A Writing Community: A New Project Launch
by Carol Harris-Fike, NCOC, PCC & ICF
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The doorbell rang and Carol raced to the door to receive a package. It was the right size, and, YES, it was the first real copy of her newly published book. She laughed; she cried... the day had finally arrived! She carried the book around the house, upstairs, downstairs, wherever she went for 3 days. It felt like a new baby that she had just birthed. She held it tenderly and admired its cover... front and back, and the pages within. Carol called friends and family to share what it looked like. She requested daily sales data on the book from Amazon. And then, when two weeks of excitement passed and not one book sold on a given day... she crashed. Fortunately, she shared her crash with her coach and explored the wild range of emotions she was experiencing. She was encouraged to choose a metaphor for how she desired to feel about her book. Carol was able to imagine herself in a small sailboat on a peaceful lake... and, even saw the book on the shore and not with her on the boat. Carol was finally able to let the book become its own entity and then to allow it to land in the path of those it would serve... trusting that it would do so at the right time for each person. She came back into balance... and she backed off on reading sales reports to once a week and then once a month. Carol now can experience gratitude to herself for this accomplishment and, also, to those who choose to read her wisdom.
This story is one of many on her path down the road of writing the manuscript, several re-writes, the editing, the design work, the final proofing (yipes!), the self-publishing process... and oh yeah, the marketing. Carol knows that we can become very excited when an idea for a book forms in our hearts, but that it is not a smooth road to actually "get it out there". The biggest obstacle is the belief in one's self... that there is wisdom to share and that you can "birth a book"!
Many people have asked Carol how she kept going and what supported her through the long process. She became excited about the possibility of what she could offer to other authors. Not only does she understand the process, she has coaching skills that enable her to ask the questions and offer the practices that will support others find their own answers along the circuitous route of creating a book. Her book: 5 Life Energies: The Choice You Have in How Energy Shapes Your Life, is written from the perspective of wisdom gained through her life experiences and what she has learned from others. Carol knows that energy management supports her clients and she will offer her method for shifting among the 5 energies to those who join A Writing Community. One of the most exciting ideas she has to offer is the writing community itself. Carol has been experimenting with the idea of writing within a community and has found some amazing benefits versus going it alone. Her experience in leading groups for over 30 years as a teacher, school administrator, international consultant, and board chair will support the structure of each group. The fact that she recently ventured through the self-publishing process after carefully researching all the angles will save time and energy for those in her writing communities.
Carol's coaching practice is based on the tenet that everyone is whole and has the answers within them for whatever challenge he or she is facing. Her job as a coach is to support the uncovering of those answers. Carol also understands the synergy that comes from working within a community of people with similar goals. Combining all these things will support sharing more wisdom in the world. Carol believes there is wisdom in each of us and that it is important that you stay on your path, because you have the one unique voice that speaks in this way to reach people who need to hear it in your way.
