This month we asked nonfiction authors to answer this question: What has been most surprising about being an author? Here’s what they had to say:
Dr. Jo Lukins
I had not anticipated the personal learning through the process of writing my book. I had fully expected to be immersed in the content of the book, but the opportunities to question who I am, what I do, how I do it, who is important to me and my relationships with my friends and colleagues has been a real joy of writing the book. The vulnerability that you raise by going public when you launch, through to the exhilaration of getting stages finished. It’s a great confidence boost, that’s for sure!
Dr Jo Lukins, PhD spends her day inside the heads of individuals, teams and organisations – seeking to understand what makes them tick and assisting them to reach their potential. A psychological Indiana Jones, she describes it as a truly fascinating career that she is grateful for every day. Her book: ‘The Elite’ shares the lessons from over 25 years working with elite athletes, showing that you don’t have to look like an at hlete to think like one.
Elizabeth Blade
The most surprising thing about being an author is my words get to reach people. That somehow I am making a impact and a difference in someone’s life, it’s always been a dream to be an author and have others read what I write about and now that dream is a reality.
Elizabeth Blade is the author of A Rising Moon on Domestic Violence. Her writer’s page is Facebook.com/
Leanne Blaney
Becoming an author was a conscious decision I made to complement my coaching and mentoring business. I wanted people to have something tangible to take away with them to open their mind up to what might be holding them back from living a balanced, adventurous and joyful life. The surprising outcome of being an author was the credibility it gives when you say you are a published author. My world has opened up to speaking gigs, guest hosting events and being a speaker at retreats. People also understand more what you are saying because they are taking the time to read about it. www.leanneblaney.com
Leanne’s life purpose is to cultivate solutions for women that want to develop their creativity, increase their personal passion, prioritize their self-care and live a purposefully balanced life to enhance the contribution they can make in this lifetime.
Catherine Moolenschot
The most surprising thing about being an author is the first week of your book being in bookstores around the country. Walking into bookstores and seeing it displayed prominently is a dream come true. I recently travelled to Perth, and sure enough it was in every bookstore there that I visited as well. It’s a surreal experience!
It’s also surprising that none of the bookstores asked for ID when I said I am the author of Jim’s Book and offered to sign copies for them – I laughed to myself that I could have been anyone! But a number did ask to take a photo of me with my books after I signed them, so they could easily have googled and seen I am Catherine Moolenschot.
Catherine Moolenschot is the author of the biography of the business icon behind Jim’s Mowing: ‘Jim’s Book: The Surprising Story of Jim Penman, Australia’s Backyard Millionaire‘.
https://catherinemoolenschot.
Julie Richman
As a new Author of non-fiction book Dynamic Duos: The Essential Guide for Couples in Business Together, I have been most surprised at how many people have responded positively to the book. Maybe I wasn’t expecting so many people to want to buy the book. I was willing to give the book away just to get it out there, and so many people want to give me money for it.
I guess there are many authors that expect their book to be a huge hit right from the beginning because they put so much love and effort into it, that they cannot understand why others don’t get as excited as the Author of the book.
For me I was pleased at the response and how positive the response which was such a pleasant surprise. Maybe I am so critical of myself and such a perfectionist that I am harder on myself and undervalue the contributions that the book can help others with the information.
Darla DeMorrow
The surprising and challenging thing I learned was that writing the book was the easy part. Publishing and marketing the book is even harder work. The surprising and transformative thing I learned was that I had a unique story to tell, method of organizing to share, encouragement to offer that only my book could achieve. No matter how many other books their are in my category of home organizing, there are truly people out there who were touched by my story in a way that was meaningful to them. And to think, they would have been deprived if my book never came to market. For all of the other authors struggling with the idea that their concept has already been done, listen to that voice that says that you have some unique way to connect with your audience, and you will make a permanent, undeniable mark on the world that only a book can make.
Darla DeMorrow is a Certified Professional Organizer®, owner of HeartWork Organizing (https://HeartWorkOrg.com), mom of 2, and author of the book series SORT and Succeed, which outlines five simple steps to help you organize stuff, time, information, money and photos.
Rachel Marie Martin
Always having 50,000 words floating around my head is the most surprising thing to me. And knowing half of them won’t be in the book I’m working on now. And the other half are made up of words I’m trying to perfect and words I wish I would have used in the last book.
Another surprising in was the process of narrating the book. I’d never worked with a producer before and found the process of creating an entertainment piece to be much deeper than I ever imagined. The acting, annunciation, calm, tempo, tone . . . so many things to learn and be perfect.
Rachel Marie Martin is the author of The Brave Art of Motherhood and writer at http://findingjoy.net.
We want to hear from you! Share your own answer in the comments below.
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I have a friend who is a publisher who thinks I could write a book. My husband was in the navy for 24 years and I have many stories. I broke my neck twice I had double lung cancer and youngest at 40 came out of the closet only a couple years ago and damn near killed me!!
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