On the other side of fear is joy

As a teenager, it wasn't unusual to find me secretly reading late into the night. I'd often pick up a book and read it in one sitting staying up until 2 a.m. I still average about a book a week. I love to read.

It's one of the things that led me to pursue journalism in my undergraduate degree. Writing is the most natural way for me to share ideas. 

I started writing my first book in 2011. It was a ridiculously ambitious historical fiction novel of Catherine de Medici (there are now several great series on Netflix). I haven't finished it.

I wrote my second book (working title, Love Notes) as part of my personal healing journey, a memoir about parenting through the pandemic in 2022. I set that aside, too, afraid to share it beyond the initial feedback gathered from friends and family.

So when I started writing my current book, I knew I needed official help from a developmental editor who would help formalize the process. I needed to commit to writing AND publishing this one.

My editor would tell you that it got off to a rocky start. I struggled to synthesize the complicated content into a cohesive lesson in chapter 1, and my main character, a composite leader, Cera Day, wasn't very relatable. 

I was afraid of putting my POV and my emotions into words. I doubted whether putting so much energy into a book that serves a narrow niche of leaders of large change projects was worthwhile.

I worried that revealing too much would help my competitors; is this why there aren't similar books already? Or those that are out there all look like case studies or dry methodology overviews.

"Who Moved My Cheese?" was the exception (and the best-selling book on change).

Fear in all its forms showed up in the beginning. It would have been easy to quit. (Again). 

If I'd quit doing the hard thing, I wouldn't be able to share that I have finished writing!

Yes, there's more to do, including rounds of copyediting and the cover/interior design, plus all of the launch planning.

But that all feels easy compared to the hard part of writing it. 

This is a bucket list item for me and once I got the hang of "how" to write it (around chapter 7), it went relatively smoothly.

Daily writing has been a habit for more than a decade. Starting to share it began a year ago with this weekly newsletter (thank you for reading!)....which has brought me out of fear. I've remembered a childhood joy as an adult. 🥰

This book's working title is Inspired by Fear: Becoming the courageous change leader your team needs. 

I can't wait to share it with you!