Points to Ponder While Waiting for the Stars to Align

By Gail Richards - Feb 25 , 2008

If you are reading this, you have at the very least some inkling, some notion, that one day, some day, you want to write and publish a book.

Many of you are already well beyond contemplation and on your way down the road to becoming an author. To you I say: Bravo!

To those of you who are waiting for the stars to align and the universe to conspire on your behalf, I have a question: What are you doing with yourself in the meantime? I hope it’s something you really, really enjoy—because you’re going to be doing it for a loooonnnggggg time. There’s actually a word to describe this phenomenon: procrastination.

For lots of things in life there is no a “perfect time:” having kids, getting married, changing careers, going back to school, etc. Certainly there are times in life when this type of pursuit makes sense, more or less. There are times when things truly would be easier, more productive, less complicated, simpler, or less stressful. There are times in life that we imagine would be “perfect” for creating a book—however, it really comes down to degrees of convenience and opportunity.

Timing is not a deal-breaker.
Timing is a context with changing variables.

People who have heard me talk about getting started and getting unstuck on a book are typically surprised and relieved when I talk more holistically about the process than they had expected. There are roughly one hundred steps you will take between idea and finished product. These steps fall into one of three categories: writing, publication, and marketing. Most of these steps have a few sub-steps involved.

While there is a relative order of major tasks that makes the most sense, the publishing process isn’t linear. Doing any of the steps or sub-steps in the process will move your book forward.

This is great news! No matter what is going on in the rest of your life, there will be one or more book-related tasks that will be a match for your time, energy, resources, and availability.

Another reason to take steps forward is to reap the benefit of what those steps could reveal.

About a year ago I had planned to create a book from material I created for a weekly author’s accountability program. As I began to work with the raw material, it became clear that I had a tremendous opportunity to implement the countless enhancements I had come up with over the course of the year—and test market them—if I created a bigger and better interactive product before diving into a manuscript. Who knew? But, happily, I discovered this and am thrilled with the outcome—all because I took a few small steps forward that led me somewhere I didn’t realize I was headed.

So, instead of waiting for Jupiter to align with Mars, consider taking one small step to make your book a part of your life TODAY!

And, yes, you’ll thank me you took that one small step! I guarantee it!!!