122 How I wrote my book

Your Next Chapter - step into the next version of you

This is an exciting episode for me, celebrating a significant personal milestone and launching a new Podcast Series! I’ve completed my book, “Your Next Chapter – Ditch your doubt, own your worth, and build the business you really want” and it’s available for pre-order on my website here. This episode walks you through the adventure and also signifies a return to podcasting with the “Under the Radar – ordinary women doing extraordinary things” series. I trust you’ll enjoy the next 8 episodes highlighting the projects, plans and next chapter journeys and experiences of a fabulous group of women just like you.

Show Notes

My book notes journal says 2018, and yet I only just finished by manuscript in September 2020. Sometimes our goals and plans are waylaid by circumstance, but if it’s important enough to you, you’ll always return and manage to hit the mark.

Imposter Syndrome and the Comparison Trap, two tools of the trade that your Inner Critic engages to keep you safe and small in your Familiar Zone, were challenges that almost prevented me from writing at all. I had to face these head on, many times to keep moving forward.

What helped?

The idea that I am a contributor, not the expert. I buy loads of books on the same subject, learn something new each time, and appreciate the different perspectives. My own book will be no different.

I had a huge brain dump session with a colleague who had written a book before – we got all my ideas out of my head and onto a whiteboard. I could then appreciate that perhaps I did have enough content and experience to write a book! It also helped enormously to have a visual model – The Next Chapter Change Model, my own IP, that I could base the book around.

If you have a BIG endeavour you’re working towards, I highly recommend adopting the principles I followed - setting trifecta, smart and HEART goals to focus your progress. HEART stands for harmonious, engaging, aspirational, refreshing, and transformative. The idea is to blend your goals so they address both sides of the achievement coin, and to ensure that you create an environment that supports the likelihood of achieving these goals. I used a blend of SMART and HEART trifecta goals to write this book, to help to create and manage my own ‘expectation environment’.

SMART trifecta goal: To write a 35,000-word (acceptable), 40,000-word (stretch) or 50,000-word (unicorn) book that is ready for release by the end of 2020.

HEART goal: To write a book that provides inspiration and encouragement to women and to enjoy the process by working with an author coach who can encourage, inspire and assist you to write the best book I can; creating a working environment that makes me feel good whenever I sit down to write; and recognising and appreciating both my progress as a writer and the progress of the book by rewarding myself when I reach each chapter milestone.

I did not travel alone in this uncharted territory – I hired a coach. My author coach, Candice Davis

has been an amazing and consistent source of support, stretching my writing and helping me navigate doubt and comparison to writers whose work I admire so much… she kept reminding this is book #1 and that no book begins brilliantly – editing is the key.

I set up a routine – 6am up, short meditation, then free writing which I then read aloud, recording in the fab app Otter.ai which was then transcribed and I turned into the foundation for my chapters.

I took myself away on a personal retreat to edit the book once the first draft was complete. I knew I was unlikely to manage this feat when I was immersed I my everyday commitments. The focus and flow I experienced when I was ensconced in the wee air b&b cottage I hired was fabulous.

I accepted imperfect action and handed it over to my Book Production Manager, Bev Ryan to take the project reins and moved into marketing mode.

And now? I’m allowing myself to get a wee bit excited and adding this achievement to my own Fabulous File!

And now what? Please pop over to the Book pre-order page and share your details and we’ll send you a link to purchase a physical or kindle version just as soon as it’s available!