reading

You know, I’ve been writing since I was a kid (thanks, Captian Obvious). I should say I’ve been enjoying writing since I was a kid. At some point in school, I began to think of myself as a writing person and not a math person. Maybe an adult told me that or maybe I was just realistic at a young age. I can still remember more than one creative writing assignment from 4th grade if that tells you how much I liked it. Once I decided to give it a try in 2005, blogging came easy to me as i published my very first blog post, even if I was sure only my mother would read it.

I continued blogging for years. I became better at it. I journaled though my scrapbook pages. I told stories. I started a business and based the whole premise around telling our stories and writing. I don’t even do phone calls with my work team, I write. I write a lot. I learned how to write more effectively. I learned how to move people to action through words on a computer screen.

I’d never thought of myself as a “writer” though, until one day I did.

I’m at that space in my life where writing is the thing that’s connecting everything I am good at. I’ve learned to write my voice. Maybe, just maybe, it’s actually just writing that I’m good at? Maybe, just maybe, I should try to do something with this little gift.

I’m not sure why but somewhere around last November I decided I was going to add the word “writer” to that list of words that describes who I am. You know the ones in your Instagram profile or social media headlines. In order for me to do that, though? I’m going to have to write something significant. Not just a really good post on a blog or a social media blurb. I’m talking about a book. A real, legit book with words that string together to make chapters and, like, a preface.

I did what any normal person does when they decide they’re going to write a book. Start reading books, of course. I also called a few people that know a thing or two about the actual book industry and they were kind enough to actually help me. Thank God for those people. As someone who is not a natural “connector,” I’m so thankful for the connectors that I know. They’re just good peeps. Know them. Love them. Keep them close. They’ll connect you with open doors.

You guys, I’m actually going to try this book writing thing. I’m gonna go ahead and put it out there now that I’m not looking to write a small-time book. I’m shooting for the stars. I’ve had this on my desk since January and I’ll tell you I’ve gone back and forth on walking through the door.

Could be awesome. Could be a very public digger down the main hallway in high school (not that I would know anything about how that feels). I’m not really sure yet but I’m going to try anyway.

What I hope this leads to is more everyday women sharing their extraordinary gifts and talents with the world. We need more women in the world of entrepreneurship. I hope it leads to more moms coming together and encouraging rather than tearing down and hurting. We need to put an end to this world of false perfection that we moms have somehow bought as normal. For God’s sake, let’s put an end to writing terrible stuff about each other in our darkest times on the internet. I hope this book is a tangible piece of me they can keep forever and that they know if I can, they can and so much more. I hope God knows what he’s doing and he’ll forgive me for using the word “Vajayjay” in the first chapter. I hope this book can be even one small part of all of that. You never know. Books can change the world.

This won’t be the first time a book has changed my life but it sure will be a book I never forget.