| THE BOOK-WRITING JOURNEY | | | | to get published by a traditional publisher, "Write |
| How Attending to the Process Can Result in a | | | | as if you were going to publish your book |
| Great Product | | | | yourself." Meaning, "Don't get caught up in trying |
| A real perk of self-publishing is that, when it | | | | to figure out what a publisher wants you to say |
| comes to writing the book, you don't have to put | | | | to your readers. Look into your heart and mind to |
| yourself through the hoops that external | | | | see what's true as you write-what fulfills you, |
| publishers usually require. You can please yourself | | | | teaches you, transforms you. Write the book of |
| in your writing-find out what you really want to | | | | your heart, and the rest will take care of itself. |
| say, and how you want to say it. You can find | | | | That energy will reverberate on the pages, and |
| what all writers (whether consciously or not) seek: | | | | your readers will embrace what you have to say |
| your authentic writing voice. | | | | and how you said it." |
| This doesn't mean that you don't need to take | | | | When you self-publish a book, you are spared |
| your readers into account: you do. But when you | | | | many of the "hoops" demanded by traditional |
| write to find out what you want to say, and say | | | | publication (e.g., fitting into their ideas of genre; |
| it in a way that really feels like you, your readers | | | | proving a platform; writing a book proposal; |
| will also get the benefit. That is, they will | | | | writing like others who have sold well). You can |
| experience the authenticity of your writing voice | | | | write the book that's in you without having to |
| as an invitation to open to their own authentic | | | | compromise on being faithful to your real nature, |
| experience as they read. | | | | and this then inspires your readers. That's a |
| I used to tell my book-writing clients who hoped | | | | win-win, all around. |