write your light
2 years ago today i held my first self-published book lighthouse revolution in my hands. i’ve been reflecting on the whole book writing journey… especially as i am doing it all over again to write my second book book.
(i call it a ‘book book’ because there are lots of types of books, but i dreamed of creating not an ebook, not a kindle book, not a workbook… but a physical, printed book made of real paper that you can hold in your hands! it’s an exciting thing to anyone who has ever dreamed of writing a book… actually holding it in your hands, flipping the pages, writing in the margins.)
i wrote lighthouse revolution in 24 days in november 2015, during NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month, which is a worldwide initiative to get people writing!) by march 29th 2016 i launched the kickstarter campaign and nearly doubled my goal with $9200 raised in 4 weeks! i self-published my book book in may... shipping out 150 copies of the book in the first print run. in september i published the kindle ebook version of lighthouse revolution, and in the 5 day FREE ebook promotion, 1520 copies of the book were downloaded: the book was amazon's #1 free self-help book, and #8 on the overall free books list.
i am sharing this because i want to show you proof that it can be done. you can take your ideas, your insight, your stories, your perspective, your lessons, your learnings… and you can get them down onto the page. and then you can edit those pages. and then you can have them printed and delivered to you as an actual book book.
two years ago i was sitting here waiting impatiently for my book book to arrive on my doorstep... and i have to tell you that moment was one of the best moments of my life. i think the delivery guy was shocked to receive a huge hug by a crazy dancing lady when he knocked on the door!
writing a book book was never one of my life long goals... if you had asked me even 5 years ago if i would publish an actual book i would have laughed. at the time i was content with creating workbooks and guide books and helpful 'how to' books for women in biz... in total i had written 12 ebooks which i successfully sold as PDFs from my website, with 1000s of downloads. so it was truly not on my radar to write a book book... a book that you could hold in your hands and pass on to a friend.
but then i started the lighthouse revolution... my purpose became something much bigger than i once thought it was... i felt called to help more people in even deeper ways... my mission grew and grew... and i could see that it mattered. my book book started tapping me on the shoulder... eventually i had to get over my own fear and resistance and inertia, eventually i had to figure out how to write and edit and publish and launch and fund and promote and sell the book that i wanted to share with the world!
not gonna lie… it was a lot of work - physically, mentally, and emotionally! - but it's actually completely, absolutely, doable to bring a book to life! you don’t have to wait for the perfect time, you don’t have to wait for a publisher to knock on your door, you don’t have to wait for more credentials, or more training, or more of anything you worry you are not enough of yet.
in fact, those worries will always be there. because that sneaky voice of the inner critic will always try to keep you safe and small and same and will always tell you what you are not enough of yet. and there will never be a perfect time to write your book because that voice will always convince you of all the reasons to wait. trust me, i tried and tried to wait for the perfect time.
what i realized was the best time is right now. start today. if it takes you a month, six months, a year, two years... it doesn't matter. start today. you will be one day closer to bringing your book to life!)
writing, publishing, sharing your book will indeed be one of the hardest things you ever do… trust me on this too, nothing pushes your own buttons like writing a book… but i think it is also one of the most incredibly rewarding things you will ever do
for me, pushing through the mindset challenges and building visibility and promoting my socks off... all to share something that i believed in to the depth of my core... something that mattered... well, there is nothing else in my journey that compares to what i learned and gained and experienced by writing a book book.
writing a book can help you peel away layers of your purpose, your why, your mission in this lifetime.
writing a book can help you make sense of your journey so far and the learnings and lessons you wish to share.
writing a book can help you get clear on what it is you want to help others with and how exactly you help them.
writing a book can help you reach more people with your mission, your message, your business, process, your ideas, or your teachings.
writing a book can help you find and embrace and share and amplify your own unique voice.
writing a book can help you heal, grow, expand, explore, and evolve.
writing a book can help you take the next steps… often times when we get all of that stuff out of our head and onto the page, there is new stuff just waiting for us in the wings.
writing a book can help you connect to your soul, to your intuition, to your inner guidance and inner light.
writing a book can be empowering… you no longer let your old stories dictate your life, instead you get to decide what chapter comes next.
writing a book can allow you to connect with both yourself and others in a new way.
one of the greatest memories i have of writing lighthouse revolution was when my grandad bought 3 copies in the kickstarter. i thought it was sweet that he wanted to support me – in fact i think this is one of the most incredible things to experience, the outpouring of support you receive as an author. people love books and they love to support you with this dream… i think it is something all of us relate to.
anyhow – my grandad buys the book, which is so sweet, but then he sits down and reads the book! my hero, my grandad, a 92 year old war vet, read a book about what it means to be a lighthouse and shine your light in the world. one of the best moments of my life was when he sat with me and told me how much he loved my book and my message and that he could think of lots of people in his life who would be inspired by what i shared.
in that moment my hero showed me that my secret dream – that hidden whisper of a dream inside me wishing for my book to make a difference to people – was already coming true.
this is why i am so passionate about encouraging you to WRITE your LIGHT - your stories matter, your message matters, your mission matters, your ideas matter... they are worth sharing, there are people who will be touched by your words… the world is waiting on you!
no one has your unique combination of experiences, ideas, perspectives, and learnings… your light is uniqe, and it is worthy of shining. it's time to add your voice to the conversation... it's time to add your book to the universe’s library.
write your light.
it truly is a life transforming experience.
click here for resources, support, and freebies to help you bring your book to life. the writers circle - a mentorship and mastermind group to help you on your writing journey, no matter where you are at - begins today! we would so love to have you join us.