between books? I work on other authors’ books. For the last few months, I’ve been working with a new author on a book that no traditional publisher would take on. I’m not trying to tease you; that’s not my style. Instead, I can’t talk about it because if it doesn’t happen, I don’t want to embarrass the writer.

I want to give you something to reward you for reading so far. Here is one piece of the author’s story.

I’m often asked , “Why did you become a chairmaker?” To many, it seems like a strange choice.

I, too, find it quite strange that I’m still a chairmaker in this day and age. When I was 16, the first thing I did to become a chairmaker was to quit school, go to England, and study chairmaking in a chairmaker’s workshop.

I convinced my parents to let me. After many twists and turns, I was finally able to go to London six months later .

When I tell this story, many people ask me, “What brought a 16-year-old to such a conclusion?”