We all have a book inside of us, but for so many, time, money and a general lack of understanding of the publishing industry stops us from even starting the process.
Back in 1998 when I left England and started my journey around the world, I promised my 92-year-old grandma I would write letters to her every 2 weeks. The next time she saw me was in 2001 when I came back for a visit. She presented me with a suitcase full of my letters and postcards and told me “now write that book”
That planted the seed that maybe I could write a book, even though I had no writing qualifications. I did not consider myself to be particularly good at grammar or spelling, but everyone kept telling me I had an interesting life and it would make a good book. Anyway, I had heard how difficult it was to get your book published as a first time author and that seemed like a lot of hard work.
While I procrastinated my Grandma continued to receive my letters and I continued to travel.
In April 2005 I attended a workshop in Singapore on “how to write your book” and that turned out to be the inspiration and motivation I needed to get me started! By the end of 2005 I was at the final editing stage and by Feb 2006 I self-published my book.I dedicated my book “A seven year journey around the world – discovering my passion and purpose” in memory of Bea, my grandma who inspired me to write my book. Not only did she pass away before she saw the book in print, she didn’t even get to know I had actually started work on it, thanks to her.
Don’t let this happen to you! Write your memoirs before its too late, write that fiction book you’ve been dreaming about, write that business book to promote your business and give you credibility, put all those poems and essays into a book, turn your thesis into a book! Just start.
Remember, you don’t have to be an expert at grammar or spelling or sentence structure, that is what editors are for! It is just up to you to tell your story from the heart and get started and take the time to educate yourself with the many resources available to make the task easy and enjoyable!
