If you’ve had a book hanging around in your head for a while now, the New Year is a brilliant time to put it into action. Why so? Here are 10 excellent reasons.

1. Every January presents an opportunity for a fresh start. If you’re feeling frustrated with yourself that you’ve not done as much as you’d like about your book, now’s your chance to wipe the slate clean. Instead of regretting the past, you can look forward to the future.

2. A year is a realistic timescale for writing a book, so if you start 2023 with the aim of finishing it by December, you know you have the ability to do it. It’s helpful to have an achievable goal.

3. You’ve had a break over Christmas, so you probably have some new ideas to put down on paper. There’s nothing better than a bit of ‘me time’ (along with a few mince pies and glasses of bubbly) to generate fresh inspiration.

4. Calendar events are great for marking time. How will you feel this time next year if you didn’t manage to write your book in 2023? If you picture yourself giving your backside a metaphorical kick, that might just be the incentive you need to begin.

5. If your wallet is feeling the pinch after Christmas excesses, you’ll probably be cutting back on shopping and going out. Writing, however, is free.

6. It’s dark and cold out there. Books are best written indoors, with a steaming mug of tea or coffee at your side.

7. It will get your enthusiasm juices flowing again. The month of January can feel a bit miserable, what with the Christmas hangover and the prospect of months to go before the summer holidays. However, if you start planning and writing your book now, you have an achievement to feel positive about.

8. If you own a business and want to write a book about your expertise, you can tie the content of it into your goals for the coming year. Want to gain more speaking opportunities, attract more clients, or re-think your business framework? Creating a book works perfectly alongside these aims and can even feed into them.

9. If you have a life story you want to share, it’s now or never. Your memories are never going to get sharper, or your insights into your experiences more perceptive, than they are now.

10. And if none of these reasons is enough to goad you into action, but you still really, really want to write a book this year, then talk to us about ghostwriting it for you. That’s one New Year’s resolution that you definitely won’t regret.