If you are anything like most authors and aspiring authors, you have an idea for a book and perhaps the title. As you move closer to the process of writing an outline, a book proposal and even a sample chapter, you realize what it's really going to take to make your dream happen.
It requires feelingization and nakedness (which is not the same as simply feeling naked).
See if you can see yourself and the actions that will help you realize your dream in my brief story.
In the beginning of the process I knew the title and I had a broad idea of what the book would be about but I didn't have any confidence that I could actually write it.
I was about to tackle a subject that had never been written about before and I would need to reveal deeply personal things about my relationship with my husband to make the book authentic and believable. Yikes!
The book, entitled Wabi Sabi Love: Finding Perfect Love in Imperfect Relationships, reveals that Wabi Sabi * is an ancient Japanese art form that finds beauty and perfection in imperfection.
Wabi Sabi Love is the art and practice of loving the imperfections in ourselves and in our partner. It is not mere acceptance or denial of the things that may annoy us or even drive us crazy but rather a deep and profound appreciation for the uniqueness of each other.
As I began to write the book proposal I found myself frozen at the prospect of sharing my thoughts about this obscure art form and layering it into the world of relationship and marriage. Even though I had personally practiced Wabi Sabi in my life for decades, no one I knew had even heard of it. So, I asked myself a very important question:
What do I need to do to manifest a beautiful book that will be coded with love and wisdom? A book that offers encouragement to couples?
My inner guidance gave me this answer: Find a way to believe you were born to write this book and create a support team to help you.
Early on I decided to write 500 words a day, 5 days a week. Usually I write in the early evening after dinner and on the weekends. I also put a sign on my desk with the name of the book and these words "Let It Be Easy."
Each day when I sat down to write I would do a short feelingization and then ask myself, what is the next step? Sometimes I would pick up the phone and call a friend and tell them what I was writing about and ask if they knew anyone with a great marriage that I could contact for a possible "Wabi Sabi Story," or, I would Google a particular word or person and generally whatever was "next" would make itself known.
Whether it's a new job, a new love, or a new book, the steps of manifestation are always the same:
1) Have clarity in your intention.
2) Believe and trust you can achieve it.
3) Go into action.
What step can you take today to begin to make one of your dreams come true?
*Harper One (publisher of The Soulmate Secret: Manifest the Love of Your Life with the Law of Attraction) bought the proposal and gave me 10 months to deliver the book. Current publication date is set for January 2012.
Arielle Ford has launched the careers of many NY Times bestselling authors including Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Neale Donald Walsch & Debbie Ford. She is a former book publicist, literary agent and the author of seven books. www.everythingyoushouldknow.com