My Dream of Writing a Book

A young bride on the day of her marriage gushed to her father, "Oh, Daddy, I'm at the end of all my troubles." To which he replied. "You're absolutely right.  But, "Which end?"

That's a bit how I feel with Dare.Dream.Do. We just finished the last round of copy-edits.  I've received the galleys. Now we need to launch.  Or as Seth Godin advises, "you need to ship."  Ship date is May 8, 2012.

{Insert exclamatory remark -- thrilled, terrified, overwhelmed, delighted}

This realization made my conversation with Jesse Lyn Stoner, a de facto member of my dare to dream team, especially timely.  As I was cataloguing for her what I need to get done in order to ship, she asked, "Why aren't you blogging about process of bringing your book to life?  A-ha moment.  Writing a book is one of my dreams.  Why wouldn't I write about the process? Talk about what I've learned to date?  Track what's next?  Analyze the process in real-time?  Terrific suggestion Jesse!

So here's what I've learned to date:   

1.  Start:  For much of my adult life, I've thought someday I'll write a book.  About what, or even when, I had no idea.  Given my perfectionist leanings, blogging was, in retrospect, the best way to start.  It's a low-end disruptive move. Other than my fear, there are no barriers to entry.  Having begun blogging in 2007, by late 2009 when Laurel Christensen dared me to write a book, I had started to find my voice.  If you don't believe me, go back and read some of my earliest posts -- they are rather wooden.

2.  Assemble a team:  Pulling together a team of trusted advisors sounds so benign, but when I look at the practice v. the theory, it's tough to do.  I am smart enough, however, to know I really couldn't have done this by myself, especially in the time that I had.  Specifically, any number of people will tell you I'm a good editor, including me.  So long as I'm not editing myself.  When I get really stuck, instead of typing, and deleting, writing in circles, I know I can send off a piece to Amy Jameson, for 15-minute look-see.  Even a few comments helps me get unstuck. She is worth every penny.

3.  Be impatient for small wins, patient for big ones:  When it came to hiring an agent, if Julie Berry hadn't intervened, I may have just gone with the first person who approached me.  At Julie's urging, I did the due diligence that my too eager self didn't want to do.  Once I decided to go this route, and reached out to colleagues like Cali Yost for introductions, it took months before finding the right agent. While I was waiting for this big win, I was looking for small wins, ones I could control.  More blogging, gathering stories.  As Rachel Esplin advised, my motto was don't be The Man from Song. 

4.  Know my dealbreakers:  I am willing to comply with pretty much any deadline/request a publisher/agent imposes.  But there were some dealbreakers.  For example, one gatekeeper, suggested I re-write the whole book talking at my audience, rather than with, a tone completely antithetical to how I think dreaming needs to happen.  We do this together.  Another suggested that I re-write every story to be in my own words.  That I also couldn't do because it would have meant my taking away the voices of the women to whom I'd committed to provide a space.  In other words, there was a lot of -- "I think you are absolutely wonderful.  But can you change your hair, your make-up and how you dress? Then we can date."

5.  Trust your instinct:  I knew I wanted to work with Josh Getzler.  He was recommended by Cali Yost; we had a wide-ranging, fascinating discussion when we first spoke.  I liked that he'd been the COO of the Staten Island Yankees and negotiated against George Steinbrenner. As Josh submitted the manuscript to lots of large publishing houses, he also submitted it to the start-up Bibliomotion.  Almost from the outset, I knew they were the right fit, in part because of their disruptive model.  I fought it.  I considered going the route of the household name.  Eventually I did trust my instinct.  And as one of their previously published authors said, "you have no idea how good you have it with Bibliomotion."  He's right.  They are phenomenal.

So -- here we are -- January 2, 2012.

I've just sent off galleys to request a few more blurbs; we recently taped the audio Q&A for Amazon; I'm in the thick of re-doing my website; and I'm prepping to do the video trailer in the next few weeks. 

The daring would seem to be just beginning...

What are your thoughts?

If you have wanted to write a book, any specific questions you have?

Anything about the process of dreaming?

Comments

[Avni Patel Thompson]

Whitney -

What a great post and perfectly timely as a new year thought starter. For as long as I can remember I've always wanted to write a book - the romance and gravity of seeing your title and name on the cover of a book is one of the most awe-inspiring things, in my opinion. But like you, I've always batted around hundreds of ideas. My document folder is littered with starts and stops and fades.

The thing about a dream like this is that it is so beautiful and perfect in its abstraction, but actually going about making it reality is much tougher than writing up a concrete initiative plan or analyzing sales trends.

This post sheds light on concrete steps and advice one can take in making a dream like this come to fruition. Thanks for taking the time to document and share.

-Avni

[Erin]

That darn Laurel, she has got a way, doesn't she?

So excited for the new book!!!

[Macy]

So, so proud of you. And so glad you are writing about this!

[Bonnie White]

I shared your post with my writing group who formed after the Writers of Young Adult Fiction last spring in Salt Lake City. We have a monthly prompt we respond to and many have dreams of having books published. This blog post was instructive. Thanks Whitney. I look forward to reading the book.

[Michelle Mumford]

Congrats! Can't wait to read it.

[amy]

Thanks for sharing that...very interesting! Love the look, and can't wait for the read.

[Jesse Stoner]

So glad you wrote this post, Whitney. It's fascinating to see what you are learning and experiencing while you are in the middle of the process.

You offer great advice! Your post is really helpful for anyone who is thinking of writing a book or who is in the process.

I can't wait to read Dare.Dream.Do Such an important book!

[Kristy]

Thanks for sharing the process - though process while in the act isn't terribly fun, it is crucial to accomplishing anything. Learning about how you made your dream a reality is really instructive. Congrats!

[Dscofield]

Thank you so much for writing about this - it's a process of creation, of invention and of innovation and from the heart - i'm anxious to read it (and get you to sign it!)

[Account Deleted]

Good going Whitney! Thanks for choosing to share the process in near-real-time. I look forward to reading the series in the coming weeks.

A book that I have really enjoyed reading is "If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit" by Brenda Ueland. I see that many of your blog posts are written in the same vein. Wonderful!

[Lois Melbourne]

I think you just illustrated the difference between a dream and goal! Something I will be curious to see if present in your book.

Thank you very much for this post. I am working on a children's book series idea and this gave me the kick start to start the project plan, not just the idealism.

[Madeleine]

Congratulations Whitney! Very exciting.

[Teresa]

Fabulous news - can't wait! And I'm glad you wrote about writing. I'd love to hear even more of what went into this book.

[Jaime]

Exciting, Whitney! Thanks for sharing. I've been working with my staff on achievement of goals lately. There's a phrase we keep using, "A goal without a plan is just a wish." It's clear you didn't just wish to create a book.

[Rebecca]

I'm so excited for you, Whitney! Interesting timing with this post. Christina has a fun idea for something she's nearly done writing and she wants to publish. I told her to email you and see what you had to say.
Also, I have to say I love the cover of your book. It's completely appealing and inviting. What a great book to discuss with friends. Cannot wait to read it :)

[Whitney]

THANK YOU for all of your wonderful well-wishes. Rebecca - please tell Christina to e-mail me. Why not publish here?

Lois -- I don't know that I do specifically differentiate between goal and dream -- other than I see goals as steppingstones to a dream, more tactical,the dream, more a vision. Glad this gave you some ideas.

And Bonnie - delighted that this post was helpful for your author's group.

Thank you again.

[david k waltz]

Whitney,

Congratulations! I am glad to hear you got this started blogging, one of the thoughts that drove me to start a blog as well. Thanks for showing the way!

[Thehrgoddess]

Whitney -

I'm beginning the book writing journey...thanks for sharing your insights about the process!

[Luisa Perkins]

Fantastic news! Can't wait to read it. Congratulations!