Day 20: Done!

It's Day 20 of my adventure of writing an entire book (1st draft) in 20 days--and I finished the manuscript! Woo hoo!

I actually completed it yesterday, let it marinate overnight--and sure enough thought of something in the middle of the night that I added this morning. I emailed it to the publisher around 9 am.

Here's my tip for you today:

1. Go to your nearest bookstore.

2. Look at all the books on the shelf.

3. Realize that someone just like you wrote them.

Most of the books you see were not written by professional writers. People just like you who had a dream wrote them. People like you who have full-time jobs, families, and grass to mow.

You can write your book, too. I promise you, you can do it. You don't have to write it in 20 days, but give yourself a deadline, do the same process I did on Day 1, and write your book already!

How long have you been talking about it? You simply have to come up with a plan, stick to it, and write it.

I read this on Twitter during the 20 days (from @TommyTenney, whose books I love): "If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.”

You can find a way. No more excuses.

So what's next for Diana? The manuscript is now in the hands of the author, who will read it over and make changes. Then it will come back to me to do a 2nd edit. Our goal is to send it to the designer by July and the printer by August, with copies in hand by September.

I'm going to take a short break from blogging--at least on this blog. If you miss me :-) you can follow me at www.DianaScimone.com where I write about the fight to stop child trafficking.

Thanks for hanging in there with me for this 20-day adventure, for your emails and comments and words of encouragement. I couldn't have done it without you.

And now I look forward to reading what you write. If I can help you find the book inside you and get it on paper, just let me know.

Comments

[John stanko]

Congratulations! Take a break and get ready for the next project. This was a great idea that I am sure will encourage others in their writing endeavors.