It’s true. My first book took many years, from idea, to writing and publishing it.
Why did it take that long?
That’s what I want to share with you today. I wanted to take you through the first few paragraphs of my story that I put at the start of my upcoming book, Write and Publish Your First Book.
If you’ve dreamed of writing your very own book, but have felt stuck or scared to put words to paper for some reason, read on…
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So why did it take years to write my first novel?
I was scared. I was worried about rejection and that others would judge me for my words. Here’s my story…
“Your work – what you create – tells your story. It lays bare your hopes, your dreams and speaks about what matters most to you. It shows people what you really think of the world around you. Your voice needs to be heard.
However, you must be willing to be brave. You are the only one who can choose to let your original self – your ideas and life – be heard. You are the only one who can uncover, grow and ultimately be courageous enough to share your unique perspective with others.
I’m passionate about helping people uncover and begin to use their authentic voice. For too many years, I hid in my safe little world. And because of different moments of pain and trauma from my childhood, I lost what it meant to be me for awhile. I desperately wanted to uncover my authentic voice but didn’t know how to find it again. I was scared this farm-girl turned homeschooling mom didn’t have what it took to step out to reach her dreams of writing page-turning stories.
I thought about writing a long time before I even put pen to paper. That’s how nervous I was about putting my thoughts onto the page. This book is for first-time writers who have longed to write a book but have felt stuck for many reasons, like I was.
Maybe you’ve been unsure of how to write, edit, format, compile and get your ebook or print book into the world. But more than that, you’ve been plagued with fear of not being good enough. Afraid of failure and that your dream of writing will crumble into the dust. You see that’s where I was almost ten years ago when I had my first thought of writing a book.
At first it took me quite a few years to get to the point where I thought writing a book might be possible for me. I waited for years from having the idea for a fiction book I wanted to write, to finally sitting down and getting it written. Why did it take me so long to put pen to paper?
The reason is simple. I thought I had to wait to be picked. In my mind, I needed the approval of a gatekeeper in the publishing world – an agent or publisher – to tell me I was a writer. I didn’t believe I was good enough to write my own stories without messing it up completely. I thought if I tried to write my own book, I would ruin the story and I might wreck any chances I had to get any future books out there.
This was a new kind of learning that somehow seemed more difficult than the farm work I was used to. I was intimidated, scared of rejection and worried that somehow I wouldn’t be able to take the steps needed to get closer to my writing dream.
Yet, there was one thing I had going for me. I had a strong desire to learn and the grit to keep at it day after day. I started to learn and so far I’ve spent hundreds of hours reading books, blogs and listening to podcasts so I could learn what it really took to write, publish and market a book. It took me six months longer than I thought it would to edit the book, but with the help of a professional editor, I did it. It was such a steep learning curve, that there were many days I wasn’t sure if publishing the book would ever happen. But I’m happy to say it did. I finally got my first historical romance written and published. I was thrilled.
But, here’s the thing. I never forgot the struggle I went through to learn what I needed to know. It was such a huge struggle for me and a steep learning curve, that I’ve made it my goal to do what I can to help first-time writers. I want to help make the process so much easier for new writers who are thinking about putting their first book into the world.
So that’s the reason for this book. To give you the layout of what it really takes to go from hardly knowing a thing – like where I was when I started – to having the details you need to publish your book and upload it to digital retailers like Amazon, Kobo, iBookstore and many more.
I’m excited for you as a new writer, I really am. The writing and digital publishing world has never looked brighter than right now. There are many successful indie authors who are mid-list authors who are earning a living with their writing. If that’s your goal, you can do that too. The hard part is to be disciplined to write every day, to set your goals and learn all you can along the way from other authors.
Writing is on the I-really-want-to-do-this list for 81% of people, but most never do it. They don’t even start. I hope you won’t be one of those that gives up before they even try. I really hope you give yourself the chance to fulfill your writing dream.
I want to encourage you to begin today. Get five hundred words in before you go to sleep tonight. You’ll be so happy you did. It’s a great place to start, and a habit that you can repeat tomorrow. Keep writing and get that first draft done as quickly as possible.
So that’s my story of why it took me so long to write my first book.
I hope you were inspired to keep writing. My desire is that many first time writers will believe in themselves, so they can push past resistance to write the story they’ve dreamed of sharing with the world.
Have you struggled to write and publish your book? What were some of your biggest obstacles to get past? I’d love to hear your story and ideas in the comments.
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