It's been an exciting time for me and I'm thrilled to share with you!
I lost my job a few months ago which was disheartening and hurtful to say the least. I thought I'd retire there and I was truly passionate about what I was doing. Sometimes change has to be forced for you to make the move you've been wanting to make. Since financially things would be tight but we could manage, D pushed me to write the book I've wanted to write for years. I wasted zero time with his amazing encouragement because I knew my time was limited before I had to get a job and with so much support, I didn't want to disappoint him or myself.
Two months ago, I began writing in earnest. Six hours a day earnest. I've tried to keep the blog consistent and have managed not to do that as well as I had hoped, but I have been writing. You think you'll just sit down and write a book - seriously how hard could that be? It's Hard. Really hard.
First, I talked to a friend who is an editor. She read my beginning attempt at the book and gave me suggestions - all which I followed. Meet with a mutual friend who's already published and ask questions. I learned so much from Danny that day (and on all our subsequent meetings!) that I felt more sure of the process. I hired my editor friend, Corrine which was the single biggest smart move on my part. Having an editor from the beginning (instead of when you're done writing) is my #1 tip to anyone who wants to write. I think this is why 80% of people who want to write a book, never succeed.
Second was asking my best friend Diana who owns Kinsei Business Consulting to be my coach. Think life coach/PR/pushy person you love who keeps you on track. She helps get businesses more successful and making more money in a very unique way so she was a perfect fit. Now I had home support, which was absolutely vital, and the right outside support for my venture.
As a public speaker in the past, I also wanted to launch that. Writing a book is an amazing accomplishment - a self-help memoir and my story - but for this to become an actual business, public speaking was where I wanted to focus. It's my favorite part of what I've done. I needed a website and contacted a good friend of mine, Brandon at BDG Web Design and we got started. I can say it's a work in progress, exhausting and worth doing well. There are a lot of moving parts to websites - even if you have someone doing the work for you - and it takes time.
There's no way to describe my learning curve. It's been astronomical and incredibly fun. I now have my website, Moms Running It, my book writing is complete and getting the final edits and being proofread by another amazing person and long time friend of mine, Kevin. My book cover has been created, my logo is in the process of getting done and then I can get my Media Kit and public speaking one sheet, I got professional photos taken, I'm gathering testimonials from my past speaking and writing, I purchased business cards and I have short and long term goals set.
I've been taking every free class online and in Reno that relates to public speaking, starting a business, marketing, branding, Facebook ads, and writing. I've met with anyone who asked and everyone that told me yes and picked peoples brains in whatever their area of expertise was. I put together a list of places I've spoken at and written for previously and started reaching out to people. I created folders for every aspect of what I'm doing and have an ongoing list of things to do.
I'm so in love with my book. It was very similar to childbirth. Ecstatic, nauseating, painful. There were times of tears and times of unbelievable joy waiting to see what it would become, how it would turn out. I wanted to be my most authentic, vulnerable self. I wanted to put it all out there with glaring, beautiful honesty and give it wings. Both my editor and proofreader pushed me to be the best version of my writing self which I am grateful for. It has been a healing journey for me and one where I got to say thank you many, many times to people who made a difference in my life. I look forward to the launch by September, 2016 and will keep you posted.