The Release Feels So Sweet ~via @cshasarrived
It’s finally here: My book has launched.
The launch of the long-awaited (for me, anyway) “21 Reasons Creativity is Like Sex” book has happened, and I couldn’t be more excited.
For anyone out there wondering what self-publishing a book looks like, let me paint a picture:
You spend a few hundred hours researching, interviewing people, outlining, drafting, writing, rewriting, rewriting, rewriting, rewriting, editing, re-reading, formatting, designing, and finalizing your book.
If you have a day job, this is done on nights and weekends, for what seems like an eternity.
But that’s not the end. Once it’s in production, you have to create your marketing materials – posts, social tiles, Tweets, blog posts, share pages, social ads, and bit.ly links to track it all. This takes almost as much time as writing the book.
Your internal narrative through the process sounds something like this:
This is going to be SO awesome!
Wow, this is taking a lot of time.
I am really learning a lot about my subject that I didn’t know…
Why can’t I get motivated to write about this?
I have to stay on schedule.
Shit, I am so behind.
Why did I have to plan so many chapters!
Is this ever going to get done?
I am SO close to finishing. Ride this out.
I’m finished! YES!!!!!!!
Now I have to edit.
What was I thinking?! Why did I do this.
Who is going to read this anyway.
I have to edit again. I am so friggen sick of this.
Wait… I’m really done?
I am so proud of myself! I did it!
Now what.
A book is not a destination, it’s a journey.
An emotional roller coaster, mind-fucking experience. But SO-MUCH-FUN. It made me grow. It made me listen. It made me believe in myself in a way I never could understand a year ago.
And more importantly, it made me feel closer to what I feel my life’s purpose is: To help everyone find their own creativity, and use it to make the world a better place.
And, man, can we use some lightness in the world right about now.
So, to future self-publishers reading this:
The journey is worth it. Share your purpose with others, because we are all here to inspire others, and be inspired by others. So go write! Or at least get creative. Or just go have sex. They’ll all fulfill you in the happiest way.
You can read more about, and grab yourself a copy of “21 Reasons Creativity is Like Sex” here.
