With my move to Paris this fall, I received the gift of time. A lot of time on my own, in my own place as I started to build my community of friends here. With that time I journaled…A LOT!

Mostly of what my purpose is and what I want to accomplish in my business and life. One of the things that kept coming up was writing a book. Now to preface, I know NOTHING about book writing and though I think I’m a decent writer, I knew I needed help and guidance of how to move forward with a book. 

So in October, I reached out to another author Lindsey Tramuta asking her if she offered coaching or guidance on writing my first book. 

She was amazing and introduced me to her friend Sara Lieberman, a writer and editor who offered services in consulting and editing. I emailed Sara my thoughts on where I was in the process, what my goals were and what help I may need. Here is the gist of my email and where I was at:

“I have been really wanting to explore my story and teachings in a book but to be completely honest I have no idea where to begin. I know I want to focus on two main areas and not sure if there are two books or if they can be combined in an interesting way. 

1. I coach female entrepreneurs on femininity and sensuality and have found through that a lens in which brands, people and life can be enjoyed and connected in more deep ways. I call this the 5 senses of Sensuality. I studied Fashion and from dissecting some of what brands like Chanel to do have that pull on you, I have created a method in which to live life more fully and have a business that captivates in that way as well. 

So I would love to explore this more in a book medium.

2. Is a memoir of sorts. Perhaps there are too many of these types already, but my life follows a similar Eat Pray Love trajectory. 

Overachiever living in Canada. Did all the “right things” and wound up in a roller-coaster marriage, in the perfect house crying every day. So we lovingly divorced and I moved to Paris asap and started a business coaching female business owners. I connected to spirituality, my femininity, sexuality, and just really myself to get here. I manifested this great apartment, French borders allowing me in during a pandemic and a business that is truly amazing. I love my story, I tell it often in a variety of ways but really want to nail it down to something real. 

So that is where I am at. I write fairly well I think, but don’t know how to set goals to achieve this, where to go, how to do this, and of course, the amazing work you do in editing and getting these books from ideas to reality. “

Sara immediately got back to me with amazing feedback on some of my initial ideas and how she could help me in this process. She also directed me to a very cool blog Agents and Books

Which provides so much information on the steps needed to get an agent and get a book published. She shared some initial gems of information with me that I thought would be helpful to share with you.

Sara’s expertise on memoirs:

What I will say is that it is VERY hard to sell a memoir—even if you are already a published writer in world-renown publications. Especially one that follows the “Eat, Pray, Love” formula. For a while, those were popular — and while they do still sell, I think publishers are a) looking for something grittier b) from someone with a following or established name and c) has a truly unique voice and writing style. That’s not to say you can’t (and shouldn’t!) work on defining that if you feel super passionate about it. But I might recommend you start with taking a personal essay writing course first to see what stories you want to share and how best to go about it. (And if you’ve already done that and have written a bunch, please disregard!)

To anyone starting this journey, I hope that helped!

After this amazing insight, Sara and I met and began working together on a consultant basis. If you aren’t familiar with publishing books (which I was not either), the first step is a proposal to send to agents or to use yourself to help guide your writing and get clear on what you will write for your book. (here is a bit about proposals ) 

So this is what I am currently working on. A lengthy and big process, but a really fun dive into the creative process of writing a book, organizing your thoughts and giving you a better understanding of goals. This will ultimately be your bible to reference when you actually start writing and will also be the piece that lands you an agent (hopefully) and a publishing deal (hopefully).

The first section Sara tasked me with is the “About this book” and overview and intro to what the book will be about, why you are writing it, what authority you have on the topic and what the reader will get out of it. Sounded simple enough. 

Well ladies and gentlemen, it is much harder than I thought it would be. With so many ideas in my head and topics I teach or want to share, narrowing down a focus and direction has been a challenge. Do I want to focus on French culture, on business, on creating a life in your feminine, on my story…so many things and only one book (for now) to tell it in. 

Wish me luck! More updates to come on this section. 

In the meantime, feel free to comment on what you would want to read about from me! Would help a lot! 

Xo

Danielle