I first posted about How to be a Writer without Writing a Book about three years ago. I last posted on it about two years ago. If you’re wondering, no, I didn’t quit. I did burn out a bit on the project. Then, about a year ago, the stars came into alignment and I reached out to a publisher – who accepted the book! In, out, up, down, delay, vacation, delay and I can finally announce that How to be a Writer without Writing a Book is now a reality!
I need to tell you that this has been a significantly less than pleasant process. I pushed myself in ways that I didn’t like to create a product that I didn’t want. Yet, I did it. And some good stuff came of it.
Good Stuff
First, despite all the voices in my head, I proved that I could. Sort of like jumping off a tall rock into a cold river – I’m referring to my high school rafting days – I’ve done it, I can do it again if I need to, and I have no plan to need to do it ever. And, writing a book is not nearly as scary as free-falling. I hate it when only gravity is acting on my body.
Second, I ended up on a podcast with an international audience. I used my network to build content for the book. The woman who moderates and puts together the BNI® Podcast is somewhat local to me and we met awhile back. When I told her the story of how I used the BNI social network to find contributors for the book, she thought it was a great story and managed to get me on the show. BNI Podcast 556, if you’re interested.
Third, I have a real tangible book with my name on it!!! While being an author really isn’t what I want to do with my life, it’s still pretty cool.
I’m sure there’s more….
Not So Great Stuff
Just because I have a book, I’m not expecting to get rich off of it. This is a short reference guide for people who are thinking about a career in writing – not a huge audience. Yet, I would like that group of people to have a chance to access the book. So, now I’m looking for people with access to my audience.
That means more uncomfortable tasks. I have a sense of who has that access, now I have to hunt them down. Most people know that I’m not big on hunting strangers down. And I’ll have to pick up a non-ringing phone….
I’m also in the awkward position of asking friends to read my book and provide a review. (I’m trying to skip the even more awkward position of asking them to buy my book.) This is where some of my nasty voices come into play. Thoughts like, “Why would they want to read it?” and “Do I really want their reviews?” keep popping up.
I also need to spend some money. All those contributors deserve a copy. Because I’m not willing to pay Priority Mail rates I can’t print the postage from home. There’s a pandemic going on and I’m not thrilled with the idea of having to go to the post office. Actually, I’m never thrilled with the idea of having to go to the post office.
Now What?
Well, besides the unpleasant tasks still on my plate, I have some other options to consider. I could launch my own podcast, I could try to give some presentations around being a writer without writing a book, I could do nothing at all, or I could do something that hasn’t occurred to me – or one of my coaches – yet.
For now, I’ll chip away at the unpleasant tasks and revel in the fact that I have a Real Tangible Book With My Name On It!
-Lorrie Nicoles
