The creative process is something we all go through. Whether we are writing a book, creating a business, or starting a new adventure... the process we go through to create this new thing in our lives is probably about as different as our DNA and yet as similar as drawing a breath.
The creative process is messy, scary, confusing, liberating, exciting, life-giving, and more! I thought sharing what I go through in this process might help somebody else not feel as crazy as I do because it always works out. Always.
If you've missed it, check out The Birth Of An Idea, The Oh Shits! and How I Buckled Down & Got Shit Done.
This blog post will focus on how I faced my fears.
Always before, I would create, create, create, talk about it and share it a few times online, and feel defeated because it "never worked out." IT NEVER WORKED OUT BECAUSE I DIDN'T FACE MY FEARS! The fears of not being good enough, my work not being good enough, and people judging me (in reality, that was me judging myself.)
So now, here I am. I've created the best damn book I've ever made. I've been uncomfortable at times, learning some new things that I didn't understand. Things like how to self-publish without the help of the evil Amazon. How to properly format my book and get my own ISBN, barcode, copyright, etc. Those are all steps that I had never done before, and I had to learn them. They were frustrating, and sometimes it sucked trying to figure it out all out. But I know me, and I'm cool with those things because it's all behind the scenes. I don't have to put myself out there for all to see to accomplish them.
But the day came... I couldn't put it off any longer. If I want this book to be a success and help millions of people (and that IS what I want), I have to go where I've never gone before. I have to be visible. I have to risk rejection from other people. And not only that! I have to risk rejection for other people that I admire! And, to be honest, the likelihood of that rejection is high.
I had to ask authors to send me blurbs for my book, and I had to ask one of the people I most admire to write a forward for the book. Then, I had to email blog owners and podcasters to see if they would host me on my blog and podcast tour. I can't tell you how long I put off writing those emails. Deep down, I knew I was putting it off, but there was always "one more thing" I had to do to prepare. Creating my media page was a big one. I convinced myself that I had to have that done, but I didn't. It's good that I have it done, but me knowing myself, I know that was procrastination at its finest.
Wouldn't you know it, though, as I started writing those emails, it was easy? I started to realize that the worst thing that could happen is that people would say no. Their no wasn't going to change the success of the book. How many people said no? You gotta wait and find out. ;) But I had made this strange, scary place way too scary in my head. It wasn't as unfamiliar as I thought it was.
So facing my fear made me realize that once you face it, it isn't scary at all. Well... maybe a little. BUT it's not as scary as you make it out to be in your head. At all.
Usually, at this point, I tell you what the next installment of "The Creative Process" is, but to be honest, I don't know. I'm at a point where I am in uncharted territory, so I have to figure it out. But I know I will, just as I know you will.
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