So, You Think Skydiving is Scary? Try Writing a Book!

Here’s the thing. People say that jumping out of a plane is the scariest thing they’ve ever done. I say they haven’t tried writing a book. And putting that book out there. Because I have, and jumping out of a plane, which, by the time the sun came back into my line of sight 2 or 3 times, I realized was not my cup of tea, was a walk in the park compared with writing that book.

I’ve surfed waves that looked like they wanted to eat me for breakfast, I've taken unimaginable (let's be honest: plain stupid) risks skiing, and even flown in a homemade helicopter with a pilot who might have been a sandwich or two short of a picnic. But none of that compared to the heart-pounding fear of sharing my book with others.

Here's the weird part - writing the book? Heck, no. That was fun. The actual doing of it was a piece of cake. After 25 years of doing what I love, I probably have enough to share for another 10 books! But when I finished? And realized people were going to read it? Holy moly, talk about panic city! It was like one of those dreams in which you realize you’re naked in public – except this wasn’t a dream, and my words were standing there naked.

And then there was the nerve-wracking business of sending the manuscript out to friends and publishers. I swear that ‘send’ button on my email was harder than deciding to jump out of that plane (I must admit, that decision was definitely made for me, not with me!). At least with skydiving, or the art of not having a sense of self-preservation as I call it, it's over in a few minutes. With publishing? The anxiety just keeps on giving!

But I am glad I did it. The manuscript was well received, the reviews were great, and I’m still pinching myself. Publishers want to publish the book! Book deal! I've signed with KoehlerBooks! Who would've thought? Me. A published author. Oh my.

It has all been worth it, though, and now that we are heading toward the launch date I can see that all that fear was part of the package. As they say, the best things in life are on the other side of fear. So if you are thinking of writing a book, or doing anything else that scares the living daylights out of you, do it! You might even surprise yourself. And, if I can manage it, anyone can. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to call my father and apologize for not taking in more of his good genes as HE was a world class skydiver. Oh boy, writing is intense!

Note: the smiling dude on my back is Mark Hewitt, the Man, the legend, in all his friendliness and insanity, and one of the founding fathers of BASE jumping... this probably explains that... :p