People ask me why I decided to write a book. What a great question. It’s one I ask myself all the time. The answer isn’t simple and there are many reasons why I opened myself up to the process and did it.
Who’s an Oprah fan? Me, I am! One day I watched her Master Class. Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I still hear them from time to time in the back of my mind. This is what she said “The fact that that egg was hit by that particular sperm in that particular moment and you were created. Wow. How amazing is that? Of all the choices that had to happen in order for you to be here now. What a celebration that is…The fact that I’m here matters. This is no accident. None of us are.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Did yours?
Everyone has unique gifts and we have no right to ignore them and cast them aside. I heard Oprah telling me to get off my ass and find my purpose. That’s not to say that I didn’t feel as if my life had purpose, but I knew there was more growth and change coming in my life.
Then Oprah talked about how the universe speaks to you. Sometimes is starts in whispers. Well, I was starting to hear them.
The first whispers began when I was a kid. Being an only child meant I had quite a bit of alone time on my hands. Some of those spaces were filled with writing books. The stories would flow from my mind and onto the page. I used to love it. To this day, I can’t remember why I stopped doing it. That is until about five years ago.
I read an ebook by Amanda Hocking and thought, “Wow. I love this. I think I can do this too.” That’s when I started brainstorming characters. At first, they were fairies, but they were soon replaced with human college students. I wrote for a while and alas quit. Again, I’m not sure why.
Fast forward two years. The whispers became louder, in fact they were in the form of another hockey mom. Her new book was releasing that February. She was such an inspiration for me. Not only did she encourage me, but she’d ask me at games how many words I’d written that week. She’d go over my first chapter and give me her opinions. Then she laughingly told me I should go to UtopYA, a writer’s conference in Nashville. Ha-ha, is what I thought. Until I looked it up and mentioned it to my husband. Then he said, “Why don’t you go?” So, I did.
I learned so much at UtopYA and from my hockey-mom girlfriend. Then I started to take a few online writing classes. I’m good at being a student. I love learning! I took all this fuel and used it to create my book.
Your book is finished, so now what? This is when my nerves ramped up and the negative internal dialogue started. “Why do you think anyone would want to read what you wrote?” “It’s not going to be any good.” These are the stupid lies I told myself. Do you ever hold yourself back from doing something because of fear or self-limiting beliefs? Yup, I think we all have.
I thank my lucky stars for all of the supportive people I have in my corner. Each one kept telling me to publish it. So, I got some critique partners and hired an editor. There is so much more work that goes into self-publishing, building your platform and marketing your book than I ever dreamed. But now, on the cusp of hitting the publish button I wouldn’t go back and change it.
The universe was sending me hints and clues that I had to pursue the dream of being an author. When I sit back and ponder the miracle it is that I was born and I’m here for a purpose, this is what moves me forward and pushes me past the fear, self-doubt and near crippling vulnerability. I have no right to ignore the universe. I hope if you read this and have heard your own whispers that you start listening and take action. You are here for a reason.
