THE JOURNEY FROM WRITER TO PUBLISHED AUTHOR!
THE JOURNEY FROM WRITER TO PUBLISHED AUTHOR!One year ago, in February 2022, Mosaic Heart: Pieces of an Unfinished Life was birthed into the world. It had taken more than ten years to write, shape, and refine the story I needed to share. And, although it took so many years for her to be ready, I know she came into the world exactly when she was supposed to arrive. Since that time, though, I’ve both rejoiced in her birth and grieved that the process of bringing her into the world was over.
Shifting from writing and refining my story to promoting my book has been a challenging transition to navigate. And having worked with so many other authors, I know I’m not alone in the struggle to move from writer to published author. It’s not easy.
The process of creation is an internal one. As writers, we go inward to be with our stories, to revisit them, to discover the deeper meanings of our life experiences. We spend time uncovering the gifts meant for us and the gemstones we need to share with others. It’s a deeply personal, introspective process as we sit with what we’ve lived and write about it.
Then comes the time of refinement. After getting our stories into written form, we massage and rework our writing to ensure that our story not only serves us but offers something to our readers. Again, it’s an internal process—one that keeps us close to the written page and deep within ourselves.
I am comfortable with the inward journey of remembering, reflecting, creating, and refining. As a more introverted human being, this is my happy place, my safe space. Unfortunately, I, just like other authors who want to birth their books into the world, cannot stay in our notebooks and at our computers forever. The time comes when we, with the help of our editors, begin the process of finalizing our manuscripts to transform them from a document into a book. From there, we move into the production process and ultimately to publication.
That’s when we shift roles from the inward writer to an outward published author.
Our book babies cannot manifest into their full expression without our help. We must nurture them just as we cultivated our stories. And that means getting in front of people—whether through speaking, podcasting, attending book clubs, sending out newsletters, or writing blog posts. The name of the game becomes book promotion, and it needs to happen if we want our book to be noticed among the millions upon millions of books in the marketplace.
One of my Merry Dissonance Press authors wrote a biographical memoir. She carries her books with her wherever she goes and talks about her story. This has led to incredible one-on-one conversations and translated to dozens of book sales.
I’ve wondered if it’s easier to talk about a book when it’s the story of someone else. Or is it more difficult to talk about one’s personal story? Somehow, I believe it is, at least for those of us who are more introverted. Extroverted people might have an easier time.
In promoting my memoir, it also feels like “the self-promotion of me,” which is not a comfortable place to stand in. Yet, I do believe in the value of my story, and I believe in its ability to offer insights and inspiration to others—even to offer another perspective when it comes to what we fear.
Mosaic Heart is a story of how I’ve been able to transform adversity into opportunity—into being able to see myself as someone worthy of love and deserving of self-love, self-compassion, and self-care. It’s a story of moving from fear and anger to a place of love and surrender.
So that leads me to the place of knowing I need to step out. It’s time to develop the muscle of bravery—to get brave and stand tall, to remember why I wrote my story in the first place, and to speak about it from that knowing.
Yes, Mosaic Heart turns 1 this month. She is still young, yet she has a powerful message. Her message is universal and it is timely and timeless. Today, I declare that in the year ahead I will help her mature and be seen well beyond my inner circle. She deserves my love and attention, my care and commitment. She deserves my nurturance. It is time for me to get out of the way and let her be seen in all her glory.