“When people say, ‘I’ve always wanted to write a book’, they mean ‘I want to have written a book. That difference only seems pedantic to non-writers”
That gem came to me by way of an encouraging email from a long-time friend and mentor, Carl Davidson (who is well-placed to know, as he’s written nine books!). And it perfectly describes the journey I’ve been on.
Ever since I was little, I wanted to write a book. No, scratch that, I wanted to have published a book. Perhaps even as a child I knew that writing a book was not an easy endeavour – I was keen for the glory of my name on a book cover, but less enthusiastic about the guts that it takes to get to that point.
That’s probably why it remained an abstract idea for so long. But for reasons I still can’t quite explain, 2022 became the Year of The Book.
I’ve come a long way on my book journey…
With some help from the fantastic crew at Intelligent Ink, I’ve been planning, plodding, and occasionally racing ahead in my book writing journey.
In the last 12 months, I’ve written nearly 150,000 words across three drafts. And that’s in addition to the tens of thousands of words in blog posts here and on dariawilliamson.com, plus my regular posts on my social media channels (LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook).
Writing and re-writing the drafts has clarified my thinking and brought insights I don’t think I would have stumbled across any other way. It’s quite a thought-provoking process to translate what I do in coaching sessions into a structure that others can follow. I’m really proud of my work so far, and I can’t wait to share the end result with you.
…but I’m not quite there yet!
There’s still a way to go. My editors are working through the latest draft, and providing immensely valuable feedback. Pretty soon, I’ll start the final polishing process to get the manuscript ready for publishing.
And then there’s all the design stuff to consider – covers, interior layouts, fonts, diagrams etc… It’s suddenly starting to feel like writing is the easy part!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on things you love or hate about books you’ve read. Are there certain layouts that draw you in or push you away? What catches your eye on a book cover? Do you take notice of endorsements? What makes a book feel like a must-have item for you? Let me know in the comments, or drop me an email.
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