Read the bios of accomplished businesspersons, politicians, and entertainment personalities. Many include the word "author" in their list of personal accomplishments, usually near the top of the list.

But why bother writing a book if you are already rich and already famous? What inspires a television or movie star, sports figure, or billionaire businessperson to take the time to craft and compile a book, especially when it is easier to simply lend one's name to a perfume label or tennis shoe?

In every developed culture, past or present, authorship translates to credibility and authority. Writing a book communicates the message that you are smart enough to have something worth saying - something substantial. A book, by its very definition, requires not just a sentence or a paragraph, but pages and chapters of confirming details to back up your ideas.

Writing a book symbolizes the accomplishment of a body of work worthy of being distributed and preserved for future generations. Since the majority of people will never write a book themselves, the common view of what it takes to accomplish this feat is often pretty far off base. People tend to assume that writing a book calls for talent, self-discipline, a huge commitment of time, and a unique personality type. What this personality type is, they don't know, except that they feel certain it is a demeanor different from their own.

In fact, of talent, self-discipline, committed time, and a unique personality, only self-discipline is an essential ingredient for authorship. And even such willpower is only necessary for the time it takes to complete your book.

Beyond self-discipline, it is great if you happen to have a natural affinity to write, and even better if you also have a block of time that you can commit to your writing projects. If you lack these however, it is still quite possible to successfully complete and publish a book.

Writing, especially of non-fiction, is a "learnable" skill. God-given talent may improve your writing and may make the process easier and more pleasurable, but lack of natural writing talent is not a showstopper.

A famous quote from US President Calvin Coolidge tells us, "Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent." As Coolidge's words make so clear, persistence and failure rarely come paired together.

As an unpublished author, you are probably at one of two junctures. Either you have tried writing but you became bogged down in the process, (leaving you with an unfinished work) or you have completed a book, but have no idea how to send it out into the world. Don't worry. With a little persistence, there are quick and affordable solutions for both.