One Year Later, I'm An Author!
It has been exactly one year and two days since I've dropped any gems on this blog! While that is an extremely long "break" that may or may not have been needed - I can say the year I took off from free-form writing wasn't in vain. Since we've last chatted, I've managed to both finish writing & self-publish my very first Self-Help book titled Kick The Box: Picking Purpose Over Popularity!!!!!!
In my mind, I've been an author from the day I began writing Kick The Box three years ago - but now my title is official and publicly recognized and I couldn't be happier! To say everything is falling into place on its own is an understatement. My book has been promoted on radio, featured in a press release, & was recently promoted & sold at a book signing event that had roughly 50,000 visitors in attendance. And while life is good right at this moment - I've encountered some storms that indeed created this incomparable sunshine as a result.
The truth is, self-publishing my book was not easy - but necessary. Breaking into an industry where the best-of-the-best have a team of experts and big paychecks behind them can be intimidating and discouraging. But it's not impossible! I spent an entire year contacting literary agents about representing my book & pitching it to the big publishing houses on my behalf! For several different reasons that concluded the same response - the answer was always no! Before I got excited about publishing my book on my own, I faced a lot of rejection. And experiencing that rejection had the potential to knock me off of my path - but it didn't. I had to stop caring about whether or not someone else was better than me, more accomplished than me, and more popular than me in order to efficiently focus on my progress.
Second truth? Deciding to publish my own book has reassured me of the success I'll experience as an author. Typically indie authors are perceived as "less successful" and more local than the New York Times Best Sellers. And there's a lot of truth to that notion. However, being forced to start sales & marketing on a local level has kept me so grounded in the reason I decided to write my book in the first place. I'm connecting with young adults, teachers, parents, and bookworms that love a significant message. To be able to mentor and encourage every-day people like myself rewards me in a way that outweighs being paid a $250,000 advance from a big publishing house. And it's that kind of fulfillment that grants us true success.
My book, Kick The Box: Picking Purpose Over Popularity, was published on March 14, 2017. It's fairly new to the world - and to have had so many amazing experiences so soon blows my mind. But I want you all to understand that I'm a living testament of what takes place when you choose to embrace your purpose over popular opinion. All I did was boldly step out with confidence that my heart would lead me to where I needed to be.
Whether you're writing a book or nothing close to it, I want you to be encouraged to trust your heart and trust what it tells you to do. We may think we have a "lifetime" to get it right and get moving - but we don't! Our time is so limited & precious. Make sure you spend your days doing something that makes you love life. Because if you don't, what are you living for?
