Writing a book is hard but it’s opening up a lot of possibilities for me. First, it scares me to death. What am I afraid of?

Afraid of being criticized.
Afraid that no one will read it.
Afraid it will suck.
Afraid it won’t sell.
Afraid it’s not good enough.
Afraid I don’t know enough.
Afraid people will ask me to speak about it or they won’t. Or that I’ll suck at speaking because I’ve become such a writer.

The anxiety surprises me because I’m a writer! So it has dragged on and on. Part of that is because nothing is ever enough. I’m so self-conscious that I sabotage completing it. I can’t make up my mind. I keep adding to it like writing another entry in my blog. But it really is closer. But I’ve learned something and gotten something from writing this book than anything else I’ve ever done – and it’s not even published yet.

Just the process of writing a book has brought a lot of focus to my work. I’ve revisited blog posts and organized a lot of information that is otherwise buried and unconnected. This helps me see how the pieces fit together. I’m also constantly on the lookout for new information and examples for my reader. I have a reason to continue researching.

I bookmark several web sites on Delicious each week, sometimes several a day. I plan to write a post about each page I’ve bookmarked in my onlinePrbook blog. My bookmarks are my collection of resources and will always have new information. I love that I can put notes about each page I save.

I want to present the information in various ways (anyone know of a company that produces preloaded or branded iPod shuffles?)

Here’s another lesson: Writing a book gives me a reason to get to know people and to form new relationships with organizations and people I have followed for years but never reached out to. I ask them to write a blurb for my book or to review it. I’ve found no one reads it (we have no attention span) but they have other ideas on how we can promote it.

Amazingly the biggest group I’m reaching right now are women. This is a first in my career. I love reaching women because I feel less intimidated by them. I know that sounds ridiculous. Maybe it’s because PR people tend to be women or men who like working with women. Or maybe I’m just attracting women with the content I present and the way I present it. It’s given me a chance to network with women who are great mentors and some are even cheerleaders (or in other words, evangelists).

Too often I try to do things by myself. It’s opening up new possibilities as I continue this process and meet people who I respect but never had a reason to contact. Now I do.

My publisher is Happy About. I like them because they get the ISBN and into Amazon and have an affiliate program so other people can promote my book. Built into the system. I’m quite sure I’m one of the highest maintenance first time authors. But I think the payoff will be worth it on both sides. And if I ever publish another book I’ll have it down.

How about writing a book? Ever thought of it?

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