This weekend I spent several hours with my dear friend and co-author working through the next phase of our book writing plan. We realized that it was just about one year ago we sat in Panera Bread on a Saturday afternoon and committed to being co-authors to bring this book I'd been dreaming about for a decade to life.
In the past year, we have created 150 written pages in a shared Google document. We have chapter titles and working subheads. We have notes to go back and rewrite sections and even more notes of stories and resources that need to be added.
We have hundreds (maybe thousands?) of text messages between us over the weeks giving each other updates and support along the way.
On this Saturday we had an honest conversation about where we were and where we should go from here. We have big decisions to make ahead of us including hiring (and paying) an editor, deciding on our publishing direction, pitching, promotion, and so much more.
We were getting to a place in the writing where we were duplicating stories and lessons and weren't quite sure what we had covered so far. We need a reset and some organization to really plot our next steps and make sure we are working smarter, not harder.
As is our style, we are doing as much of it as possible ourselves. First of all, this is still our baby. The writing and ideas are raw, real, and deeply emotional. Second, we are both marketing and public relations professionals who write as a large part of our corporate jobs. We have the skills and tenacity to put those to work for ourselves and learn along the way. Lastly, for now, we are self-funded so being sure we have done everything we can before we pay for help is important to both of us.
What was so thrilling and encouraging about this weekend was seeing our work really come together. We wrote out a notecard for each chapter thus far and placed those into nine major themes or sections of the book. What started as somewhat jumbled stream-of-consciousness stories from a Google document turned into an organized body of work.
Isn't this how life can be as well? Your mind can easily jumble stories and lessons and send you into spirals of thoughts that don't move you to any realistic conclusion. You ruminate and overthink and duplicate things in your mind that leave you exhausted and confused.
We all need some help to lay things out. To untangle and help to organize our thoughts. To remind us we are capable. To encourage us through confusing times and celebrate the wins of life. To give us some structure to focus on what we need to accomplish. To stand back and high-five when all the work thus far feels really good to your soul.
This is so much of the work I love about wellness and life coaching. I work with you to create the systems you seek, provide the support you crave, and the accountability you need to lay things out and press forward toward your goals.
If you're ready, I'm ready to be your guide to lay things out.
