...In late may I received a message from a mutual Twitter follower 'You Can Persevere'. They were publishing a book about people with perseverance stories and asked if I would want to share mine. I was extremely excited for the opportunity and flattered by the request so I responded with my acceptance and asked them for the details. They provided me with the number of words required, deadline date and who to submit the story. I had only written my story as part of a speech so I started with that document and began the editing process to fit the parameters they gave me. This was a chance for me to get my story to potentially a much broader audience than my speeches or even the podcast's had provided me. Not only that I had been thinking/planning to write a blog telling every detail of my life beginning from meeting my rapist on Match.com. Although I had some ideas and was making notes here and there when thoughts popped into my head I was apprehensive to get started because I had never blogged before and the only other writing I had done were business proposals called RFP's. Writing this story submission would be just what I needed to get my feet wet and kick my motivation into high gear. I had a fairly short deadline which was fine with me because I had done a lot more with much less time.
My speech has several versions each one slightly different and tailored to the audience, whether it be college students or advocates not to mention the cover page for my emails used when contacting universities, rape crisis centers and other organizations offering my speaking services. I sat down with all of these documents and pieced them together to create one plus included anything additional I felt it needed to get my story of perseverance across to the readers. I finished it in one day but set it aside and slept on it one night to review again the next day. To my detriment most times I am a thinker and when left with quiet time my mind races but since I began this mission of public speaking, advocacy and blogging I have learned to use it in a positive way. I woke up the next day and made a few adjustments before giving it a final read and then asked Steve to read it and provide his opinion and any comments. He is after all a comedian which makes him by default a writer and has been doing it for decades. I value his opinion and advice especially when it comes to this area of expertise. Once I received his seal of approval I attached it to my contacts email and hit send. It was a great feeling and I couldn't wait to see what would come of it in the final product of a book. As of yet there is no publication date in which I am anxiously waiting and just with the Primetime Crime and Very Bad Men interviews I look forward to see how it comes out.
This story submission was another big step for me. Starting a new business on my own is scary and I continually question if I am doing the right thing. Is my message reaching enough people? Will it really grow into what I hope it to be? I'm not afraid to say that without validation I don't know if it's worth it to continue and for how long. This particular story request would launch me into the next phase which is the blog and if that went well I had even bigger plans in the works...
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