I wrote and published a book in 30 days while working another full time job… here's what I learned...
A year and a half ago I was on the phone with a a fellow member of Crew, the leadership mastermind community I am a part of through Epic Impact, and it forever changed my life. We were having an in depth discussion about our dreams, aspirations, and goals. It came up that both of us aspired to be authors. So naturally, we shared our book ideas. I had three distinct ideas, and I was so clear and confident about the last one that I made the statement “You know, I bet I could write it in 30 days after work and on weekends if I really wanted to.” So like anyone who is committed to helping you become your best self would, he said, “Ok, then why don’t you do that?”
At the time I had a Facebook Live video obsession with a small following. So I jumped on Facebook and broadcasted to “the WORLD” that I was going to write a book and have it on Amazon in 30 days. Only, I had ZERO idea how to write a book let alone get it on Amazon... heck at that point I didn’t even know how to make an Amazon seller account.
Around 15 days later, the book was up for pre-sale on Amazon… and with the promise of delivering hand signed copies, I sold several hundred copies of a book that my sister so graciously let our hiking friends know “isn’t even written yet… all Janine has is a few pieces of paper she hand wrote in a journal on the plane ride here.”
I was straight up panicked. I had promised “everyone” that I would accomplish this goal in 30 days. I had people counting on me to the point that they had made a financial commitment. And yet no idea how to actually deliver.
Fast forward another 15 days and by some miracle the book was completed, it was successfully on Amazon (click here to see it), and my order to get people their signed copies was on its way to me. How? Well...that story is for another day… but here is what I learned over those 30 days:
1. You don’t need to be an expert to publish a book
During this process I went to Barnes and Noble and looked around. Turns out there are a LOT of books in the world. From a TON of different authors. And MOST aren’t experts at writing books.
Some people just drum up the courage to go after it, and others convince themselves they can’t. If you have a book idea that you are passionate about, go for it!
2. Publicly committing to your goal forces you to find a way
If I had never shared my goal with that friend then I definitely would still not have published the book. Furthermore, if I hadn’t posted that video telling my network that I was committed to this project then I probably would have given up after the 45th time things had gotten difficult… which would have been about the 3 days in. Instead, I was steadfast and determined to find a way.
Share your goals. With 1 friend, with 10 friends, with 100 friends if you can! The more people who know about what you are setting out to accomplish the greater responsibility you have to making it happen.
3. You don’t have to be a trailblazer
During my panicked state one of the more impactful questions I received from someone else in the Epic Impact Crew community was, “How many people have you talked to that have written and published their own book?” The answer was zero. Not because I didn’t know any, but because I had chosen not to reach out.
I thought I had to find the answers on my own. The reality is once I reached out people were really thrilled to help me, and it actually helped them feel valuable.
Sometimes we think we need to be trailblazers, when actually the trail is already blazed. Additionally there are sherpas all around us who want to guide us on that trail, if only we would ask.
So I leave you with this question... What could you accomplish in the next 30 days if you were to have the realization that it wasn't as hard as you thought, you publicly committed, and asked for help?