The Change Catalyst

I have wanted to publish a book for at least five years. I have written plenty of articles, workbooks for my public speaking training workshops and even contributed to an “Investment in Laos” guide while at KPMG many moons ago. But never a book.

When I went to the Global Speakers Summit in 2005 with a diverse group of professional speakers, everyone seemed to have a book. When we invited Dan Poynter, self publishing guru, to speak with the Professional Speakers Association of China in 2007, he extolled the benefits of writing a books and all the spin off information products.

But for all this desire and attempts to put something on paper, it never happened. Until I found a system. And a mentor. And a coach. I found a great program with an experienced publishing mentor who has created teleseminars, expert interview and a forum. Packaged in a 12 month program,  my mentor laid out a 17 step plan to author a book in 90, 180 or 365 days. I dedicated a few months over the summer to attempt the 90 day plan.  I really like the systematic approach and the very detailed, practical breakdown of the whole process.  However, the real catalyst came from the coaches. I choose an experienced coach who had also gone through the program and we held a small group coaching session every 2 weeks. Plus my coach was available for a 10 minute laser call at a time of mutual convenience. It opened my eyes to “system plus support” as a proven roadmap for success.
I took longer than my original 90 day plan, but as the book has just gone off to the printer, I am on track to finish in 180 days! Hurrah!  I have had a really good grounding in working with the wide range of people needed to bring a book to reality. From mentor, coach, experts, designers, editors, proofreaders, printer, it’s been a really interesting experience working with an international team from four countries.

I am inspired now to continue my development of publishing and learning about information products. 2009 should be a great year to test my creativity and international project management skills.