A Behind-the-Scenes Story About my Book
I want to share an update about my book and the powerful lessons I have learned along the way.
Many of you know that I spent most of last year writing my first book, Full of Herself.
At the end of September, when I finished writing, I hired an editor, the one and only, Clare Fernández. If you have a writing project and need support, hire Clare!
Clare and I have spent the past four-ish months editing the manuscript. I didn't appreciate what an iterative process editing is. We have gone back and forth and round in circles and created a manuscript that makes us both very proud. I have loved collaborating with Clare. We've sent hundreds of little voice messages to each other not only about the book but about our lives. I have become a better writer thanks to this process and I have loved every second of it.
I had every intention of self-publishing because it is the cheapest and easiest route. As I chatted with people who could help me turn my manuscript into a book and get it onto Amazon, something inside of me felt unsure.
Right around this time I heard the Life Coach, Gabby Bernstein, say, "My dreams are big and it's time for me to claim them now." That same day, I wrote in my journal how I had dreamed of becoming a bestselling author for years. I started to think bigger and wonder if traditional publishing might be an avenue to explore.
After a few short weeks of pursuing this path, I quickly became tired. There was so much ground to cover, so much time to be spent researching publishers, submitting proposals. One day, this past December, I thought, This isn't fun. A simple yet very powerful thought.
I stopped what I was doing and surrendered my ideas.
Something in me felt that traditional publishing might still be on the cards. I knew I wanted to go about it differently.
Intuitively, I reached out to a someone I know who is a three-time author and asked her for publishing company recommendations.
She shared the name, Wise Ink.
I submitted a proposal to them and was informed via an automated email that they usually take six weeks to respond, if they do at all.
The next day I received an email saying they were interested. Full of Herself was exactly the kind of book they were looking for at this time.
I sent them some sample chapters which they loved.
Three days later we hopped on the phone and had a wonderful conversation.
So, the big news is that Full of Herself has been picked up by a wonderful publisher.
It felt easy.
It feels right.
And I'm excited and grateful and a little nervous.
Next week Clare and I will hand over our edited manuscript to Wise Ink and it will be the beginning of a new chapter in bringing this book to life.
We anticipate that Full of Herself will be out in the Fall and we can't wait to send you a copy. Thank you for your patience if you already ordered a copy.
Here's to listening to the whispers.
Here's to letting go of things that aren't fun.
Here's to surrender.
Here's to new ideas being birthed into the world.
Here's to Full of Herself.
Here's to Clare.
Here's to getting out the way so we don't block the miracle.
Here's to being full of yourself.
With Love,
Sarah x