In the past, I have written about an online Path Finder class that I took that was led by the wonderful Karen Walrond (chookooloonks). A portion of the course was about life menus (similar to life lists). While I like the idea of life menus, life lists and such, they really don’t work for me in the traditional sense. Rather, when I least expect it, I get something on my heart – to have, do, be or make – and then it kind of sticks with me until it’s finished. The most recent thing that was crossed off that “list” was a trip to Paris. It wasn’t this lifelong thing that I wanted to do or anything, but I just got “a trip to Paris before I turn 40” stuck in my heart – totally out of the blue – a few years ago. I prayed about it and looked for opportunities to make it happen until it did. As I look back on my life, that’s just how some of my best experiences (including attending Columbia, marrying Reggie, staying at home with my kids until they were school aged, etc.) have taken place. The idea gets “stuck” in my head, I pray about them and then I put in the work to make those dreams a reality if they are truly “meant to be”. Anyway, next on my personal “menu” is…writing a book!
I just want to write a book. I’m not looking for fame or fortune from it. I just want to do it. It’s funny…throughout the last eight years, several family members, friends and business colleagues have mentioned, “Oh, you ought to write a book,” and I responded, “No, thank you. It’s a lot of work with a little return on investment for most.” The difference now is that it’s not about money or a return on investment.
I’m actually participating in a writing challenge to write an ebook in 30 days (and I probably won’t even charge readers for it). On a whim, I purchased Angela England’s 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook (#30days hashtag) guide for a November writing event. I was actually looking at the reviews on Amazon and clicked on it with the intention to save it in my basket. Since I had some Amazon credits, the purchase went right through though. Oh well, I’m taking that as a sign that I needed to get it! You can get the book and do the challenge along with me if you want to do it. Copyblogger is also hosting a free ebook writing challenge (#EBookWriMo hashtag) and offers a free guide to writing an ebook in 30 days. I found out about that challenge from a friend after I had made my purchase. I’ll be “merging” the information from both sources in order to complete my ebook this month. I already skimmed through Angela’s book and it is much more detailed than the more general (but still super helpful) Copyblogger guide. Ultimately, I just want to write a book to go through the process of researching and writing something that will be helpful on another level to my readers.
Now, I need a topic :-). I have by the end of tomorrow to narrow down my choices. Most advisers suggest that you write about your education and experiences that others ask you about the most. Based on those criteria, I’ve narrowed my topic down to five themes:
1. Spiritual (I have served/led various groups in my church for the last 17+ years – ranging from infants to marrieds with young kids.)
2. Marriage (Enjoying it – primarily based on Christian principles)
3. Parenting (Raising kids in NYC; family activities and raising confident, well behaved young boys)
4. Career (Supplementing a stay at home mom lifestyle with blogging; time management and productivity and making your dreams a reality)
5. Food (How to cook basic and Southern foods)
What do you think that I should write about? What would you write about? There is a saying that “there is a book inside of everyone”. Consider joining me for this challenge…it will be fun. In any event, I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!