Book Project Nearing Completion

After more than 2 years, I can now say - finally - that my book project is approaching completion. The book cover that we see in the picture and the document directly below it are the proofs from the printer that I reviewed yesterday. All is good to go! Next step: the actual printing.

When I decided to do this project, I imagined I would get it done quickly! It took me double the time, at least. There were many more rounds of revisions than I had imagined, being a first-time book writer. The stack of paper in the picture represents a lot of the work but there were also endless hours on the computer writing, adding and deleting content. Not to mention the periods of procrastination, insecurity and intense second-guessing, which in the end turned out to be a necessary part of the creative process for ideas to come together and gel into a coherent whole. There were some stretches that weren't so easy. Overall though, the experience was uniquely enriching.

Then, the surprise of too many words! First finished draft 80,000 words, which I cut down to 58,000. A final round of deletions resulted in 52,631 words. I took out entire chapters and also resource tools, which was not an easy thing to do. It felt like I had to rip out a vital organ from my body. I consoled myself by deciding to make these available on the website as free additional resources. 

The other factor that added time to the project is that I interviewed more people than I had originally envisioned. As I advanced in the project, I would think of yet another person to interview. Or, I would unexpectedly meet someone whose experience added incredible value to the book - it seemed as if I met them at exactly the right time and that their contribution was exactly what the book needed.

​Although the whole project took longer than expected, and it was more work than imagined, all is well that ends well!

​I feel proud of the finished products and I am especially grateful to the investors who allowed me to interview them, and create their profile for the Companion book. They generously gave their time and shared their experiences freely. Without them, the Guide would not be complete and the Companion would not exist.

I feel extremely lucky that I had the opportunity to do this project, and I can't wait for the next chapter to unfold!

UPDATE: The book was published in March 2017. It is available at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XFTNPXD
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